Staff Thermal Systems Engineer

Join us at Gradient, where our purpose is to revolutionize home comfort while championing environmental sustainability. Our mission is to combat the escalating challenge of climate change by redefining how homes are heated and cooled. Today, the environmental impact of heating and cooling systems surpasses that of the entire transportation sector, and without intervention, this trend is set to escalate drastically. At Gradient, we believe that ensuring comfortable living spaces shouldn’t come at the cost of our planet. We envision a future where every individual can enjoy the luxury of a comfortable home without contributing to carbon emissions. Our high-efficiency, low-carbon heat pump is just the beginning of our journey toward fully decarbonizing buildings. By joining Gradient, you’ll be at the forefront of a movement to make sustainable living accessible to all, ensuring healthier communities and a brighter, greener future.

As a Staff Thermal Systems Engineer, you’ll improve existing products, innovate new features and systems, demonstrate reliability of thermal components and subsystems, and support deployment of products in the field.

This role is required to be onsite in our San Francisco HQ 4-5 days per week. 

The estimated salary for this role is $175,000 to $200,000 USD per year + equity. An individual's compensation will vary on a number of factors including but not limited to geography, skills, education, experience and unique qualifications where applicable.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive the design and optimization of Gradient products across current and future product generations, ensuring our products have world-class performance, reliability, and user experience
• Specify, develop, and qualify thermal components for HVAC systems
• Support analysis of anomalous product behavior in the field, and recommend improvements and fixes
• Develop thermal control algorithms to support improved user comfort and system efficiency
• Document test plans for development, qualification, and verification, and report on the results of the testing
• Lead cross-functional design discussions and collaborate across teams to develop product improvements and fixes
• Run experiments and create physics-based models to understand the performance of HVAC systems and components under laboratory and field conditions

Required Qualifications

• 10 years experience in thermal engineering
• 5 years experience with thermal design, modeling, and/or analysis of HVAC systems
• Strong knowledge of thermal engineering and HVAC components, including heat exchangers, compressors, fan motors, and impellers
• Strong background in thermal system development and qualification, including hands-on use of environmental test chambers
• Technical leadership with a demonstrated record of leading cross-functional projects

Bonus Qualifications

• Experience with product-life cycle process development
• Familiarity with failure analysis and issue resolution processes
• Knowledge of water management and treatment
• Experience with Design for Serviceability methods and best practices
• Familiarity with ASHRAE standards for building thermal management and human comfort
• Proficiency with thermal and fluid modeling tools
• Familiarity with DOE efficiency-related requirements and test methodologies for HVAC systems
• Experience with product certification to safety standards such as UL 60335
• Experience modeling dynamics of heat pump systems and optimizing tubing designs to reduce vibration and stresses

Benefits 

• Equity
• Medical/vision/dental/life/disability insurance
• 401k
• Paid parental leave
• Professional Development Stipend
• Commuter benefits
• Flexible PTO 

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive company. We seek to create a culture where everyone can belong because we believe that people do their best work when they can show up every day as their authentic selves. We welcome people of different backgrounds, experiences, abilities, and perspectives.

Gradient is an equal opportunity employer. We do not make hiring or employment decisions on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or genetic information, in compliance with applicable federal, state and local law.