Senior Certification Engineer (51607)

Gradian is an engineering-led, full-line thermal solutions partner serving data center and other mission-critical, commercial, and industrial markets. Headquartered in Maple Grove, MN, with additional facilities across North America, we design and manufacture liquid cooling systems, air handling equipment, heat rejection units, and modular, factory-assembled thermal management solutions. 

Gradian was founded through the unification of four complementary, established brands: MAS HVAC, Daedex, DeepCoolAI, and EcoChillers. Together, we act as a single-source provider, deploying cooling technologies as scalable systems optimized for efficiency, spatial constraints, and overall performance. With a vertically integrated engineering and manufacturing model, we pair rapid design turnaround with precision fabrication, so customers can move faster on complex projects where reliability, timeline, and quality all matter. 

Why work here 

At Gradian, you'll work alongside others who get genuinely fired up by complex problems, see your work go from first sketch to job site in weeks, not years, and know that while we're developing the technologies critical for AI infrastructure to scale, our culture remains people-first by design. 

It is core to our identity that we operate as one team — driving to win together, energizing others, and building lasting relationships that make the work fun and rewarding. 

Position Summary: 

We are seeking a Sr Certification Engineer to lead product certification and regulatory compliance strategy across Gradian’s liquid cooling, air handling, and chiller product lines. This role owns certification planning from concept through sustaining engineering, translates regulatory and standards requirements into actionable design inputs, and coordinates testing, technical documentation, agency submissions, audits, and product release readiness. The position partners with NPD, R&D, Test & Integration, Quality, Operations, Product Management, suppliers, accredited laboratories, and certification bodies to secure and maintain market access while reducing certification risk, cost, and schedule impact. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Own certification strategy, scope, budgets, schedules, and deliverables for new-product development, product changes, and sustaining programs across liquid cooling, air handling, and chiller platforms. 

• Determine applicable North American and international requirements by product architecture, voltage, refrigerant or coolant, pressure boundary, controls, installation, and target market; document the rationale in certification plans and compliance matrices. 

• Serve as the technical interface with Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories, certification bodies, AHRI, authorities having jurisdiction, external test laboratories, customers, and suppliers. 

• Lead certification projects for applicable product-safety frameworks, including UL/cUL/CSA and IEC requirements; address UL/CAN/IEC 62368-1 for data-center coolant distribution equipment and UL/CAN/IEC 60335-2-40 or UL 1995 where applicable to HVACR equipment. 

• Lead performance certification and rating activities for applicable air and chiller products, including relevant AHRI programs and standards such as AHRI 550/590 for water-cooled and air-cooled chillers. 

• Define and review compliance test plans covering electrical safety, mechanical integrity, pressure and leak performance, abnormal operation, thermal performance, controls, EMC, environmental, reliability, and product-specific requirements. 

• Review schematics, layouts, bills of material, drawings, P&IDs, software or controls requirements, labels, installation instructions, and technical files; identify gaps early and drive practical corrective actions with engineering teams. 

• Coordinate prototypes, witness testing, agency evaluations, deviations, findings, retests, and final submittals; resolve technical issues through structured root-cause analysis and sound engineering judgment. 

• Create and maintain certification records, declarations, certificates, test reports, construction files, critical-component lists, compliance matrices, and product-family documentation with strong configuration control and traceability. 

• Ensure certification evidence is complete before product release and manage follow-up services, factory inspections, annual audit testing, engineering changes, alternate components, certificate renewals, and product discontinuations. 

• Support global market access as business needs require, including CE and UKCA conformity activities and applicable electrical safety, EMC, machinery, pressure equipment, ecodesign, RoHS, REACH, WEEE, and refrigerant requirements. 

• Monitor changes to codes, regulations, and standards; communicate product and schedule impacts, update internal design guidance, and represent Gradian in relevant industry committees or working groups. 

• Develop reusable certification processes, checklists, templates, approved-component strategies, and lessons learned to improve first-pass success, cost, schedule predictability, and organizational capability. 

• Mentor engineers and cross-functional partners on certification requirements, design-for-compliance practices, documentation quality, and risk-based decision making. 

Qualifications & Requirements: 

Required: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related discipline; equivalent relevant experience may be considered. 

• Seven or more years of experience in product certification, product safety, regulatory compliance, HVACR, industrial equipment, data-center cooling, or a closely related engineering environment. 

• Demonstrated ownership of certification projects from requirements definition through testing, findings resolution, approval, and sustaining compliance. 

• Working knowledge of North American certification frameworks and codes, including UL, cUL, CSA, NEC, NFPA, and NRTL processes. 

• Ability to interpret and apply standards to complex electromechanical products involving fluid systems, pressure boundaries, controls, motors, drives, heat exchangers, fans, pumps, or refrigeration components. 

• Experience preparing certification plans, compliance matrices, test plans, technical construction files, agency submittals, and clear test reports. 

• Ability to review electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, engineering drawings, bills of material, specifications, P&IDs, labels, and installation documentation. 

• Strong project management, technical writing, root-cause analysis, negotiation, and cross-functional leadership skills. 

• Ability to travel periodically to laboratories, suppliers, manufacturing sites, and customer locations. 

Preferred: 

• Direct experience certifying coolant distribution units, direct-to-chip or immersion liquid-cooling equipment, including application of UL/CAN/IEC 62368-1 and UL/CAN/IEC 60335-2-40. 

• Experience with air-handling units, fan systems, coils, heat exchangers, or related AHRI certification programs and ASHRAE test methods. 

• Experience with air-cooled and water-cooled chillers, AHRI 550/590, refrigerant safety, low-GWP refrigerants, and applicable energy-efficiency requirements. 

• Knowledge of UL 508A industrial control panels, component recognition, short-circuit current ratings, NEC/NFPA 70, and NFPA 79, as applicable. 

• Experience with pressure equipment compliance, including ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, pressure-vessel registration, pressure piping, or CE/UKCA pressure-equipment requirements. 

• Experience with global conformity assessment and market access, including IEC/IECEE CB, CE, UKCA, EMC, machinery, RoHS, REACH, WEEE, ecodesign, and environmental documentation. 

• Experience with certification-body factory inspections, follow-up services, quality-system interfaces, supplier compliance, and engineering-change control. 

• Participation in standards committees or industry groups such as AHRI, ASHRAE, UL Standards & Engagement, CSA, IEC, or Open Compute Project. 

• Professional Engineer licensure, product-safety certification, project-management credential, or auditor qualification. 

Key Competencies: 

• Technical authority with the ability to convert complex standards into clear, practical product requirements. 

• Ownership mindset with disciplined management of certification scope, risk, cost, schedule, and evidence. 

• Strong written and verbal communication with certification bodies, engineering teams, leaders, customers, and suppliers. 

• Independent judgment, structured problem solving, and persistence in resolving ambiguous or novel compliance issues. 

• Collaborative leadership and the ability to influence design decisions without direct authority. 

• High attention to detail, document control, configuration management, and data integrity. 

• Commitment to safety, ethical decision making, continuous improvement, and developing others. 

Benefits:

• Medical, vision, and dental plans
• Short-term and long-term disability insurance
• Group term life insurance coverage
• HSA, FSA, and Dependent Care plans available
• 8 paid holidays, 4 floating holidays, and generous PTO policy
• 401k matching
• Company paid events
• Annual safety shoe allowance
• Education assistance program

EEO Statement:

Gradian Thermal Solutions is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, political affiliation, or any other legally protected status.

Employment decisions at Gradian are based on merit, qualifications, and business needs. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind and actively promote a culture of fairness, equity, and opportunity.

We also provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and for sincerely held religious beliefs, practices, or observances, in accordance with applicable laws.