At Arbor Energy & Resources Corporation ("Arbor Energy"), we’re creating technology to power our lives while protecting the planet that sustains them. Our advanced power systems deliver clean, reliable baseload electricity with zero operating emissions—modular, fuel-flexible, and engineered for the realities of today’s energy demand. At the core is a supercritical CO₂ turbine with integrated carbon capture, designed to bring carbon-neutral power online quickly at meaningful scale.
Our team includes aerospace engineers, combustion experts, and systems thinkers with a shared goal: to build technology worthy of the world we want to live in. While many of us began our journeys looking to the stars, we’re applying that expertise here at home to deliver dependable, emission-free baseload power and a future of lasting abundance.
If you share our values and are drawn to rigorous work with lasting impact, we’d love to learn more about you. Come build what the future will run on.
Steward our planet: We build for tomorrow, ensuring every bolt we tighten and every hand we lend leaves our environment stronger than we found it.
Lead with Love: We champion the success of our people, partners, and planet, nurturing excellence through camaraderie and rigor.
Explore the Uncharted: We embrace the unknown with curiosity, using courage and discipline to transform uncertainty into opportunity.
We're looking for a Sr. Heat Exchanger Engineer to own the design, specification, and development of the compact heat exchangers at the heart of Arbor's supercritical CO₂ power system—the high- and low-temperature recuperators that set plant efficiency, and the coolers around them. You'll lead technical engagement with our heat exchanger suppliers, develop and test additively manufactured and diffusion-bonded designs in high-temperature nickel alloys, and own the thermal and mechanical case for the hardware we put into service. You'll work closely with cycle analysts, mechanical and pressure vessel engineers, manufacturing, and test engineers in a fast-paced, hands-on R&D environment. This is a rare opportunity to apply deep thermal-fluids and manufacturing expertise to climate-impactful technology at the frontier of power generation.
A power-industry background is not required. Engineers who have designed, built, and tested high-performance thermal hardware in aerospace, propulsion, or advanced manufacturing are encouraged to apply.
This is an onsite opportunity in our El Segundo, CA office.
Responsibilities- Own the thermal-hydraulic design of compact heat exchangers across the Arbor power system—high- and low-temperature recuperators, precoolers, and heaters—from conceptual sizing through detailed design, balancing effectiveness, pressure drop, mass, and cost.
- Serve as technical lead with suppliers of advanced compact heat exchangers, including additively manufactured and printed circuit (diffusion-bonded) units: define requirements and specifications, lead design reviews, and own qualification and acceptance testing.
- Lead in-house design and development of additively manufactured heat exchangers in high-temperature nickel alloys (e.g., Inconel 625, Haynes 282), applying design for additive manufacturing (DfAM) to channels, headers, and manifolds.
- Plan and run print and flow trials—from coupons through subscale cores—to characterize geometry, surface finish, and process effects, and anchor thermal-hydraulic and pressure drop models to the data.
- Own the thermal-mechanical life case for high-temperature heat exchangers—pressure containment, thermal transients, creep, and fatigue—working with mechanical and pressure vessel engineers on ASME code compliance.
- Plan and execute thermal and hydraulic performance testing on development and plant hardware: define instrumentation, write test procedures, lead data reduction, and close the loop between test results and design.
- Specify and technically manage conventional heat exchangers (shell-and-tube, air-cooled) per TEMA and API 661 as balance-of-plant needs arise.
- Generate and maintain the full engineering documentation package: thermal and mechanical calculation packages, drawings, material and process specifications, and test reports.
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Chemical, Aerospace, or related Engineering field.
- 6+ years of experience designing, building, and testing high-performance thermal-fluid hardware—heat exchangers, recuperators, precoolers, regeneratively cooled components, or similar.
- Demonstrated thermal-hydraulic design of compact heat transfer hardware—additively manufactured, printed circuit, plate-fin, microchannel, or regeneratively cooled—including channel geometry selection for performance, pressure drop, and manufacturability.
- Hands-on manufacturing experience with processes that form internal flow passages—metal additive manufacturing (laser powder bed fusion or similar), vacuum brazing, or diffusion bonding—including process troubleshooting, inspection, and defect disposition.
- Track record of taking full-scale hardware—flight, production, or industrial—from design through fabrication and test, and using test data to correct your models and designs.
- Ability to build first-principles thermal-hydraulic models (e.g., segmental ε-NTU with variable fluid properties) in Python, MATLAB, or similar.
- Working knowledge of pressure-containing and elevated-temperature structural design—thermal stress, creep, and fatigue—sufficient to drive a life assessment with support from specialists.
- Track record of making consequential technical decisions with incomplete information, owning the outcome, and moving fast in a small team.
- Experience with supercritical CO₂ or other supercritical or dense-phase fluids, including cryogenic propellants.
- Experience designing or qualifying printed circuit or other diffusion-bonded heat exchangers.
- Experience qualifying AM parameter sets, HIP and heat treatment, and powder removal for parts with internal passages.
- Experience specifying conventional heat exchangers per TEMA and API 661; proficiency with HTRI or equivalent.
- Familiarity with ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section VIII as applied to heat exchangers.
- Background in startup, aerospace, or first-of-a-kind hardware development environments.
- Pre-IPO stock options
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance (Arbor covers 90% for employees)
- Basic life insurance fully covered
- Health savings account (HSA) with matching
- Flexible savings account (FSA)
- Unlimited PTO
- 12+ company holidays, including Earth Day!
- 401(k)
- Commuter benefits
- Annual learning and development stipend
- And more!
Base Pay: $165,000 - $180,000 USD/year. The salary is subject to the applicant's skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location.
Arbor Energy is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. Solving global energy challenges requires a wide range of perspectives and experiences, and we are committed to building a team that reflects the world we serve.
Our hiring process is designed to be accessible, fair, and focused on the work that matters most for this role. Reasonable accommodations are available throughout the hiring process and employment—please let us know if you need one.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Chemical, Aerospace, or related Engineering field.
- 10+ years of experience in heat exchanger design and development
- Experience designing advanced compact heat exchangers (PCHEs, plate-fin, microchannel)
- Experience specifying and technically managing conventional heat exchangers per TEMA and API 661 standards
- Working familiarity with ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code
- Proficiency in industry thermal design tools (HTRI or equivalent)
- Proficiency in scripting or computation for custom analyses (Python, MATLAB, or similar)
- Proven track record of taking heat exchanger hardware from design through fabrication
- Strong ownership mentality in a fast-paced startup environment
What We Do
At Arbor, we’re sustainably powering the present while erasing emissions of the past. Our innovative system transforms organic waste into clean, reliable electricity while capturing carbon dioxide at scale. Founded by space tech veterans who pivoted from building technology to explore new planets to protecting our own, Arbor leverages cutting-edge aerospace technology to tackle climate change. Our mission is to bring gigawatts of clean, dependable baseload power online while removing gigatons of legacy carbon emissions. Earth is the most important spaceship we’ll ever have, and we’re dedicated to restoring its balance. Drawing on our team’s deep aerospace expertise, we’ve created a power system that meets today’s demands while repairing yesterday’s damage. Arbor’s engine, fueled by organic waste, improves on Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) using advancements in oxy-combustion, supercritical turbomachinery, and additive manufacturing. The system turns waste—like overgrown brush, crop residues, and food waste—into clean power, reducing wildfire risks and landfill emissions. The captured CO2 is permanently stored deep underground, where it mineralizes into rock, ensuring it never returns to the atmosphere. At Arbor, we envision a future where human progress and environmental stewardship work in harmony to power our world and bring the planet into balance. We’re proudly backed by climate-focused investors including Gigascale Capital, Voyager Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, and Cantos Ventures.
