Thermal Systems Engineer, Integration

Posted Yesterday
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Long Beach, CA, USA
Hybrid
100K-233K Annually
Senior level
Automotive
The Role
Integrate Ford’s complete electric-vehicle thermal management system across coolant, refrigeration, and climate/HVAC subsystems. Maintain system architecture and requirements traceability, integrate plant models, conduct system-level simulations and trade studies, resolve cross-subsystem hardware issues, and coordinate validation against test data. The role also supports design reviews and collaborates with controls, design, and subsystem engineering teams to ensure proper packaging, model integration, and technical decision-making.
Summary Generated by Built In

We made history and now we work to transform the future – for our customers, our communities and our families. You'll see your work on the road every day, helping people move freely and pursue their dreams. At Ford, you can build more than vehicles. Come build what matters.

Ford’s Electric Vehicles, Digital and Design (EVDD) team is charged with delivering the company’s vision of a fully electric transportation future. EVDD is customer-obsessed, entrepreneurial, and data-driven and is dedicated to delivering industry-leading customer experience for electric vehicle buyers and owners. You’ll join an agile team of doers pioneering our EV future by working collaboratively, staying focused on only what matters, and delivering excellence day in and day out. Join us to make positive change by helping build a better world where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams.

In this position...
Join our dynamic and agile team pioneering Ford's EV future. As the Integrated Thermal Systems Engineer, you will be the hands-on technical integrator for the complete thermal management system - the person who takes the architecture and requirements and makes them real across the coolant, refrigeration, and climate/HVAC subsystems. You will work day-to-day with the three subsystem owners to resolve interfaces, integrate their models, run the system-level trade studies, and turn analysis into clear recommendations that drive decisions.

Responsibilities

What you'll do...

You will execute and deliver the integrated thermal system under the technical direction of the Thermal Engineering Manager.

Execute and maintain the thermal system architecture, keeping the system block diagrams and interface definitions current as the design evolves.

Work with subsystem owners to decompose vehicle and system level requirements into consistent, traceable subsystem interface requirements, and maintain traceability from vehicle targets through to each subsystem owner's component specifications.

Integrate the individual subsystem plant models (coolant, refrigeration, climate) into a cohesive system-level model, and use it to analyze energy flows, dynamic behavior, and mode transitions across the full operating envelope.

Perform system-level trade-off studies and present decision-ready recommendations to Thermal Engineering manager for review.

Work day-to-day with the coolant, refrigeration, and climate subsystem owners to ensure their component specifications, selections, and models align at the interfaces and integrate cleanly into the system.

Own the resolution of cross-subsystem hardware issues. Triage where a problem lives, coordinate with the responsible subsystem owner, and drive the fix to closure.

Collaborate with test engineers to define and execute system-level characterization and validation, correlating the integrated model against empirical data and retiring system risk.

Support Thermal management in design reviews, requirements reviews, and technical readouts by preparing the integrated analysis, data, and options that inform architecture and trade-off decisions.

Interface with Design and Controls Engineers to ensure the integrated system packages correctly and that the system model meets the needs of algorithm development.

Qualifications

You'll have...

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related thermal/fluid sciences discipline or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.

5+ years of experience in thermal system design, integration, or component engineering, with hands-on exposure to more than one thermal subsystem (coolant, refrigeration, and/or climate).

Strong understanding of thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid dynamics across both liquid-cooling and vapor-compression domains.

Experience with physical system modeling and simulation tools (e.g., MATLAB/Simulink, GT-SUITE, etc.).

Proficiency in Python or similar programming languages for model development.

Demonstrated ability to coordinate across multiple engineering teams and keep several parallel workstreams moving to closure.

Even better, you may have...
Master's or Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering or related engineering discipline.

Experience with EV thermal management systems, including integrated cabin-and-powertrain architectures and heat-pump systems.

Familiarity with vehicle communication protocols (CAN, LIN, Automotive Ethernet).

Experience with 3D CAD (CATIA/NX/3DX) sufficient to reason about packaging and topology at the system level.

Strong collaborative skills to work across hardware and software teams in a fast-paced EV development environment.

You may not check every box, or your experience may look a little different from what we've outlined, but if you think you can bring value to Ford Motor Company, we encourage you to apply!

As an established global company, we offer the benefit of choice. You can choose what your Ford future will look like: will your story span the globe, or keep you close to home? Will your career be a deep dive into what you love, or a series of new teams and new skills? Will you be a leader, a changemaker, a technical expert, a culture builder…or all of the above? No matter what you choose, we offer a work life that works for you, including:
• Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage
• Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more
• Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more
• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
• Tuition assistance
• Established and active employee resource groups
• Paid time off for individual and team community service
• A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day
• Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.
 This position is a salary grade 6-8 and ranges from $100,400-$232,700.  
Final determination of salary grade will be based on candidate's skills and experience, and base salary will be set within the applicable range according to job scope, responsibility and competitive market value.

For more information on salary and benefits, click here: https://fordcareers.co/GSR

Visa sponsorship is available for this position.

Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.

This position is hybrid. Candidates who are in commuting distance to a Ford hub location may be required to be onsite four or more days per week. #LI-Hybrid #LI-JD2 #UEV

Skills Required

  • Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related thermal/fluid sciences discipline, or equivalent relevant education and experience
  • 5+ years of experience in thermal system design, integration, or component engineering
  • Hands-on exposure to more than one thermal subsystem, including coolant, refrigeration, and/or climate systems
  • Strong understanding of thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid dynamics across liquid-cooling and vapor-compression domains
  • Experience with physical system modeling and simulation tools such as MATLAB/Simulink or GT-SUITE
  • Proficiency in Python or similar programming languages for model development
  • Ability to coordinate across multiple engineering teams and manage parallel workstreams to closure
  • Master's or Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline
  • Experience with electric-vehicle thermal management systems, including integrated cabin-and-powertrain architectures and heat-pump systems
  • Familiarity with CAN, LIN, and Automotive Ethernet vehicle communication protocols
  • Experience with 3D CAD tools such as CATIA, NX, or 3DX
  • Strong collaborative skills for working across hardware and software engineering teams

Ford Motor Company Compensation & Benefits Highlights

  • Healthcare Strength — Eligible employees can access medical, dental, and prescription coverage starting on the first day, with some zero-cost plan options and free mental health support. Benefits materials highlight comprehensive healthcare as a core pillar.
  • Retirement Support — Employees can enroll in a 401(k)-style plan from day one, and some salaried plans include a company match of $0.90 per dollar on the first 5% contributed. Official summaries also describe financial-planning support.
  • Parental & Family Support — The package includes paid parental leave, fertility, surrogacy, and adoption benefits, plus a ramp-up program for new parents returning to work. Flexible family-care days and other time-off options support caregiving needs.

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The Company
HQ: Dearborn, MI
175,633 Employees
Year Founded: 1903

What We Do

Ford is a global company with shared ideals and a deep sense of family. From our earliest days as a pioneer of modern transportation, we have sought to make the world a better place – one that benefits lives, communities and the planet. We are here to provide the means for every person to move and pursue their dreams, serving as a bridge between personal freedom and the future of mobility. In that pursuit, our 186,000 employees around the world help to set the pace of innovation every day.

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