Lead / Principle Thermal Simulation Engineer

Job description

At Jabil (NYSE: JBL), we are proud to be a trusted partner for the world's top brands, offering comprehensive engineering, supply chain, and manufacturing solutions. With 60 years of experience across industries and a vast network of over 100 sites worldwide, Jabil combines global reach with local expertise to deliver both scalable and customized solutions. Our commitment extends beyond business success as we strive to build sustainable processes that minimize environmental impact and foster vibrant and diverse communities around the globe. Lead / Principle Thermal Simulation Engineer Build your career with Jabil! We challenge and empower you to make the most of your talents while working with outstanding colleagues from diverse backgrounds who share your drive and passion to make Jabil grow! Job Summary The lead thermal simulation engineer will lead thermal and CFD simulation activities for Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) products or other large similar products. This role is responsible for developing and executing thermal simulation strategies to evaluate temperature distribution, airflow performance, heat transfer, pressure drop, hotspot risk, environmental performance, derating risk, and long-term reliability under normal operation, high-power load profiles, environmental extremes, and system-level operating conditions. The position will partner closely with mechanical design, system architect, electrical, structural, safety, test, manufacturing, quality, and customer teams to optimize thermal performance, manufacturability, cost, safety, and product reliability. The role requires strong technical depth in heat transfer, fluid mechanics, CFD, thermal modeling, and BESS thermal management, as well as the ability to guide cross-functional teams, mentor engineers, and drive simulation best practices across different design programs. Location: This role will be based at Jabil's Huangpu office in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. Essential Duties and Responsibilities Lead thermal and CFD simulation activities for BESS products and other large similar products, including battery cabinets, containerized enclosures, battery racks, modules, power electronics, HVAC interfaces, airflow paths, and cooling architectures. Develop and execute thermal simulation models and analysis plans for steady-state and transient heat transfer, airflow, pressure drop, hotspot formation, environmental extremes, high-power operation, derating risk, and thermal reliability. Evaluate thermal risks related to battery heat generation, module and rack temperature uniformity, enclosure airflow distribution, HVAC capacity, fan performance, filtration, cable/busbar heating, solar loading, altitude, ambient temperature, and service conditions. Partner with mechanical design, system architect, electrical, structural, safety, test, manufacturing, quality, supplier, program, and customer teams to define requirements, acceptance criteria, validation plans, and design improvements. Correlate simulation results with physical test data, field data, and customer operating profiles, and provide clear technical recommendations to improve performance, safety, manufacturability, cost, and reliability. Prepare and present simulation reports, thermal margin assessments, technical risk evaluations, design trade studies, and recommendations to internal stakeholders, customers, suppliers, and leadership teams. Establish thermal simulation best practices, templates, workflows, material/property libraries, validation methods, and model correlation guidelines to improve consistency, efficiency, and engineering quality across different design programs. Mentor thermal simulation engineers, review technical work, and support development of thermal simulation capability within the team. May perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned. Job Qualifications Technical Knowledge & Skills Deep understanding of heat transfer, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, conjugate heat transfer, thermal radiation, forced and natural convection, pressure drop, fan and blower performance, and transient thermal behavior. Strong hands-on experience with CFD and thermal simulation tools such as ANSYS Fluent, ANSYS Icepak, Star-CCM+, FloTHERM, 6SigmaET, COMSOL, or equivalent platforms. Proven ability to perform steady-state and transient CFD/thermal analysis for electronics cooling, battery modules, battery racks, high-power electrical components, HVAC-integrated enclosures, and large-scale system airflow. Practical understanding of BESS thermal architecture, including battery cell/module/rack heat generation, cabinet and container airflow, HVAC sizing, ducting, fan selection, filtration, venting, liquid cooling features, power electronics cooling, and thermal interface materials. Ability to evaluate thermal behavior under normal operation, high-rate charge/discharge, long-duration operation, elevated ambient temperature, solar loading, altitude, blocked airflow, component degradation, and system derating scenarios. Strong knowledge of thermal model setup, geometry simplification, meshing, turbulence modeling, boundary condition definition, heat-load development, material property selection, convergence assessment, sensitivity studies, and uncertainty evaluation. Ability to correlate simulation results with thermocouple data, infrared imaging, airflow measurement, pressure-drop data, environmental chamber testing, system thermal testing, and field performance data. Experience with CAD tools such as SolidWorks, Creo, NX, CATIA, or equivalent, including CAD simplification, large assembly management, and simulation model preparation. Working knowledge of battery safety and BESS-related requirements, including UL 9540, UL 9540A awareness, NFPA 855 awareness, IEC/UL product safety considerations, IP/NEMA enclosure considerations, and environmental reliability requirements. Strong technical documentation skills, including clear assumptions, thermal loads, boundary conditions, material properties, results interpretation, thermal margin summaries, conclusions, and recommended design actions. Non-technical knowledge & skills Worked as part of a global team Effectively communicate with good understanding of English. Build trusted relationships and effectively influence others and share best practices. Assess a project and articulate risk while developing project milestones. Develop projects in a stage-gate process (PLCM) Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities, meet commitments, and communicate risks, assumptions, and dependencies proactively. Ability to adapt quickly to changing customer, technical, and business requirements while effectively managing complexity and ambiguity. Demonstrates ownership and accountability in overcoming challenges and delivering results under pressure. Mentor less experienced engineers. Education & Experience Requirements Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Thermal Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Energy Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Engineering Mechanics, or a related technical field is required. Master’s degree or Ph.D. in a relevant engineering discipline is preferred, especially with emphasis in heat transfer, fluid mechanics, CFD, thermal management, energy systems, or numerical simulation. Minimum 5+ years of hands-on thermal simulation, CFD, thermal management, electronics cooling, battery thermal analysis, HVAC-integrated enclosure design, or related engineering experience is required. Professional certification, advanced CFD/thermal training, Six Sigma, DFSS, NAFEMS, HVAC-related training, battery thermal management training, or equivalent technical credentials are a plus. Jabil, including its subsidiaries, is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any ot