Thermal Systems Calibration Engineer

Description

The Thermal Systems Calibration Engineer is responsible for developing, calibrating, validating, and optimizing vehicle thermal management and cabin HVAC control systems. This role requires 3+ years of hands-on vehicle calibration and testing experience to ensure thermal performance, component protection, energy efficiency, and occupant comfort across a wide range of operating and environmental conditions. The engineer will work closely with cross-functional teams to develop robust thermal control strategies and validate system performance through vehicle, dynamometer, and climatic chamber testing.

Responsibilities:

• Calibrate and validate powertrain thermal management and cabin HVAC control systems to optimize thermal performance, energy efficiency, component protection, and occupant comfort.
• Develop and tune thermal control strategies for pumps, fans, valves, compressors, coolant and refrigerant circuits, and heating/cooling devices.
• Execute powertrain thermal and HVAC calibration activities, including hot/cold soak, thermal protection, derate, warm-up, cool-down, defrost, demist, and cabin comfort testing.
• Perform hands-on vehicle testing, climatic chamber testing, and dynamometer evaluations to assess and improve thermal system performance under varying operating conditions.
• Analyze vehicle data and instrumentation results to optimize coolant, refrigerant, airflow, temperature control, and overall thermal system effectiveness.
• Calibrate thermal management functions across a wide range of ambient temperatures, vehicle speeds, drive cycles, propulsion modes, charging conditions, and powertrain loads.
• Validate thermal system performance and control robustness through vehicle-level testing and real-world environmental assessments.
• Utilize calibration and data acquisition tools to troubleshoot system interactions and optimize integrated thermal and HVAC performance.
• Support vehicle-level thermal system integration, balancing propulsion cooling/heating requirements, cabin comfort demands, energy consumption, and system constraints.
• Collaborate with systems, controls, software, and validation teams to achieve thermal performance, efficiency, durability, and customer comfort targets.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, Electrical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, or a related field.
• 3+ years of hands-on experience in vehicle thermal management and HVAC calibration.
• Proven experience conducting vehicle-level testing, climatic chamber testing, and dynamometer testing.
• Strong understanding of coolant systems, refrigerant systems, HVAC controls, thermal protection strategies, and vehicle energy management.
• Experience with calibration and data acquisition tools such as CANape, INCA, ETAS, Vector, or equivalent.
• Proficiency in data analysis and calibration development using vehicle test data.
• Experience supporting thermal management systems for conventional, hybrid, or electric vehicles.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with MATLAB/Simulink and controls development.
• Experience supporting EV, hybrid, or advanced propulsion thermal systems.
• Knowledge of thermal modeling, vehicle controls, and system integration.
• Strong troubleshooting and root-cause analysis skills.
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional engineering teams in a fast-paced vehicle development environment.