Technical Lead – Applied Mechanics

About the role

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and execute structural and FEA simulations for Thermo King components and systems across truck, trailer, bus, rail, and marine applications.
• Analyze static, dynamic, fatigue, and vibrational loads that reflect real-world harsh transport conditions, including road-induced vibration, shock, mounting stresses, and thermal structural interactions.
• Build high-fidelity finite element models for complex assemblies such as compressors, frames, mounts, enclosures, brackets, refrigerant line supports, and other mechanical subsystems within Thermo King units.
• Provide clear, actionable design recommendations to global engineering teams to improve durability, manufacturability, reliability, and weight efficiency.
• Partner with Reliability Engineering, Product Engineering, and Test Labs to align analysis assumptions with actual duty cycles, test profiles, and validation plans specific to transport refrigeration.
• Develop and maintain simulation methods tailored for Thermo King’s dynamic, vibration, and shock‑load environments , including vibration durability, road load simulation, fatigue estimation, and structural integrity assessments.
• Support new product development (NPD) programs with early-stage design evaluations and simulation-driven insights to accelerate development and reduce physical test iterations.
• Prepare high-quality technical documentation summarizing analysis approach, boundary conditions, correlations, and engineering recommendations.
• Contribute to capability growth within the Modeling & Simulation team through method development, knowledge-sharing, and informal mentoring of early career analysts.
• Collaborate with global Thermo King stakeholders to understand program priorities, feasibility risks, and analysis needs.
• Leverage experience with physical test techniques—such as single and multi-axes shaker table testing, accelerated life testing, strain measurement/strain gauging, and related methods—to improve model correlation and enhance simulation accuracy.
• Provide technical leadership within projects, influencing decisions, guiding analysis strategies, and coordinating simulation activities across cross-functional teams (without formal people management).

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
• PhD will be a plus.
• 8–12+ years of hands-on experience in structural/FEA analysis, ideally in automotive, off-highway, refrigeration, or transport-related industries.
• Strong proficiency in FEA tools such as ANSYS, Abaqus, or similar platforms.
• Solid grounding in mechanical behavior under vibration, impact/shock, fatigue, and nonlinear material/structural response.
• Proven expertise building and validating complex models that correlate well with physical testing.
• Ability to convert simulation results into clear engineering guidance for multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong communication, documentation, and collaboration skills.

Preferred Technical Background

• Experience with mobile equipment or transport-related engineering (automotive, rail, off-road equipment, refrigeration units, etc.).
• Familiarity with Thermo King product categories or similar ruggedized HVAC/transport cooling systems.
• Exposure to vibration spectrum analysis, random vibration, harmonic response, and durability methodologies aligned with transport environments.
• Experience with scripting (Python, APDL, etc.) to automate workflows or develop reusable modeling templates.
• Understanding of thermal-structural coupled simulations or refrigerant system component behavior is a plus.
• Experience with single and multi-axes shaker table testing, accelerated life testing, strain measurement/strain gauging, and related structural validation techniques.
• Technical project leadership, task leadership, or cross-functional technical coordination experience.

Personal Attributes

• Highly analytical with strong problem‑solving capability.
• Self-driven, with the ability to manage work priorities independently.
• Collaborative mindset with strong initiative to influence design improvements.
• Proven ability to apply best‑practice approaches and engage in continuous learning.
• Ability to lead technically within cross-functional programs and drive engineering clarity.

We offer competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits and programs. We are an equal opportunity employer; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, pregnancy, age, marital status, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any legally protected status.