Principal Engineer, Thermal
Description
Enphase Energy is a global energy technology company and a leading provider of solar, battery, and electric vehicle charging products. Founded in 2006, our innovative microinverter technology revolutionized solar power, making it a safer, more reliable, and scalable energy source. Today, the Enphase Energy System enables users to make, use, save, and sell their own power. Enphase is also one of the most successful and innovative clean energy companies in the world, with more than 80 million products shipped across 160 countries.
Join our dynamic teams designing and developing next-gen energy technologies and help drive a sustainable future!
Must be available to work on-site at our Bangalore office 5 days per week.
Must be available to work on-site at our Bangalore office 5 days per week.
About the role
As a Principal Thermal Solutions Engineer, you will own the endtoend thermal architecture, cooling strategy, and safety design for Commercial & Industrial (C&I) and Utilityscale Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), spanning outdoor cabinets and containerized platforms. You will define and architect HVACbased, liquidcooled, aircooled, and hybrid thermal systems that support multiMWh energy storage installations operating in demanding outdoor environments.
This role requires deep, handson expertise in thermal system design, advanced simulations, and BESS safety compliance. You will work closely with battery, mechanical, electrical, controls, systems, safety, and manufacturing teams to ensure thermal solutions meet performance, reliability, manufacturability, serviceability, compliance, and cost targets, delivering productionready designs from concept through deployment while optimizing CAPEX and longterm OPEX.
What you will be doing
Proven ability to own endtoend thermal system architecture and delivery for cabinetlevel and containerized BESS platforms, from concept through production and field deployment
Deep handson expertise in HVACbased, liquidcooled, aircooled, and hybrid thermal systems for batteries and power electronics, including heat exchangers, chillers, cooling plates, pumps, valves, manifolds, fans, ducting, and venting devices
Strong application of firstprinciples thermal engineering to design efficient, reliable, and costeffective cooling solutions
Who you are and what you bring
12–15+ years of handson experience (Bachelor’s or Master’s) in Mechanical or Thermal Engineering, with mandatory ownership of Commercial and Utilityscale BESS thermal architectures
Expertlevel proficiency in thermal and CFD simulations, performing systemlevel and detailed thermal analysis, including:
Airflow and systemflow simulations
Transient and steadystate thermal analysis using tools such as Icepak, Fluent, COMSOL, and FLACS
Experience translating simulation results into productionready, compliant designs, including analyses supporting NFPA 68 (Deflagration Venting) and NFPA 69 (Explosion Prevention)
Deep experience leading thermal runaway analysis, containment design, venting, pressurerelief mechanisms, and propagationmitigation strategies
Handson leadership in LSFT and UL 9540A testing, failure evaluations, and posttest design improvements
Strong systemlevel understanding of PCS architectures, battery rooms, DC vs ACcoupled systems, and thermal coordination with BMS, EMS, and PCS derating logic
Demonstrated capability designing for highambient (45–55 °C), highaltitude, corrosive environments, and longduration (2–8+ hour) energy storage systems
Expertise in reliabilitydriven thermal design, including 15–25year systemlife targets, redundancy, failsafe and degradedmode operation, and OPEXoptimized cooling strategies
Proven experience driving DFMEA, rootcause analysis, and corrective actions based on test data and field feedback
Experience leading supplier selection and technical design reviews, balancing performance, reliability, manufacturability, and cost (CAPEX/OPEX)
Working knowledge of global safety and compliance standards, including UL 9540/9540A, NFPA 855/68/69, and IEC standards, with experience supporting certification and AHJ interactions
Strong technical leadership skills, with the ability to lead programs, influence architecture decisions, and mentor senior and stafflevel engineers