Heat Exchanger Design Engineer

Karman Industries

Founded in 2024 and headquartered in Gardena, California, Karman Industries is at the forefront of revolutionizing industrial thermal energy. Our mission is to electrify global thermal systems across data centers, manufacturing, and energy industries. Karman is developing the revolutionary Heat Processing Unit (HPU) to reinvent thermal handling for giga-scale data centers & AI factories. The HPU is built around a supercritical CO2 chiller system utilizing a high-speed electrically driven turbomachinery core. Our system aims to reduce energy consumption in data center thermal management by greater than 25% and increase energy density by 10x.

At Karman Industries, we are committed to fostering a dynamic and inclusive work environment where innovation thrives. Our team is composed of passionate professionals dedicated to making a tangible impact on the future of industrial manufacturing. Join us in our mission to transform the industry and contribute to a more sustainable world.

Lead Engineer, Heat Exchangers

Karman Industries is seeking an engineer to lead the design, development, and qualification of the heat exchangers in our CO₂ heating and cooling systems. The scope includes compact, high-pressure CO₂ exchangers such as printed circuit heat exchangers (PCHEs), along with the gas coolers and heat rejection equipment around them. The role also covers electronics cooling, including cold plate design. The role starts with our pilot CO₂ heat exchanger and PCHE prototype program and carries that work through to production-ready designs.

Karman is seeking both a hands-on technical leadership and individual contributor role. Successful candidates will do the engineering directly, set technical direction for the heat exchanger program, and build a small team as the company scales. Close collaboration with manufacturing is central to the role, as the designs must move from prototype to high-volume production.

Responsibilities

• Own the thermal and hydraulic design of CO₂ heat exchangers across the full operating envelope, including transcritical operation and the near-critical region, where thermophysical properties change rapidly.

• Evaluate and select exchanger technologies (PCHE, microchannel, plate-fin, brazed plate, and shell-and-tube) for each duty, weighing thermal performance, cost, size, weight, and manufacturability.

• Lead electronics cooling and cold plate design, including thermal and hydraulic performance, flow distribution, and integration with the facility cooling loop.

• Develop and validate rating and sizing models, and work with the system modeling team so that exchanger performance is carried accurately into cycle COP and facility efficiency.

• Lead the prototype-to-production process, including specifications, supplier selection, design reviews, test plans, and acceptance criteria.