Senior R&D Engineer, Heating & Cooling Equipment

Major Duties & Responsibilities:

• Lead R&D projects (NTI/NPI) involving fluid machines and thermal system components such as pressure exchangers, compressors, heat exchangers, valves, centrifugal and reciprocating pumps, turbines, turbochargers etc. for HVACR, Water & Wastewater applications.
• Lead / participate in the entire development cycle including 1-D sizing (mechanical, thermal & hydraulic), engineering analyses, validation test rig development, experimental validation & release to manufacturing.
• Run detailed thermodynamic analyses to optimize the vapor compression cycle for highest coefficient of performance 
• Design components and assemblies and drive the development of detailed engineering drawings with appropriate GD&T while optimizing for manufacturability & quality.
• Perform stress and deflection analysis, rotor dynamics, and vibration analysis.
• Leverage commercial tools such as SolidWorks for CAD, MatLab / SimScape / Modelica and Python for 1-D/2-D analysis, ANSYS Mechanical for structural analysis, CFX/Fluent for hydraulic flow path design optimization etc.
• Design prototype and component validation test rigs, integrate sensors, controls, data acquisition hardware/software (LabVIEW based) to obtain high quality data, perform validation testing in the lab and support pilot/beta testing at remote field sites.
• Develop validation test plans and work closely with testing team to confirm and validate model predictions. Use commercial (e.g. Matlab) and open-source (e.g. Python) software to process test data and draw physics based insights and inputs for models & optimization.
• Work closely with the Product Engineering, Testing, Project Management Office, Manufacturing, Quality Control & Business Units to successfully deliver on NPI/NTI projects.
• Follow ERI’s internal technology and development processes (PDLCM/RDF) and drive rigorous design reviews / documentation at each phase.
• Provide technical support to business units, manufacturing, project engineering and marketing teams as needed.
• Other duties & projects as assigned.

Skills & Requirements:

• Master’s degree or higher in Mechanical Engineering with concentration in thermal systems/ refrigeration / HVACR / Energy systems or similar field. 
• 5+ years of relevant industry experience required.
• Proficiency with commercial CAD packages such as SolidWorks is required.
• Experience with mechanical design, and/or selection, validation of rotodynamic & reciprocating fluid machines such as compressors, pumps, turbines, is required.
• Hands on experience with assembly, testing and experimentation, sensors/transducers (to measure pressure, temperature, flow rate, vibration, position, pressure pulsations, noise etc.), controls/data acquisition, data collection languages (e.g. LabVIEW) is required.
• Knowledge of HVACR fundamentals required. Familiarity with trans-critical refrigeration or heat pump systems using R744 (CO2) highly desirable.
• Proficiency in steady state and transient reduced-order, 1D modeling of single phase and multi-phase flows using commercial tools such as Simulink / SimScape, Modelica, GT-Suite or equivalent is highly desirable.
• Proficiency in multi-phase CFD analysis of rotating equipment using ANSYS CFX/Fluent or Star CCM+ would be a plus.
• Familiarity with design of high pressure mechanical systems, developing manufacturing drawings, GD&T, stack-up analysis, RCA, DFMEA, HAZOP desirable.
• Familiarity with engineering standards such as ASHRAE / AHRI / UL / PED / ASME BPVC / API / ANSI / NFPA etc. is a plus.
• Must possess a demonstrated ability to work/lead in a team environment, under pressure, manage multiple tasks, and be goal oriented.
• Ability to oversee and execute on assigned projects from start to completion in a highly analytical, detailed and precise manner.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Position may require up to 10% travel.