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Etched is building custom silicon and systems for frontier AI inference. This role owns the end-to-end manufacturing engineering for thermal management components—specifically liquid cold plates and manifolds—from new product introduction through high-volume production scaling.
You will be the technical authority on cold plate fabrication processes including skiving, vacuum brazing, friction stir welding, diffusion bonding, gun drilling, and extrusion-based channel formation. Working hands-on with contract manufacturers and internal hardware, thermal, and systems teams, you'll ensure liquid cooling solutions meet the demanding performance, quality, and reliability requirements of AI infrastructure.
Key responsibilities include: developing and optimizing cold plate fabrication processes; defining process parameters, controls, and acceptance criteria; partnering with design teams on DFx for liquid cooling systems; leading process qualification and first-article inspection at supplier sites; owning PFMEA and control plan documentation; driving root cause analysis for manufacturing defects (leaks, delamination, warpage, dimensional non-conformance); evaluating and qualifying new suppliers and manufacturing technologies; defining and monitoring KPIs (yield, leak rate, flatness, cycle time, cost); collaborating on production line integration of pressure, flow, and thermal testing; supporting field failure analysis; building manufacturing dashboards; and driving continuous improvement through DOEs and process optimization.
Required: 7+ years in manufacturing or process engineering with direct hands-on experience producing liquid cold plates or heat exchangers. Demonstrated expertise in at least two cold plate fabrication processes. Strong understanding of aluminum and copper alloy properties, braze alloy selection, and metallurgical failure modes. Experience qualifying manufacturers and running process capability studies (Cpk, GR&R). Hands-on experience with cold plate inspection and test methods (helium leak testing, hydrostatic pressure testing, flow characterization, flatness measurement). DFM/DFY review experience. Track record of root cause analysis and corrective action for production defects. Direct experience with contract manufacturers and thermal suppliers, preferably in Asia. Familiarity with system-level liquid cooling architectures and how manufacturing choices affect performance. Strong technical documentation skills (PFMEA, control plans, work instructions, FAI reports). Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Manufacturing Engineering, or related field. Prior experience in server, HPC, datacenter, or power electronics thermal management strongly preferred.
Etched is a fully in-person team in San Jose (Santana Row), backed by hundreds of millions from top-tier investors and staffed by leading engineers. The company co-designs chips, racks, software, and manufacturing to deliver best-in-class throughput and latency for AI inference workloads.
