Principal Thermal-Mechanical Engineer- IMEC, Lueven, Belgium

Role overview A principal-level thermal-mechanical engineer is needed to serve as the senior technical authority for thermo-mechanical simulation work embedded with a leading European semiconductor research center in Leuven, Belgium. The role focuses on applying and championing an AI-assisted physics simulation platform across advanced packaging and device design, while guiding methodology, mentoring engineers, and translating field insights back into product improvements. It is a hybrid customer-facing technical leadership position, sitting at the intersection of deep simulation science, applied semiconductor engineering, and pre-sales engagement.

Responsibilities - Act as the senior technical authority on thermal and thermo-mechanical simulation, setting analysis methodology, defining best practices, and mentoring engineers across partner teams. - Drive hands-on simulation engagements, owning setup, executing test cases on leading-edge devices and packages, and interpreting results to validate platform performance. - Partner with commercial teams on proof-of-concept work and in-depth technical discussions with prospective semiconductor customers across Europe. - Identify pain points and workflow gaps in real engineering practice, and channel them into concrete product improvements with internal product and engineering groups. - Deliver technical training sessions and workshops that help engineering teams integrate the platform into their existing simulation workflows. - Represent the platform at industry conferences and semiconductor events through live demonstrations, technical talks, and customer engagement. - Track industry trends and competitive simulation tools, and articulate the platform's differentiators credibly to expert audiences.

Requirements - Degree in mechanical, electrical, or a closely related engineering discipline. - Hands-on familiarity with semiconductor packaging, advanced packaging, or foundry processes, including topics such as chip and wafer warpage, stress evolution, and 2.5D/3D integration. - 15+ years of practical experience in thermal management, mechanical warpage, stress, and reliability analysis using commercial simulation packages such as Ansys, Abaqus, LS-DYNA, Cadence, or similar. - Scripting proficiency in Python or C++ for automation, post-processing, and workflow integration. - Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with prior managerial or leadership experience. - Prior customer-facing experience and the ability to explain complex simulation results clearly to mixed technical and business audiences.

Nice to have - Experience in pre-sales, technical sales, or customer-facing engineering roles within EDA or simulation software. - Ability to rapidly learn and adapt to physics-based and AI-assisted design workflows. - Background commercializing technical software into semiconductor and electronics companies.

Benefits and work setup - On-site presence several days per week at a partner research center in Leuven, Belgium, with remote collaboration alongside distributed product, engineering, and sales teams. - Moderate travel primarily across continental Europe, with occasional intercontinental travel for collaboration. - Opportunity to work at the intersection of advanced AI, real-world engineering, and customer success within a fast-moving startup environment alongside experienced engineers and researchers.