Principal Mechanical Engineer - CA, San Jose, United States
Originally posted 5 August 2026 by the employer. Relisted by the employer on 13 October 2026.
Join AMD's advanced packaging organization to shape the mechanical architecture of high-performance computing, AI, and semiconductor products.
About the role
As a Principal Mechanical Engineer, you will lead the development of advanced package-board-system mechanical solutions spanning concept definition, mechanical design, simulation, qualification, and manufacturing ramp. This role influences product direction and solves complex product challenges from package, server, and rack systems.
What you'll do
- Perform and lead thermal-mechanical architecture and solution strategy for advanced semiconductor packaging solutions from SoC to system.
- Perform and drive thermal-mechanical design, thermo-mechanical analysis, and integrated solution development from concept through production.
- Perform and guide stress, warpage, reliability, and package-board interaction modeling using FEA tools.
- Partner with silicon, packaging, thermal, reliability, manufacturing, and supplier teams to optimize product performance and manufacturability.
- Drive Design for Manufacturability, Design for Assembly, tolerance analysis, FMEA, DVP&R, ECO governance, BOM cost review, and supplier management.
- Conduct and lead qualification, failure analysis, and root-cause investigations across NPI and production.
- Establish and control package mechanical specifications, design guidelines, product CAD models, simulation reports, assembly instructions, qualification documentation, and technical reports.
What you'll need
- MS or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Applied Mechanics, or a related technical field.
- Technical depth of a principal-level individual contributor.
- Judgment as a senior engineering leader.
- Hands-on capability to drive product solution design, team reviews, supplier engagement, and problem resolution from concept through NPI, qualification, and production ramp.
- Experience with advanced CAD design and thermal-mechanical FEA modeling tools.
Nice to have
- Hands-on expertise with Creo, SolidWorks, ANSYS Mechanical, and assembly tolerance analysis.
- Mechanical design skills of the package, PCB, system-level robust solution with high-power chip cooling integration.
- Track record in architecting and delivering advanced cooling solutions, including heatsinks, vapor chambers, heat pipes, and liquid cold plates, from concept and feasibility through DFM, prototyping, qualification, and high-volume manufacturing (HVM).
- Demonstrated experience with cooling solution manufacturing processes and technologies, including machining, brazing, soldering, skiving, extrusion, vapor chamber fabrication, cold plate manufacturing, assembly, process qualification, yield improvement, and supplier ramp to volume production.
- Technical leadership in complex semiconductor product development environments.
- Deep knowledge of thermo-mechanical reliability, stress analysis, warpage, and package-board interaction, including correlating simulations with DIC, shadow moiré, warpage metrology, strain gauges, thermal cycling data, cross-section analysis, acoustic microscopy, and failure analysis results.
- Experience working with OSATs, foundries, substrate suppliers, and high-volume cooling solution manufacturing partners.
This role has been open 74 days — well above the 51-day median for Hardware Systems Engineering roles.
Hardware Systems Engineering · AI ML Hardware
|
Open roles in category
963
|
Median days open
51 d
|
Median salary
$156k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, and who else is hiring
| Metric | AMD | All employers we track in this specialty (963 roles · 102 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 47 | 963 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 406 | 6118 · 145 employers |
| Median days open | 50 d | 51 d (−1 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $156k |
Who's hiring in this category
- Intel Corporation · 73 open roles · median 36 d
- KLA Corporation · 65 open roles · median 44 d
- Teradyne · 57 open roles · median 30 d
- NVIDIA · 51 open roles · median 68 d
- Applied Materials · 50 open roles · median 66 d
- AMD (this employer) · 47 open roles · median 50 d
How we counted: 963 open Hardware Systems Engineering (AI ML Hardware) roles from 102 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 18 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there — it is counted in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family row. Figures refresh nightly.