Sr. Mechanical Engineer, Annapurna Labs, Artificial Intelligence Hardware

Annapurna Labs (our organization within AWS) designs silicon and software that accelerates innovation. Customers choose us to create cloud solutions that solve challenges that were unimaginable a short time agoeven yesterday. Our custom chips accelerators and software stacks enable us to take on technical challenges that have never been seen before and deliver results that help our customers change the world.

As a member of the Annapurna ML/AI Mechanical Thermal Engineering team youll own the end-to-end thermal and mechanical architecture for ML/AI accelerator platforms from initial concept through production deployment and ongoing fleet operations. Youll design mechanical and cooling solutions for some of the highest power-density silicon in the industry balancing performance reliability cost and operational efficiency at massive scale.

This is a technically challenging role requiring you to operate in ambiguity and at a fast pace. Youll collaborate across silicon design electrical engineering firmware manufacturing supply chain and operations teams to deliver platforms that power AWS ML/AI services at global scale.

Key job responsibilities
As a Cloud Hardware Development Engineer (Thermal/Mechanical) you will:

Platform Ownership

Own the complete thermal and mechanical design for ML/AI accelerator platforms from rack-level infrastructure down to chip packaging including mechanical packaging structural integrity and interconnect systems

Define thermal and mechanical design requirements establish design targets and drive cross-functional alignment that enables parallel development across hardware firmware and software teams

Deliver production platforms through the full lifecycle: concept design analysis prototyping validation manufacturing ramp and fleet operations

Thermal & Mechanical Design

Design and optimize cooling solutions (air and liquid) for high-power-density ML/AI accelerators

Develop detailed CFD models compact RC models and structural FEA for SoC/package thermal analysis and mechanical integrity

Design rack manifolds cold plates and data center liquid cooling interfaces for at-scale liquid-cooled deployments

Develop and validate mechanical structures including chassis and enclosures for manufacturability reliability and serviceability. Owning tolerance stack-up analysis GD&T and DFM for high-volume manufacturing methods (stamping bending extrusion die-casting)

Own mechanical design of integrating high-speed interconnect subsystems including cable cartridges backplane connectors and mating interfaces defining alignment gatherability insertion force and serviceability requirements

Perform structural FEA for shock vibration and transportation loads to ensure mechanical integrity across the product lifecycle

Fleet Operations & Reliability

Participate in on-call rotations monitoring fleet thermal telemetry for emergent issues

Perform root cause analysis of thermal and mechanical failures in production implementing firmware updates hardware modifications or operational procedure changes

Cross-Functional Leadership

Drive design standardization

Engage with ODMs and component suppliers to drive design optimization cost reduction and supply chain resilience

Lead design reviews mentor junior engineers and contribute to the technical direction of the broader organization

Influence chip packaging decisions and establish validation methodologies

About the team
In 2015 Annapurna Labs was acquired by Amazon Web Services (AWS). Since then we have developed products that power every layer of the AWS cloud including AWS Nitro Graviton processors and custom ML/AI accelerators Trainium for training and Inferentia for inference that enable customers to build and run generative AI applications at scale.

The ML/AI MTE team is part of the Annapurna ML/AI hardware development organization. We design and deliver the thermal and mechanical systems for every generation of custom ML/AI accelerator hardware from chip package through rack-level infrastructure. Our platforms operate at massive scale across AWS data centers globally with current programs including next-generation Trainium and Inferentia systems featuring liquid cooling at scale.

- BS degree in mechanical engineering or equivalent
- 7 years industry experience in Mechanical and Thermal design in electronics packaging
- Experience in thermal and performance measurements and characterization on SoCs Servers or related Systems
- 3 years of experience in SoC Thermal modelling and IC package transient thermal response
- Experience with chip package system mechanical & thermal design for air-cooled and liquid-cooled systems
- Experience with tolerance analysis (stack-up/GD&T) and sheet metal or precision-machined component design for electronics packaging
- Experience with production fleet support: telemetry analysis root cause analysis and defining mitigation strategies
- Experience leading cross-functional technical projects spanning silicon firmware mechanical and operations teams

- Knowledge of generic mechanical room infrastructure such as chillers cooler units and fan controls
- Experience in mentoring leading or managing more junior engineers
- Knowledge of SoC thermal/mechanical design methodology power modeling and thermal analysis techniques
- Tool familiarity: Ansys Icepak FloTherm Cadence Celsius PTC Creo and Solidworks
- Proficiency in 3D CAD modeling and engineering drawings per ASME Y14.5 (GD&T) standards
- Programming experience: Bash script Shell script Linux Python and Lua. Familiarity with working in a Linux environment
- Knowledge of various types of technologies used for heatsink solutions Thermal Interface Materials (TIMs) and liquid cooling technologies
- Knowledge of hardware and software based thermal/power management control algorithms
- Experience with liquid cooling system design: rack manifolds cold plates quick-disconnect fittings CDU integration
- Experience with mechanical design of high-density interconnect systems (cable cartridges blind-mate connectors backplane assemblies)
- Experience with high-power-density ML/AI accelerator or HPC thermal design
- Track record of driving cost optimization through vendor strategy second-sourcing or design-for-manufacturing improvements
- Familiarity with manufacturing processes: injection molding sheet metal fabrication die-casting and CNC machining including trade-offs between methods
- Experience with shock vibration and structural qualification testing per ISTA ASTM or equivalent standards

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status disability or other legally protected status.

Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees supervisors and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees supervisors and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal state and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct adverse and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies exercise sound judgment effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism and safeguard business operations and the Companys reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

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The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience qualifications and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical dental vision prescription Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans EAP Mental Health Support Medical Advice Line Flexible Spending Accounts Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage) 401(k) matching paid time off and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at CA Cupertino - 183000.00 - 247600.00 USD annually
USA TX Austin - 159200.00 - 215300.00 USD annually
USA WA Seattle - 159200.00 - 215300.00 USD annually