R&D Senior Engineer

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This Position reports to:

Your role and responsibilities

In this role, you will have the opportunity to lead advanced simulation and design validation efforts for Outdoor Medium Voltage (MV) Switchgear and Compact Secondary Substations (CSS). You will be responsible for evaluating and mitigating the thermal and mechanical impacts of self-heating, solar load, extreme humidity, highly corrosive environments, and high-energy internal arc events.

The work model for the role is: #Li-Onsite

This role is contributing to the Electrification business in Distribution Solution division at Nashik, India.

You will be mainly accountable for:

• Perform advanced thermal design, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and heat transfer simulations for outdoor medium-voltage (MV) switchgear and Compact Secondary Substations (CSS) to ensure reliable thermal performance under varying operating conditions.
• Conduct HVAC capacity calculations, thermal load estimations, and airflow optimization to maintain optimal operating temperatures for sensitive electronics and power equipment under extreme ambient conditions.
• Analyze solar radiation absorption, shading effects, humidity, and transient thermal behavior to evaluate environmental impacts on outdoor enclosures and ensure reliable operation in harsh climatic conditions.
• Perform structural finite element analysis (FEA) to assess mechanical strength, deformation, stress distribution, and structural integrity of outdoor enclosures under operational loads and high-energy internal arc events.
• Translate simulation results into actionable design improvements for new product platforms and continuous product development. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to prototype, test, and validate thermal performance, temperature rise, environmental resistance, and mechanical integrity in accredited laboratories.
• Design and model mechanical components, outdoor sheet metal enclosures, HVAC mounting arrangements, and sealing assemblies using SolidWorks. Prepare detailed 2D manufacturing drawings, GD&T specifications, bills of materials (BOM), and technical procurement specifications while identifying opportunities to improve product reliability, safety, performance, and compliance with applicable industry standards.

Qualifications for the role

• Master’s or Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Thermal Engineering, Applied Mechanics or a related discipline from a recognized institution.
• Minimum 14 to 18 years of R&D experience in mechanical design, thermal engineering, and simulation, preferably in electrical power equipment or medium-voltage switchgear.
• Deep expertise in thermal simulations, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), heat transfer analysis, HVAC calculations, environmental impact modeling (solar radiation and humidity), and structural finite element analysis (FEA).
• Proven experience in thermal management, environmental performance assessment, and mechanical design validation of outdoor medium-voltage switchgear and Compact Secondary Substations (CSS), preferably under extreme climatic and operating conditions.
• Strong capability to negotiate and finalize technical specifications, engineering trade-offs, and customization requirements with HVAC suppliers, while ensuring performance, reliability, cost-effectiveness, and compliance with applicable standards.
• Proficiency in SolidWorks 3D modeling, 2D manufacturing drawings, GD&T, and engineering documentation, with experience in prototype development, laboratory testing, design validation, and cross-functional collaboration within R&D environments.

More about us

ABB's Distribution Solutions Division facilitates the efficient and reliable distribution, protection and control of power by improving electric power quality while strengthening the resilience of the grid. The Division offers segment-specific products and solutions that largely serve utilities, industry and infrastructure segments, often providing the requisite medium-voltage link between high-voltage transmission systems and low-voltage users. With ABB Ability™ enabled connected solutions at its core, the offering includes medium-voltage air- and gas-insulated switchgear (1 to 66 kilovolts), indoor and outdoor circuit breakers, reclosers, fuses, contactors, relays, instrument transformers, sensors, motor control centers, as well as low-voltage switchgear for the ANSI standard markets.

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