Sr. Development Engineer - Data Center Chillers

Join the world's largest HVAC company, named by Forbes as one of America's Best-In-State Employers 2025!

Daikin Applied is seeking a Senior Development Engineer. The Senior Development Engineer will lead the development of next-generation commercial HVAC products for our data center customers. This role is ideal for engineers with experience in HVAC, refrigeration, thermal systems, or new product development who want technical ownership of complex commercial HVAC equipment from concept, design, validation, and certification through production launch.

As a Senior Development Engineer, you will serve as the technical lead for major systems and subsystems, working across Mechanical, Controls, Electrical, Manufacturing, Quality, and Supply Chain teams to deliver innovative, reliable, and cost-effective solutions. You will play a key role in advancing new technologies, improving product performance, and mentoring engineers while helping shape the future of commercial HVAC systems. Come be a part of an exciting journey at Daikin Applied, where innovation and excellence drive our every endeavor!

Location: Staunton, VA or Plymouth, MN – Hybrid

Your responsibilities:

• Develop electro-mechanical products of significant complexity, supporting program quality, cost, and schedule

• Develop test plans and perform testing of components, sub-systems, and total systems, supporting performance, reliability, and industry certification

• Work cross-functionally with groups such as design, test, manufacturing, sales, and supply chain to ensure product design meets business needs

• Drive the execution of the new product development phase-gate process, demonstrating appropriate design maturity and growth across various milestones

• Have technical ownership of sub-system or system designs

• Act as technical lead for programs

• Drives innovation around tools and product design

Your Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent

• 8+ years of relevant experience

• Strong understanding of mechanical concepts such as thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, structures, materials

• Hands-on experience testing electro-mechanical equipment

• Ability to problem solve within engineering and technical concepts

• Able to effectively communicate technical information to an audience in a presentation setting

• Capabilities with PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) tools

• Knowledge of cross-functional groups such as Controls, Electrical Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Design, Quality, etc.

• Understanding of New Product Development processes

• Knowledge of Lean principles

• Ability to translate product requirements into engineering concepts

• Knowledge of engineering tools and analysis methods such as DOE, DFMEA, DVP&R

• Project Management capabilities; ability to estimate work tasks and support project planning activities

• Knowledge of vapor compression cycle

• Capabilities in modeling/simulation tools such as MATLAB, ANSYS, VapCyc, etc

• Knowledge of systems engineering and architecture

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent

Your Benefits: 

Daikin Applied offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements:  

• Multiple medical insurance plan options + dental and vision insurance   

• 401K retirement plan with employer contributions matching 100% of the first 3% of employee contributions and 50% on the next 2% of employee contributions 

• Company provided life insurance + optional employee-paid voluntary life insurance, dependent life coverage, and voluntary accident coverage 

• Short-term and long-term disability  

• 3 weeks of paid time off for new employees + 11 company-paid holidays 

• Vacation accrues on a monthly basis, unless applicable federal, state, and local law requires a faster accrual 

• Paid sick time in accordance with the federal, state, and local law  

• Paid parental leave and tuition reimbursement after 6 months of continuous service 

Work visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

The typical annual base salary for this position ranges from $90,400-188,700 + 10% bonus in Virginia and Minnesota. The range displayed represents the pay range for all positions in the job grade which this position falls. Individual base pay will depend on a wide range of factors including your skills, qualifications, experience, and location.

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Employment is contingent upon successful completion of pre-employment requirements, including verification of employment history, education, background screening, and drug testing where permitted by law. Safety-sensitive positions may require cannabis (marijuana) testing. All testing and employment decisions will comply with applicable federal, state, and local laws.