Deep-Tech Thermal Energy Storage
Senior Heat Exchanger Thermal Design Engineer
Corporate R&D Institute · 7+ years · Target experience: 8–15 years
Mission
Design heat exchangers that meet required heat duty and allowable pressure losses between high-temperature heat-transfer media and water, steam or air. Own the full flow from thermal design and performance guarantees to vendor coordination and performance verification.
Key Responsibilities
- Compare and select heat exchanger types, including Shell & Tube, Coil and Air Cooler
- Rate and size heat exchangers and determine heat-transfer area, velocity, pressure losses and fouling margins
- Review thermal performance considering fluid properties, phase changes, viscosity changes and abnormal operating conditions
- Prepare heat exchanger datasheets, thermal design calculations and performance guarantee conditions
- Define the scope of CFD reviews and incorporate flow distribution, pressure-loss and heat-transfer results into design
- Check consistency of vendor calculations and drawings and verify FAT, performance-test and commissioning results
Requirements
- A background in mechanical, chemical or energy engineering, or equivalent practical expertise
- 7+ years in industrial heat exchanger thermal design, rating and sizing
- Experience finalising specifications considering heat-transfer coefficients, pressure losses, fouling, materials and operating conditions together
- Experience leading vendor calculation, drawing and datasheet reviews and technical discussions
- Ability to independently document thermal performance decisions and design limitations
Preferred
- Heat exchanger design with HTRI, Aspen EDR or similar tools
- Experience with ANSYS Fluent, STAR-CCM+ or similar CFD tools
- Projects based on TEMA and ASME Section VIII
- Experience with high-viscosity fluids, high-temperature heat-transfer media, molten salt, steam generators or air-cooled heat exchangers
- Projects spanning fabrication, inspection, performance testing and site commissioning
About GIGAette
GIGAette is a KAIST spin-off deep-tech startup founded in 2023. We store industrial waste heat and renewable energy, then deliver heat, steam, chilled water and electricity at the temperatures industrial processes need.
Our core technology is IsoTES®, an isothermal thermal energy storage system. Instead of separate hot and cold tanks, a thermal boundary moves like a piston inside one tank to deliver heat at a constant temperature throughout discharge. Round-trip efficiency is over 95%.
Our headquarters, corporate R&D institute and demonstration site are in Jukdong, Daejeon. We are building two plants for different temperature ranges: a 3 MWh heat-transfer-oil plant for low- and medium-temperature waste heat, and a 0.7 MWh molten-salt plant at 550°C for high-temperature industries such as steel and aluminium. Core equipment completion is targeted for H2 2026, with full operation in early 2027.
We supplied a 1.5 MWh district-heating plant in Tsetserleg, Mongolia, verifying benefits for 188 people under KOICA CTS Seed 1. A follow-on Seed 2 project expands capacity to 6 MWh with KRW 700 million in funding and is now in local installation and commissioning. The system stores heat using entirely solar electricity to provide village heating. We are moving from proving the technology to supplying it and scaling up.
Why This Role Is Open
Why this role
Heat exchanger performance needs independent in-house judgement
IsoTES® output and efficiency depend directly on heat exchanger performance. We need an engineer who can independently check vendor proposals and set performance guarantee conditions considering operating conditions and pressure losses.
Your impact
Your thermal design basis shapes the performance of the next plant
Reusable datasheets and review procedures speed up vendor comparison and technical discussions. Performance-test results feed into design margins and guarantee conditions for the next plant.
What you get
Follow thermal design through to measured performance
Detailed pressure-boundary mechanical design and statutory sign-off are handled by the plant mechanical engineer, fabricators and inspection bodies. You independently lead in-house decisions on thermal performance and performance guarantees.
Funding secured
Key Milestones
2023.05
GIGAette incorporated as a KAIST faculty startup
2024.04
KOICA CTS Seed 1 started — Tsetserleg district-heating demonstration; KRW 300 million government support
2025.04
Tsetserleg demonstration plant opened — 1.5 MWh thermal storage; 188 direct beneficiaries
2025.08
First seed investment — KRW 900 million; KRW 900 million cumulative
2025.09
Deep-Tech TIPS selected — IsoTES® development and demonstration R&D; KRW 1.5 billion government support
2025.10
KOICA CTS Seed 2 selected — notified on 27 October; KRW 700 million government support
2025.12
KOICA CTS Seed 2 started on 10 December — expanding Tsetserleg district heating
2026.04
Follow-on seed investment — KRW 700 million; KRW 1.6 billion cumulative
2026.04
Eco Startup selected — Ministry of Environment carbon reduction and CCUS; KRW 80 million government support
2026.05
KODIT Start-up NEST selected — 19th cohort, deep-tech track; accelerator with no direct grant
2026.08
Startup City Project selected — Daejeon regional startup package; KRW 290 million government support
2026.08
Follow-on seed investment — KRW 500 million; KRW 2.1 billion cumulative
2026.09
Scale-up TIPS selected — MW-scale demonstration; approximately KRW 2 billion government support
2026.09
Climate-tech top innovation award at Modu’s Challenge — startup league winner; KRW 40 million prize
Current projects
Current openings
We are hiring for these roles to build our demonstration plants. If your qualifications overlap, apply to the closest match; we can discuss a better fit during review.
Working Conditions
How to Apply
Or apply by email: hr@gigaette.com
Hiring Process
Total: about 3 weeks · Application review results are communicated individually after receipt