Founding Engineer

Apply to be on our founding engineering team. ThermaLabs is a startup founded by an IVY League entrepreneur.

We're building clothing that keeps people cool while they work in extreme heat. We're looking for the engineers who'll build the first one with us. Applying for the job includes the BREEZE Engineering Challenge, a three-week design competition over the winter break. We don't want to hire anyone off a CV alone, so this is how we get to know you. You can apply on your own or with friends, in a team of up to 8.

You'll have 3 weeks to design (on paper/computer) a jacket that cools people down in extreme heat. You will have to explain how it works, how it would be built, and prove the maths/physics behind it. How much it would theoretically cost to build does not matter as long as it is realistic.

Prize: a $5,000 design prize, and a job on our founding engineering team: $40 an hour + Equity for students, from $90,000 a year + Equity for graduates.

Deadline: 6 December 2026

Who can apply: anyone 18 or over, from anywhere apart from countries under sanctions: undergraduates, master's and PhD students, graduates and engineers who already work.

Where: remote (ThermaLabs is based in Abu Dhabi, UAE), plus 2 to 4 weeks together in one place in summer

Hours: full time for graduates; part time for students, roughly 20 hours a week during term

Apply: https://thermalabs.io/challenge/apply/

Pay and equity will be agreed in writing when we hire. Hires are made through THREE EIGHT SIX, which backs ThermaLabs. Anything you make for the competition is handed over to ThermaLabs when you sign the entry agreement, and if a patent is filed on your idea, you're named on it as an inventor.