---
title: 'Thermodynamics Engineer at Drogue'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/thermodynamics-engineer-drogue-washington-y5ctsz4scd0b'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-09'
---

# Thermodynamics Engineer at Drogue

- **Company:** Drogue
- **Location:** Washington, DC
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-04-24
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-09
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/drogue/7ebf9fdf-290c-4de5-b07a-e01098154626

## Job description

Drogue is building the world's first offshore floating data centers. We're a small team tackling a massive, first-of-its-kind engineering challenge. If you thrive in ambiguity, love hard problems, and want to build something that's never been built before — keep reading.

We're not putting servers on a barge. We're engineering a new class of ocean-deployed infrastructure that generates its own power, recovers its own waste heat, stays on station in severe weather, and runs autonomously. This requires a mix of first principles engineering and existing technology from other industries.

This is the role that makes our economics work. As a Thermodynamics Engineer you’ll model and simulate the thermal architecture of the entire platform: from ocean thermal to waste heat recovery to turn rejected compute heat back into usable power. The ocean is both our heat sink and our energy source, and you'll be in charge of choosing the best ways to optimize out system.

Responsibilities:

- Design and optimize ocean thermal energy systems that leverage seawater temperature differentials for power generation
- Architect waste heat recovery systems, capturing thermal output from high-density compute and recovering it via ORC
- Own working fluid selection, thermodynamic cycle optimization, turbine performance, and heat exchanger design
- Build and validate thermal models from first principles through empirical testing; own the instrumentation strategy that makes those models trustworthy

Qualifications:

- B.S./M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or closely related field with a strong thermodynamics focus
- Direct experience designing, building, and testing thermal energy systems and/or power plants: heat pumps, ORC, waste heat recovery, enhanced geothermal, ocean thermal, or similar
- Ability to work across disciplines and think at the full-system level, not just the component level

This role is based in Washington, D.C. and will include some time at sea. We offer generous relocation assistance for candidates across the US. We pay our employees competitive salaries based on level of experience and offer meaningful equity in a fast growing company. Apply below, or reach out at jobs@drogue.com with questions.

## About Drogue

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Drogue is building the world’s first offshore floating data centers — autonomous, ocean-deployed infrastructure that generates its own power and recovers waste heat.
- **Entity Type**: Private (early-stage startup, pre‑revenue)
- **Headquarters**: Washington, D.C., United States
- **Founded**: Not publicly available
- **Founders**: Not publicly available

## Core Business
- **Industry**: Marine infrastructure, data center services, renewable energy systems.
- **Target Customers**: Hyperscalers and enterprises needing sustainable, secure, and geographically distributed compute capacity.
- **Mission**: To enable next-generation cloud and AI workloads by deploying high‑density data centers on the ocean that are self‑powered, resilient, and autonomous.

## Products & Services
- **Offshore Floating Data Center**: A self‑contained platform that houses high‑density compute racks, generates electricity via ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), and recovers waste heat through organic Rankine cycle (ORC) systems. The platform is designed to withstand severe weather and operate autonomously at sea.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available
- **Key Metric**: Total funding not disclosed; the company offers competitive salaries and meaningful equity, suggesting a well‑capitalized early stage.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not publicly available
- **Growth Signals**: Actively hiring founding‑level engineers (Simulation, Thermodynamics, Systems, Mechanical, Naval Architecture) for a zero‑to‑one build; roles require deep maritime experience and offer relocation to Washington, D.C.

## Competitive Advantages
- **First‑of‑its‑kind design** that integrates energy generation (OTEC) with waste‑heat recovery, turning a traditional cost center (cooling) into a power source.
- **Autonomous operation** and severe‑weather station‑keeping, built from first principles rather than repurposed barges.
- **Small elite team** with a “zero‑to‑one” mindset, able to move fast without legacy tooling.

## Strategic Focus
- Complete design and simulation of the full platform, then move to prototype and deployment.
- Recruit senior cross‑disciplinary engineers who can build from scratch and operate at sea.
- Prove the economic and environmental case for ocean‑based data centers by leveraging temperature differentials and waste heat reclamation.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Values “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast,” “Called to the Sea,” “Only entropy is easy,” “Avoid complexity,” and “Quiet confidence.” Emphasis on autonomy, curiosity, and first‑principles thinking.
- **Work model**: On‑site in Washington, D.C., with required time at sea. Generous relocation assistance offered.
- **Compensation**: Competitive salary and meaningful equity; roles estimate ~$180,000/year for founding engineers.
- **Engineering culture**: High‑ownership roles; you build the simulation, thermal, or mechanical backbone from scratch. No bureaucracy — just hard problems.

## Sources
1. [joinrise.co – Founding Simulation Engineer job description](https://joinrise.co/drogue/founding-simulation-engineer-ecdp)
2. [bebee.com – Drogue company jobs page](https://bebee.com/us/companies/drogue)
3. [bebee.com – Founding Thermodynamics Engineer job posting](https://bebee.com/us/jobs/founding-thermodynamics-engineer-drogue-washington-dc--theirstack-670311819)

## Other roles at Drogue

- [General Athlete: Master of None](https://feeny.ai/job/general-athlete-master-of-none-drogue-washington-fc8ds9qbtm38) — Washington, DC
- [Ocean Engineer / Naval Architect](https://feeny.ai/job/ocean-engineer-naval-architect-drogue-washington-e96de2y7vkvx) — Washington, DC
- [Systems Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/systems-engineer-drogue-washington-572wxkr2gaxf) — Washington, DC
- [Simulation Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/simulation-engineer-drogue-washington-8a5dtdjpnmj7) — Washington, DC
- [Mechanical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-engineer-drogue-washington-wsnc9w9na1hc) — Washington, DC