Thermo-Fluids Engineer

Role : Thermo-Fluids Engineer  

Department: Product  

Job type: Full time - On site 

Location: Eastern Bypass Rd, Ruai – Nairobi, Kenya 

About Octavia Carbon 

Octavia Carbon is the Global South’s first Direct Air Capture (DAC) company, dedicated to combating climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. We design and build low-cost DAC technology that leverages Kenya's geothermal energy, geology, and talent to radically accelerate DAC down the cost curve. Our mission is to reverse climate change by removing billions of tons of carbon dioxide from the air by 2050. 

Role Overview 

We are looking for a Thermo-Fluids Engineer to own the thermal and fluid performance of our reactor and airflow systems. You will work at the centre of the design loop: modelling airflow, pressure drop, heat transfer and energy use, validating those models against test data, and turning the results into design decisions that improve capture performance and reduce energy per tonne of CO₂. 

Key Responsibilities

Airflow and pressure-drop design 

• Design and optimise air distribution hardware (diffusers, plenums, nozzles, louvres and ducting) to achieve uniform flow across sorbent beds with minimum pressure loss. 

• Model flow through porous sorbent structures, including resistance characterisation, flow uniformity and suppression of recirculation and draft effects. 

• Size fans and blowers against system pressure-drop budgets, and
  identify the dominant loss contributors in the flow path. 
  

Heat transfer and thermal systems 

• Specify and size insulation systems for vessels operating under thermal cycling and vacuum 

• Design steam distribution and purging strategies, and
  eliminate dead zones where steam or air does not reach the sorbent. 

CFD and simulation 

• Set up, run and post-process CFD simulations (steady and transient, including conjugate heat transfer) and ensure meshes, boundary conditions and solver settings are defensible. 

• Establish simulation workflows and templates that other engineers can reuse, and document assumptions and limitations clearly. 

• Use hand calculations and spreadsheet models to sanity-check simulation results and to explore design space quickly. 

Test, instrumentation and validation 

• Plan and run experiments on pilot and test systems, and specify the instrumentation (pressure, temperature, flow and humidity sensors) needed to capture the right data. 

• Diagnose discrepancies between predicted and measured performance, including measurement errors such as probe orientation and sensor placement. 

• Analyse operating data from field systems to track performance degradation and feed lessons back into design. 

• Contribute to technical reports, design reviews and updates for leadership, investors and partners, communicating conclusions clearly and quantitatively. 

Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering   

• Strong grounding in fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer, and thermodynamics, with the ability to apply them to real hardware. 

• Hands-on experience with a commercial CFD package (e.g., Ansys Fluent or equivalent)
  is preferred but not a requirement to apply for the role. 

• Working knowledge of CAD (e.g. SolidWorks, Inventor, etc)  

• Proficiency in building engineering calculation tools in Excel or Python. 
• Clear technical writing and the ability to present findings concisely, with conclusions first. 

Applications must be submitted no later than Tuesday, 10th November 2026 by 11:59pm. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. 

Octavia Carbon offers a competitive salary, a route to company equity, strong growth opportunities and a high degree of professional freedom and responsibility in a fast-paced environment with a steep learning curve. 

Octavia Carbon is an equal opportunity employer and especially encourages applications from women, and individuals from diverse socioeconomic, religious and regional backgrounds.