thermal engineer
Thermal engineers design systems which provide heating or cooling, using thermodynamics, that transfer heat or energy through liquids and gases. They also construct these systems, and perform test to ensure proper functionality.
thermal engineer thermal engineers design systems which provide heating or cooling, using thermodynamics, that transfer heat or energy through liquids and gases. They also construct these systems, and perform test to ensure proper functionality. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include sustainable technologies, engineering principles, technical drawings, engineering processes, thermodynamics.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £48,776 a year for Engineering professionals n.e.c. (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
Middle half of full-time jobs: £39,653 to £61,717 a year
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 2129). ONS rates this estimate precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Professionals” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only thermal engineer, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 2. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
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Top skills
Frequently asked questions
What does thermal engineer do?
Thermal engineers design systems which provide heating or cooling, using thermodynamics, that transfer heat or energy through liquids and gases. They also construct these systems, and perform test to ensure proper functionality.
What skills does thermal engineer need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include sustainable technologies, engineering principles, technical drawings, engineering processes, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace thermal engineer?
Our AI-durability model gives thermal engineer a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.