Nikola Vranjic
Director/Co-founder
Experience
Director/Co-founder
thermIT consulting
- providing expertise in thermal analysis and thermal management in aerospace, EV automotive, energy, biomedical and biotech
- cooling system design
- energy storage design
- cryo-preservation solutions
- thermal analysis
- notable clients (Lilium, X-therma, AIB)
Thermal engineer (remote contractor)
Lilium
- Propulsion system cooling development and thermal integration of engine and propulsion vectoring systems (PVS)
- PVS thermal management achieved with air cooling and without additional active components resulting in weight reduction and increased reliability
- Conceptual studies and trade-offs for electric engine cooling concept
- Technical go-to person for propulsion vectoring system thermals
- Methods used: hand calculations, 1D, 3D CFD analysis
- Test requests, test planning and test support
- Thermal validation on open bench servo and the servo control units
- Released 3 technical description specification documents and multiple engineering notes
- Liaised with the equipment suppliers
Thermal Team Lead
Rimac Automobili
- Increased the team from 2 to 10 people
- Lead 1D and CFD activities (method development and validation)
- Introduced advanced CFD modeling (conjugate heat transfer for powertrain and battery thermal management, multi-phase flows in filling and air entrapment issues)
- Organizing and distributing work according to Agile methodology, reviewed the work from colleagues spread across multiple projects (usually 5-10 projects at the time)
- People development, business continuity and process development
- Coordinated and managed expectations from internal and external stakeholders (Rimac Nevera, Porsche, Ferrari, AMG, ARB, Hyundai, Koenigsegg, etc.)
CFD Engineer
Rimac Automobili
- Aerodynamic and thermal modeling (CFD, Conjugate Heat Transfer, 1D, spreadsheets)
- Cooling concept design
- Feasibility studies for internal and external customers
- Electric powertrain (EM, Inverter, gearbox) cooling and lubrication
- EV battery and power electronics cooling
- Supporting the development of Rimac C_Two, Porsche, Hyundai, and other established OEMs in electrifying their vehicles
Gas Turbine Combustor Cooling Engineer
General Electric
- Hot path component cooling design (key achievement: lead inventor of patented 3D printed burner front plate, resulted in increase in efficiency, decrease in manufacturing cost and pollution, implemented and selling)
- Aerodynamic and thermal modeling (CFD, FEM, 1D)
- Additive manufacturing (3D printing) design for combustor and turbine (GT13 E2, 7FA.05)
- Test definition and test rig data evaluation (GT36, GT26 HE)
- Supported 9HA.02, 7FA.05, GT36, GT26, GT13 (inlet, combustor cooling, turbine cooling, diffuser aerodynamics and thermal stress analysis)
- Export control tagger
- Worked as a part of international teams
Industries Experience
See where this freelancer has spent most of their professional time. Longer bars indicate deeper hands-on experience, while shorter ones reflect targeted or project-based work.
Experienced in Automotive (7 years), Energy (7 years), and Aerospace and Defense (4.5 years).
Business Areas Experience
The graph below provides a cumulative view of the freelancer's experience across multiple business areas, calculated from completed and active engagements. It highlights the areas where the freelancer has most frequently contributed to planning, execution, and delivery of business outcomes.
Experienced in Product Development (11 years), Research and Development (9 years), Quality Assurance (3.5 years), and Project Management (2.5 years).
Summary
Mechanical engineer with a decade of professional experience as a thermal and simulation engineer in multidisciplinary teams developing high-end products in industry leading and disruptive technology companies.
Especially skilled at first principles thinking, cooling concept design, thermal calculations, aerodynamic and heat transfer analyses.
Demonstrated ability to build competencies and a team from ground-up. The go-to person for thermal behavior of the systems, validation activities and cross-disciplinary technical discussions.
Experience in aerospace, power generation and automotive.
Skills
Analytical Thinking
Thinking From First Principles
Thermodynamics
Fluid Dynamics
Cfd (Fluent, Openfoam, Cfx, Starccm+, Matlab Simscape)
Effective Communication Skills
Ability To Work Under Pressure
Cfd Tools: Ansys Fluent, Openfoam, Cfx, Starccm+, Icem, Fluent Meshing, Centaur
Fem: Ansys Mechanical (Beginner)
Cad: Catia V5, Solidworks, Spaceclaim
1d Tools And Scripting: Matlab Simscape, Simulink, Flowmaster, Compass, Basic Python Scripting
Languages
Education
University of Zagreb, FAMENA
Master of Mechanical Engineering, Energy Engineering · Mechanical Engineering · Zagreb, Croatia · Magna cum Laude
Profile
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