A method and apparatus are disclosed herein for managing thermal dissipation in a receptacle assembly. In one embodiment, the receptacle assembly comprises a cage with a front face, a rear face, the front face having a plurality of ports; and a heat transfer unit having a thermal interface disposed with the cage, one or more heat transfer bars coupled, via openings in the cage, to sides of the thermal interface and are external to the cage, and a heat sink coupled to the one or more heat transfer bars, where the heat transfer unit is movable in a vertical direction in response to insertion of a module into one of the plurality of ports.