Role Overview
We are seeking a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer to design and deliver rugged mechanical systems for advanced embedded electronics and high-reliability platforms.
This is a hands-on product-development role covering electronic packaging, enclosure and chassis design, thermal management, structural design, ruggedization, electromechanical integration, prototyping, environmental qualification, and production release.
The successful candidate will own mechanical designs from initial concept and architecture through detailed design, qualification, manufacturing, and production, working closely with hardware, PCB, RF, systems, manufacturing, and other engineering disciplines.
Key Responsibilities
Mechanical Design & Electronic Packaging
- Design rugged enclosures, chassis, assemblies, and mechanical structures for embedded electronic systems.
- Own mechanical development from concept and system architecture through detailed design, prototyping, qualification, and production release.
- Integrate PCBs, compute modules, RF modules, antennas, batteries, sensors, cameras, connectors, cable assemblies, and thermal solutions.
- Optimize designs for SWaP-C, structural integrity, reliability, serviceability, and harsh-environment operation.
- Define PCB outlines, mounting locations, keep-outs, connector positions, mechanical stack-ups, and interfaces in collaboration with hardware and PCB engineers.
CAD, GD&T & Detailed Design
- Create detailed 3D CAD models and 2D manufacturing drawings using tools such as Creo, SolidWorks, or equivalent.
- Apply GD&T, tolerance analysis, tolerance stack-ups, fits, fasteners, and mechanical interface control.
- Conduct detailed design reviews and identify potential tolerance, structural, sealing, assembly, and reliability risks before release.
- Maintain accurate design documentation and configuration throughout the product lifecycle.
Thermal & Structural Engineering
- Develop passive and conduction-cooling solutions for high-performance embedded electronics.
- Design and integrate heatsinks, heat spreaders, thermal interface materials, and airflow solutions.
- Address thermal constraints in compact systems with limited airflow and high-power electronics.
- Develop mechanical solutions capable of meeting demanding shock, vibration, mounting, and structural requirements.
- Support thermal and structural analysis, testing, correlation, and design optimization.
Ruggedization & Environmental Qualification
- Design systems for temperature extremes, vibration, mechanical shock, humidity, dust, water ingress, corrosion, and mechanical impact.
- Develop IP-rated enclosures, sealing methods, rugged mounting solutions, and environmental protection strategies.
- Support qualification against MIL-STD-810 and relevant IP requirements.
- Support mechanical aspects of EMI/EMC integration, including considerations associated with standards such as MIL-STD-461 or equivalent.
- Participate in thermal, vibration, shock, ingress, and environmental testing, including root-cause analysis and corrective redesign following failures.
Materials & Manufacturing
- Select appropriate materials and manufacturing processes including aluminum, stainless steel, engineering plastics, elastomers, CNC machining, sheet metal, molding, and additive manufacturing.
- Apply DFM/DFA principles covering manufacturing, assembly, inspection, serviceability, rework, cost, and production scalability.
- Support prototype builds and manufacturing transition.
- Work directly with machining, fabrication, molding, assembly, and other manufacturing suppliers to resolve DFM, quality, cost, and production issues.
- Support production troubleshooting and continuous design improvement.
System Integration
- Integrate RF modules and antennas, cameras and optics, IMUs and sensors, batteries, rugged connectors, and cable assemblies.
- Design around strict size, weight, packaging, thermal, vibration, mounting, and center-of-gravity constraints.
- Collaborate closely with Hardware, PCB Layout, RF, FPGA, Software, Thermal, Systems, and Manufacturing teams.
- Support design reviews, prototype builds, qualification activities, failure analysis, and production-release reviews.
Experience
- 8+ years of professional mechanical design and product-development experience.
- Proven experience delivering rugged or high-reliability electromechanical products from concept through production.
- Experience designing compact enclosures and assemblies for embedded computing, UAVs, robotics, communications, sensor systems, aerospace, or other mission-critical applications.
- Hands-on experience developing and validating thermal and structural solutions for high-performance electronics.
- Experience supporting prototype builds, environmental qualification, manufacturing, and production release.
- Experience participating in and preferably leading mechanical design and design-release reviews.
Technical Skills
- Advanced proficiency with Creo, SolidWorks, or comparable professional 3D CAD platforms.
- Strong experience in electronic packaging, enclosure and chassis design, and compact electromechanical integration.
- Strong understanding of GD&T, tolerance analysis, mechanical stack-ups, fits, fasteners, and manufacturing drawings.
- Experience with conduction cooling, heatsinks, heat spreaders, thermal interfaces, and airflow management.
- Experience designing for shock, vibration, temperature extremes, humidity, dust, water ingress, and corrosion.
- Strong knowledge of aluminum, stainless steel, engineering plastics, elastomers, and other engineering materials.
- Experience with CNC machining, sheet metal, molding, and additive manufacturing.
- Strong understanding of DFM/DFA, inspection, assembly, serviceability, and production scalability.
- Experience mechanically integrating PCBs, RF modules, antennas, cameras, sensors, batteries, connectors, and cable assemblies.
- Knowledge of MIL-STD-810 and IP-rated enclosure design.
- Awareness of MIL-STD-461 or equivalent EMI/EMC mechanical integration considerations.
- Familiarity with PLM/PDM and configuration-management systems; Windchill experience is advantageous.
Education & Additional Experience
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
- Experience with UAV, aerospace, robotics, rugged communications, secure electronics, industrial, or other high-reliability systems is highly desirable.
- Experience designing airborne or mobile electronics where SWaP-C, center of gravity, vibration, mounting, and limited airflow are critical is advantageous.
- Strong ability to independently own complex mechanical designs and communicate engineering decisions, risks, and trade-offs across multidisciplinary teams.
Industry / Domain
Rugged Electronics | Mechanical Design | Electronic Packaging | High-Reliability Systems | Embedded Platforms
