Senior Mechanical Design Engineer – Aerospace & UAV Systems

Overview

We are building a safety-critical electromechanical system integrated into a small UAV platform. This role owns the end-to-end mechanical design of ruggedized field-deployed hardware including structural design internal mechanisms and mechanical safety architecture.

The system must reliably withstand vibration shock environmental exposure and handling while maintaining strict fail-safe behavior across all operating states.

You will be responsible for taking mechanical systems from concept through CAD prototyping validation testing and production handoff in a fast-iteration small-team engineering environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Design mechanical assemblies including housings internal structures and actuation/safety mechanisms using parametric CAD tools.
• Develop mechanical safety architecture in collaboration with electrical and software teams (interlocks fail-safe geometry mechanical state constraints).
• Define materials finishes tolerances fasteners and mechanical interfaces for harsh operating environments.
• Build and iterate prototypes using in-house fabrication (3D printing CNC machining basic manual machining).
• Execute mechanical validation testing including drop shock vibration and environmental qualification.
• Produce manufacturing-ready documentation (GD&T drawings tolerance stacks BOMs and DFM packages).
• Own system mass properties and center-of-gravity budgets for UAV integration.
• Collaborate cross-functionally on system integration (PCB constraints connectors harness routing mechanical actuation interfaces).
• Support vendor engagement for machining injection molding and production scaling.

Required Qualifications

• 5 years of mechanical design experience in field-deployed rugged or regulated industries (UAV aerospace defense automotive or industrial systems).
• Strong proficiency in parametric CAD (SolidWorks Fusion 360 Onshape Creo NX etc.).
• Experience producing manufacturing-ready drawings (GD&T tolerance analysis fits surface finishes).
• Hands-on prototyping experience (3D printing CNC machining mill/lathe familiarity).
• Strong understanding of failure modes and design-for-reliability principles.
• Demonstrated end-to-end ownership: concept design prototype test production transfer.
• Strong written and verbal English communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with safety-critical mechanical systems (fail-safe mechanisms safety interlocks or similar regulated hardware).
• Familiarity with environmental/qualification standards (MIL-STD-810 or equivalent).
• Experience with FEA / structural simulation (Ansys SolidWorks Simulation or similar).
• DFM experience for injection molding metal casting or precision manufacturing.
• Background in UAV/FPV systems or mass/CG-sensitive mechanical design.

Work Environment

• Small high-ownership engineering team with fast iteration cycles (weekly hardware builds).
• Close collaboration between mechanical electrical and software engineers.
• Strong emphasis on test-driven design rapid prototyping and production readiness.
• Engineers are expected to own systems end-to-end and actively challenge design constraints when needed.

Location & Onsite Requirement

• Full-time onsite role (5 days/week).
• Mandatory 1-month onsite training in Kearneysville West Virginia.
• After training relocation to and onsite work from one of the following hubs:
• San Francisco Bay Area CA
• Los Angeles CA
• Washington DC Metro Area
• Candidates must be willing to relocate; relocation assistance is not provided.

Mechanical Design Engineer UAV mechanical engineer aerospace hardware engineer safety-critical systems CAD design engineer SolidWorks GD&T DFM engineer prototyping engineer CNC machining UAV payload design rugged systems engineer mechanical systems engineer FEA engineer defense hardware engineering.