Lead Mechanical Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

Job Title: Lead Mechanical Engineer

Job Description

The Lead Mechanical Engineer develops innovative mechanical and thermal-structural designs for complex, next-generation defense and aerospace applications. This role combines technical leadership and hands-on engineering, serving as a task lead on key projects while also contributing as an individual engineer. The Lead Mechanical Engineer translates customer requirements into detailed design criteria, applies rigorous engineering principles and tools to create robust and reliable solutions, and ensures that hardware such as test fixtures, custom mechanical assemblies, pressure vessels, piping systems, and weldments are manufacturable, maintainable, and properly integrated with other engineering disciplines. This position plays a central role in mentoring junior engineers and shaping a high-performance, collaborative engineering culture.

Responsibilities

• Serve as task lead on mechanical engineering projects, ensuring thorough due diligence, technical rigor, and adherence to requirements for all designs under your responsibility.
• Develop innovative designs for custom mechanical and structural hardware, including test fixtures, mechanical assemblies, pressure vessels, piping systems, weldments, and related components.
• Translate customer requirements into detailed design criteria and specifications, and use strong engineering principles to develop robust, reliable solutions.
• Perform structural analysis and, as needed, aerothermal, thermal-structural, and flow analyses using hand calculations and appropriate software tools to validate mechanical designs.
• Create comprehensive design documentation such as presentations, white papers, calculation packages, technical reports, and supporting materials to clearly communicate design intent and justification.
• Review design documentation produced by internal and third-party engineers to ensure accuracy, completeness, and alignment with project objectives and engineering standards.
• Present designs, analysis results, and design progress to customers, incorporating feedback and refining solutions to meet evolving technical and programmatic needs.
• Collaborate closely with engineers from other disciplines and backgrounds to ensure proper design integration across mechanical, thermal, structural, and system-level interfaces.
• Work directly with designers and operators to confirm that designed hardware is practical to manufacture, assemble, operate, and maintain in real-world environments.
• Lead and mentor junior engineers, fostering strong problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and disciplined engineering processes through on-the-job guidance and structured mentorship.
• Support the development of test chambers, instrumentation systems, and experimental platforms for complex, multidisciplinary projects where standard solutions do not exist.
• Contribute to building and shaping the local engineering team, helping establish a strong technical culture and best practices in a growing organization.

Essential Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Technology, or a closely related discipline.
• 10+ years of experience with full lifecycle mechanical design and product development, from requirements definition through design, analysis, documentation, and support to fabrication and testing.
• Proven experience developing designs for custom mechanical and structural hardware in demanding engineering environments.
• Strong CAD modeling and drawing development skills, including proficiency in SolidWorks or similar tools.
• Hands-on experience applying Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) to ensure clear, manufacturable engineering drawings.
• Mechanical design expertise covering structural design, thermal analysis, and thermal-structural considerations.
• Experience performing finite element analysis (FEA), using tools such as Ansys or similar software, to validate mechanical and structural performance.
• Ability to perform structural, thermal, and flow analyses using both hand calculations and appropriate software tools.
• Ability to obtain a Secret-level security clearance.
• Strong problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, with the ability to tackle complex, multidisciplinary engineering challenges.
• Effective communication skills for presenting designs, explaining technical decisions, and collaborating across diverse engineering disciplines.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience with test facility design and layout, particularly for complex mechanical or thermal test environments.
• Experience working with wind tunnels or hypersonic technologies and related test systems.
• Familiarity with thermal-structural engineering challenges in high-performance aerospace or defense applications.
• Experience working on projects that support national security efforts or advanced defense systems.
• Exposure to multidisciplinary projects involving test chambers, instrumentation systems, and experimental platforms where standard design playbooks are not available.
• Interest in mentoring and developing junior engineers and contributing to the growth of a new engineering team.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with remote teams and adapt to evolving tools, processes, and facilities.

Work Environment

This role is based in Indiana supporting advanced engineering efforts for a major defense and aerospace test and evaluation center. You will be among the first engineers hired locally, with a unique opportunity to mentor others and help shape the culture, processes, and standards of a growing team. The current work location is an office within a co-working facility at WestGate Academy, with plans to transition into a dedicated office space as real estate is secured. The position offers a hybrid work arrangement, with the ability to work from home 2–3 days per week, balanced with on-site collaboration. You will regularly interact with engineers at the organization’s headquarters in Huntsville, Alabama, leveraging remote collaboration tools and occasional in-person visits to align on complex, multidisciplinary projects. The environment focuses on cutting-edge defense and aerospace systems, including hypersonic technologies, test chambers, instrumentation systems, and experimental platforms. The culture emphasizes technical excellence, innovation, mentorship, and teamwork, providing opportunities to develop highly specialized expertise in a supportive, mission-driven setting. Dress expectations are typical of a professional engineering office, with flexibility appropriate to a hybrid and collaborative workspace.

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Bloomington, IN.

The pay range for this position is $55.00 - $87.00/hr.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following:
• Medical, dental & vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

This is a hybrid position in Bloomington,IN.

This position is anticipated to close on Jul 29, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email View email address on ziprecruiter.com for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.