Mechanical Design Engineer - Propulsion

Mechanical Design Engineer

Odys is building safe, sustainable aircraft to cut travel time in half on the world's busiest corridors. The flagship aircraft, Alta, enables travelers to skip major airports by using city helipads and local airports to connect cities less than 1,000 miles apart — cutting CO2 by 76% on average across tens of billions of flight miles globally.

The path there starts with Laila, a UAV for commercial logistics, medical transport, humanitarian aid, disaster relief, and defense missions. Odys is deploying aircraft with launch partners including Fiji Airways, Honeywell, Aramex, and the US Navy beginning in 2026, with firm orders already under contract.

The team comes from deep tech and aerospace, with a track record of building custom drones, bringing automotive platforms into production, and electrifying transportation vehicles that levitate, roll, and fly. The culture is built on fast iteration loops and mastery of the certification process — Odys completed transition flight faster than their peers.

The Opportunity

Odys is looking for a Mechanical Design Engineer to join the Propulsion Team. You will design, analyze, and integrate mechanical and thermal systems supporting high-power hybrid-electric propulsion — including motors, generators, inverters, turbines, and their supporting structures and cooling systems.

This is a hands-on role with real ownership. You will work closely with electrical, manufacturing, test, and flight teams to take hardware from early concept through prototype build, test, and iteration. The growth path is strong as propulsion systems mature and move toward production.

What You'll Do

• Own the mechanical design and integration of propulsion components and subsystems including motors, generators, inverters, turbines, structures, and cooling systems
• Drive resolution of real hardware issues discovered during prototype and early production builds
• Create and maintain 3D CAD models and 2D drawings, including GD&T and tolerance stackups
• Perform DFM/DFA trade studies balancing weight, cost, thermal performance, reliability, and manufacturability
• Work with suppliers and internal teams to assess manufacturing feasibility, refine designs, and rapidly resolve build issues
• Support hands-on prototype assembly, integration, and test, including debugging and root cause analysis
• Conduct engineering analysis using hand calculations and FEA to inform design decisions
• Implement and refine thermal management strategies including air and liquid cooling, heat sinks, TIMs, enclosures, and insulation
• Translate test data and build feedback into actionable design improvements
• Document designs, analyses, and design changes clearly to support team alignment and future production

You Should Have

• B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field
• 4+ years of experience in mechanical design of complex systems, or equivalent demonstrated capability
• Experience owning the design of a critical assembly or subsystem from concept through build, test, and iteration
• Proficiency in 3D CAD (NX preferred) and creating production-quality drawings with GD&T
• Strong understanding of tolerance stackups and real-world fit and integration challenges
• Experience designing for a range of manufacturing processes including machining, sheet metal, and additive
• Hands-on experience building, testing, and troubleshooting hardware
• Comfort working on electromechanical systems including motors, power electronics, rotating machinery, and cooling systems
• Demonstrated ability to debug issues, perform root cause analysis, and drive corrective actions
• Clear communicator who collaborates effectively across multidisciplinary teams

Nice to Have

• Experience with propulsion systems or high-power electromechanical systems
• Familiarity with rotating machinery, vibration, and structural dynamics
• Background in thermal management of high-power systems including liquid cooling, forced air, and heat exchangers
• Experience performing thermal or structural analysis using FEA, analytical modeling, or CFD
• Familiarity with PLM systems, Teamcenter preferred
• Background in aerospace, automotive EV/powertrain, robotics, or similar high-performance hardware industries