Lead Mechanical Engineer

Amca is building America’s new industrial base. Since the 1990s, our ability to build new aviation and military systems and maintain the ones we already have has eroded. Today, the gap between what the nation needs to produce and what it is capable of producing is the largest it has been in generations.

To help close that gap, Amca rapidly develops and manufactures new critical components and subsystems required to build and sustain the planes, military vehicles, and core infrastructure America needs. Today, we operate seven factories nationwide, including our advanced prototyping and testing headquarters in El Segundo, and deliver avionics, hydraulic, and electrical components for platforms such as the F-35, F-16, F/A-18, 737MAX, 787, A320neo, A321, Mk-48, and M1 Abrams.

Overview

You will be a senior technical contributor on Amca's mechanical engineering team, owning the design, build, or test of flight hardware within a defined mechanical discipline — such as fluid systems, mechanisms, structural assemblies, cockpit avionics hardware, or power electronics packaging. You will work closely with the Mechanical Engineering Manager and cross‑functional teams to take hardware from concept through qualification and into production. This is a deeply hands‑on role for an engineer who thrives on hard technical problems, takes full ownership of their work, and is ready to grow into broader leadership over time.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical lead for a defined mechanical discipline, owning design decisions and outcomes end‑to‑end
• Execute and oversee detailed design work including drawings, GD&T, FEA, component specifications, and risk assessments
• Drive hardware from bench prototype through qualification and production handoff, leveraging Amca's in‑house R&D lab and protoshop
• Lead or support qualification campaigns including functional, environmental, pneumatic, hydraulic, and structural testing per MIL-STD and applicable aerospace standards
• Spearhead root cause investigations in development, production, and test; own corrective actions through resolution
• Ensure designs are optimized from day one for reliability, manufacturability, and cost
• Provide technical mentorship and informal guidance to less experienced engineers on the team
• Collaborate closely with mechanical, electrical, software, and build engineering to deliver integrated hardware systems
• Participate in design reviews and contribute to raising the technical bar across the mechanical engineering function
• Support customer‑facing engagements and program reviews as a subject matter expert in your discipline

Qualifications

• Substantial experience in mechanical engineering for aerospace or defense hardware, with a strong track record taking products from concept through flight qualification and into production
• Deep technical expertise in at least one mechanical discipline — such as fluid systems (pneumatic or hydraulic), mechanisms, structural design, cockpit avionics packaging, or power electronics enclosures — with working fluency across adjacent areas
• Hands‑on and lab‑comfortable; expected to be in the protoshop and on the bench, not just at a CAD station
• Strong command of engineering first principles across thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, and solid mechanics; proven ability to simplify requirements and cut complexity
• Experience with Siemens NX or equivalent CAD package; familiarity with FEA tools and test instrumentation
• Familiarity with MIL-STD-810, DO-160, and other aerospace qualification frameworks
• Independent, direct, and action‑oriented; takes full ownership and thrives with minimal oversight
• Nascent leadership instincts — comfortable informally guiding peers and ready to grow into broader responsibility over time

Salary

Annual Salary Range: $150,000 – $200,000 USD

This position requires use of information which is subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). All applicants must be U.S. persons within the meaning of ITAR. ITAR defines a US person as: any individual who is granted U.S. citizenship; or. any individual who is granted U.S. permanent residence ("Green Card" holder); or. any individual who is granted status as a "protected person" under 8 U.S.C 1324b(a)(3).

The Advanced Manufacturing Company of America prohibits discrimination or harassment based on the following categories: race, color, religion, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), genetic information, marital status, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, age (40 years and over), sexual orientation, veteran and/or military status, protected medical leaves (requesting or approved for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act or the California Family Rights Act), domestic violence victim status, political affiliation, and any other status protected by state or federal law.