Senior Mechanical Design Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

*THIS IS ROLE IS FULLY ONSITE & WILL REQUIRE YOU TO BE ONSITE IN EL SEGUNDO FIVE(5) DAYS A WEEK*

Overview

The Senior Mechanical Design Engineer is responsible for developing flight-critical mechanical hardware for new and existing aerospace platforms. This role owns products from initial requirements and concept development through detailed design, analysis, prototyping, qualification, and production handoff.

You will design, analyze, build, and troubleshoot a wide range of mechanical, fluid, and structural systems while serving as a key technical interface between customer requirements and internal build, test, and manufacturing teams. This is a highly hands-on engineering role requiring strong first-principles knowledge, sound engineering judgment, and the ability to independently drive complex hardware development programs.

Senior engineers are expected to take significant technical ownership of their components, make informed design decisions with limited oversight, lead engineering problem-solving efforts, and help establish rigorous design and qualification practices as the organization continues to scale.

Responsibilities

• Own the design and development of mechanical and electromechanical hardware from concept through qualification and production handoff.
• Develop high-reliability, manufacturable aerospace hardware including avionics components such as buttons, switches, and dials; flow-control devices such as valves, regulators, and solenoids; and mechanical mechanisms including actuators, pistons, and related assemblies.
• Translate customer and system-level requirements into practical mechanical designs while identifying opportunities to simplify requirements, reduce complexity, and accelerate hardware development.
• Lead concept development, detailed mechanical design, engineering analysis, prototyping, and first-unit builds.
• Generate and maintain detailed engineering drawings, component specifications, tolerance analyses, technical calculations, risk assessments, and supporting design documentation.
• Apply GD&T and sound tolerance practices to ensure designs meet functional, manufacturing, inspection, and assembly requirements.
• Perform engineering analysis using first principles and appropriate simulation tools, including structural, thermal, fluid, and finite element analysis as applicable.
• Lead root cause investigations for failures identified during development, qualification testing, manufacturing, and production.
• Develop and implement corrective actions to resolve design or manufacturing issues and prevent repeat failures.
• Serve as the technical owner and subject matter expert for assigned components and assemblies, working directly with customers, suppliers, manufacturers, and internal engineering teams to resolve technical issues.
• Design, build, and evaluate prototypes using in-house R&D and manufacturing capabilities.
• Partner with test engineering to define qualification requirements, develop test plans, evaluate results, and resolve failures identified during testing.
• Support qualification testing for demanding aerospace and defense environments, including applicable environmental, mechanical, thermal, pressure, vibration, and performance requirements.
• Work closely with manufacturing and build engineers to ensure new designs are practical to produce, assemble, inspect, and test.
• Incorporate Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFM/DFA) feedback into product designs.
• Support supplier selection and technical communication with external manufacturing partners.
• Drive engineering decisions and development activities across multiple disciplines while balancing performance, reliability, manufacturability, schedule, and cost.
• Contribute to the development and continuous improvement of mechanical design, analysis, qualification, documentation, and testing standards.
• Provide technical guidance and design-review support to other engineers while maintaining direct ownership of assigned hardware.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Engineering, Engineering Physics, or a related engineering discipline.
• 4+ years of professional mechanical engineering experience , with 5+ years strongly preferred .
• Professional experience designing, analyzing, building, and/or testing mechanical hardware or systems.
• Strong understanding of engineering first principles, particularly solid mechanics, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, materials, and mechanical design.
• Demonstrated experience taking mechanical hardware from concept through detailed design, prototyping, testing, and/or production.
• Experience creating production-ready engineering drawings and applying GD&T.
• Strong CAD skills with experience developing complex parts and assemblies.
• Ability to independently troubleshoot mechanical systems and drive technical problems through root cause and corrective action.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to communicate technical concepts across engineering, manufacturing, suppliers, and customers.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• 5+ years of professional mechanical or aerospace engineering experience.
• Experience developing aerospace, defense, aviation, or other high-reliability mechanical hardware.
• Experience owning mechanical components or assemblies throughout the complete product development lifecycle.
• Strong knowledge of GD&T, tolerance stack-ups, fits, clearances, and manufacturing drawing practices.
• Experience designing and troubleshooting pressurized components and fluid systems such as valves, regulators, solenoids, tubing, piping, manifolds, or related hardware.
• Experience designing mechanical mechanisms such as actuators, pistons, switches, linkages, or electromechanical assemblies.
• Experience with structural and mechanical analysis using finite element analysis (FEA) software.
• Experience with Siemens NX or a comparable 3D CAD platform.
• Experience with Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFM/DFA) and working directly with machining, fabrication, assembly, and manufacturing teams.
• Experience developing prototypes and participating directly in hardware builds and testing.
• Experience developing qualification plans and supporting environmental or performance testing of aerospace hardware.
• Familiarity with aerospace and defense qualification requirements, including DO-160, MIL-STD, or similar standards.
• Experience using test instrumentation and control hardware such as pressure transducers, thermocouples, resistance temperature detectors (RTDs), relays, data acquisition equipment, and solenoid valves.
• Experience leading root cause investigations, failure analysis, and corrective action activities.
• Experience working directly with suppliers and contract manufacturers on technical and manufacturability issues.
• Strong project ownership with the ability to manage multiple technical priorities in a fast-paced hardware development environment.
• Demonstrated ability to challenge assumptions, simplify designs, and make sound engineering decisions using first-principles analysis.

Additional Requirements

• Ability to work onsite in El Segundo, California.
• Ability to travel to suppliers, manufacturing facilities, customer locations, and other company sites as needed.
• Ability to work flexible hours and provide occasional evening or weekend support when required by development, testing, or production schedules.