Lead Mechanical Engineer

Responsibilities

Technical & Product Ownership

• Lead mechanical execution from concept through production ramp, personally designing and analyzing high-impact components and assemblies
• Translate product architecture into mechanical system strategy, defining the packaging approach and tolerance architecture across optical, electrical, and mechanical interfaces
• Architect electro-mechanical assemblies for highly automated, scalable manufacturing-ensuring designs enable autonomous assembly, precision placement, micron-scale metallurgical processes, and robust DFM execution
• Lead structural, thermal, and reliability analysis and decision-making; identify mechanical risks early and define validation strategies to retire them
• Drive design-for-manufacturability, design-for-assembly, and design-for-test across the mechanical subsystem; own supplier readiness from prototyping through production ramp
• Interface with optical, electrical, firmware, and process engineering teams to define system-level interfaces, integration constraints, and co-design trade-offs

Team Leadership

• Provide day-to-day technical leadership to a small and growing team of mechanical engineers who own scoped subsystems
• Lead design reviews and ensure subsystem designs align with system-level requirements, schedule, and quality targets
• Establish mechanical design standards, documentation discipline, and review rigor across the team
• Mentor engineers, raise the technical bar, and contribute to hiring and growth of the mechanical function

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in mechanical engineering or a related discipline
• 4+ years of experience designing complex hardware systems, with demonstrated ownership of major subsystems or full products through production ramp
• Strong first-principles foundation in mechanics of materials, heat transfer, and tolerance analysis
• Experience designing tight-tolerance precision assemblies with multi-domain interfaces (optical, electrical, thermal, or mechanical)
• Proficiency in professional 3D CAD tools (NX, SolidWorks, Creo, or equivalent)
• Proficiency in structural analysis tools (e.g., ANSYS Mechanical or equivalent FEA)
• Experience working directly with suppliers and contract manufacturers to drive production readiness and component qualification
• Experience leading technical efforts across cross-functional hardware teams
• Experience mentoring engineers or leading small technical teams
• Willingness to work extended hours and weekends as needed.

Preferred Experience

• Experience in optical, photonic, semiconductor, or high-performance computing hardware development
• Experience with high-density packaging, advanced thermal management, or chip-on-carrier/module-level mechanical integration
• Thermal simulation experience (e.g., ANSYS Mechanical, Icepak, Fluent, or equivalent CFD tools)
• Experience designing for highly automated assembly environments, including familiarity with robotic pick-and-place, precision alignment, and in-line inspection constraints
• Experience with optomechanical design, including kinematic mounting, athermalization, or fiber-to-chip alignment fixturing
• Familiarity with materials selection for photonic or semiconductor-adjacent applications, including CTE matching, outgassing, and cleanliness requirements
• Experience with reliability qualification methodologies (e.g., HALT, HASS, or Telcordia-style environmental testing)
• Familiarity with configuration management, engineering change processes, and PLM tools

Pay range

Lead Mechanical Engineer: $160,000.00 - $190,000.00/per year

Title and base salary are determined on a case by case basis commensurate with experience and merit.

In addition to base salary, compensation for this role includes

• Eligibility for long-term incentives including company stock options and discretionary bonuses awarded for exceptional achievements.
• Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental insurance with significant cost covered by the company for yourself and dependents.
• Paid parental leave and flexible PTO (3 weeks accrued vacation and 10 company holidays per year).
• 401(k) retirement plan access.
• Relocation assistance to sunny Los Angeles.