Principal Mechanical Engineer
- Pay
- $235,000 – $305,000 per year
- Location
- San Francisco, CA
- Listed
- Today
About the Role
Join a small defense technology team developing autonomous, field-deployed directed energy systems. You will provide senior mechanical engineering judgment across the full system, guiding hardware from architecture and integration through production readiness and field use.
What You'll Do
- Own mechanical architecture across the system and lead integration with electrical, power, embedded, and optics disciplines.
- Make technical decisions on complex hardware problems from concept through production readiness.
- Guide hardware release and production processes in partnership with manufacturing.
- Review designs, analysis, and documentation to identify risks early and maintain strong engineering standards.
- Perform hands-on engineering work where your experience can resolve challenging problems quickly.
- Make design and manufacturing tradeoffs across cost, mass, reliability, schedule, and field performance.
- Share technical expertise through hands-on mentorship and design collaboration.
What We're Looking for
- At least 10 years of experience designing and shipping complex hardware systems.
- Mechanical engineering is your primary discipline, with recent hands-on experience in CAD, structures, mechanisms, and packaging.
- Repeated experience taking hardware from prototype through manufacturing and field deployment.
- Experience leading full-system integration across mechanical and multiple engineering disciplines, with meaningful judgment in electrical, power electronics, or embedded systems.
- Experience with ruggedized hardware, real-world operating environments, and analysis such as FEA or hand calculations correlated against test data.
- A senior individual contributor or technical lead background at a hardware company that shipped products.
- Defense, aerospace, robotics, high-performance automotive, maritime, or directed energy experience is relevant. Experience with high-power thermal management, beam-directing mechanisms, manufacturing scale-up, or military-grade qualification is valuable.
Base salary
$235,000 to $305,000 annually. Visa sponsorship is not available.
Location
On-site in San Francisco, California, United States.
From Clera's careers page, first listed on Rolev.ai on November 12, 2026. Rolev.ai is not the employer.
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Common questions
What is the salary for the Principal Mechanical Engineer role at Clera?
The Principal Mechanical Engineer posting at Clera states compensation of $235,000 – $305,000 per year. Final pay may depend on location, experience, and interview evaluation on Clera's official career site.
Where is the Principal Mechanical Engineer job at Clera located?
This Principal Mechanical Engineer position at Clera is located in San Francisco, CA. Always check Clera's application page for specific state eligibility or relocation policies.
How do I apply for the Principal Mechanical Engineer position at Clera?
This listing links directly to Clera's Ashby application page. You can apply directly on Clera's site, or use Rolev.ai to check your resume fit, generate a zero-hallucination tailored resume and cover letter for this posting, and autofill the Ashby application form in 1 click with the Rolev.ai Chrome extension. You always review the form and press Submit yourself.