Principal Mechanical Engineer

Clera
  • San Francisco, California
  • $235,000–$305,000 Per Year
  • Autofill and Review
4 days ago

Job Description

About the Role

Join a small defense technology team developing autonomous directed-energy systems for counter-drone applications. As Principal Mechanical Engineer, you will own system-wide mechanical architecture and help take complex hardware from prototype through production and field deployment.

What You'll Do

  • Lead mechanical architecture and integration across electrical, power, embedded, and optics subsystems.

  • Make technical decisions on challenging hardware problems from concept through production readiness.

  • Guide hardware release and production processes in partnership with manufacturing teams.

  • Review designs, calculations, and test results to identify risks early and maintain high engineering standards.

  • Personally execute mechanical design work when your experience can resolve a problem quickly.

  • Balance cost, mass, reliability, schedule, and field performance in design and manufacturing decisions.

  • Mentor engineers through hands-on technical leadership and design reviews.

What We're Looking For

  • 10 or more years designing and shipping complex hardware systems, including multiple transitions from prototype through manufacturing and deployment.

  • Mechanical engineering is your primary discipline, with recent hands-on experience in CAD, structures, mechanisms, and packaging.

  • Deep mechanical expertise and sound judgment in at least one additional area, such as electrical engineering, power electronics, or embedded systems.

  • Experience leading full-system hardware integration and designing equipment for demanding real-world environments.

  • Ability to correlate FEA or hand calculations with bench or field test data.

  • Background as a senior individual contributor or technical lead at a hardware organization that shipped products.

  • Experience in defense hardware, aerospace, robotics, high-performance automotive, maritime, or a related field is valuable. Directed energy, laser or high-power systems, thermal management, ruggedized equipment, and manufacturing scale-up experience are also relevant.

Compensation & Benefits

Base salary: $235,000 to $305,000 annually. Visa sponsorship is not available.

Location

On-site in San Francisco, California, United States.

Numbers & Facts

LocationSan Francisco, California
Salary$235,000–$305,000 Per Year

Skills

  • Acceptance Testingunmatched
  • Aerospace and Defenseunmatched
  • CAD/CAM (Computer-Aided Design/Computer-Aided Manufacturing)unmatched
  • Electricityunmatched
  • Embedded Systemsunmatched
  • Field Trialsunmatched
  • Finite Element Analysisunmatched
  • Hardware Designunmatched
  • Leadershipunmatched
  • Manufacturingunmatched
  • Mechanical Designunmatched
  • Mechanical Engineeringunmatched
  • Mentoringunmatched
  • Opticsunmatched
  • Problem Solving Skillsunmatched
  • Product Shipmentsunmatched
  • Prototypingunmatched
  • Risk Analysisunmatched
  • Roboticsunmatched
  • System Integration (SI)unmatched
  • Systems Administration/Managementunmatched
  • Systems Hardwareunmatched
  • Technical Leadershipunmatched
  • Technical/Engineering Designunmatched
  • Test Benchunmatched
  • Test Dataunmatched
  • Testingunmatched
  • Thermal Managementunmatched
  • Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)unmatched

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