Build the next generation of Matrix Fitness cardio equipment.
For 50 years, Johnson Health Tech has designed fitness equipment that people actually want to train on. Our Matrix Fitness brand has become one of the fastest-growing names in commercial cardio, earning the trust of fitness clubs across the country. It was also named FitProf's 2025 Best Buy for Best Commercial Cardio and honored as this year's Fitness Brand of the Year. Now, we're bringing that same club-quality engineering into the home.
We're looking for a Senior Mechanical Engineer to take real engineering ownership of new cardio products, from early concept through launch. This is an engineering role first: you'll be doing FEA, running tests, driving CAD, and solving hard mechanical problems. You'll also carry the project through to the finish line - but the calculations, the design work, and the testing are where you'll spend most of your time.
What You'll Do
Engineering & Design
Lead the technical design of new cardio products - from early concept and component design through detailed CAD (2D drawings, 3D models, plastic surfacing) and final validation
Run strength and fatigue analysis (FEA), load and bearing-life analysis, and design proposals to make sure every product meets its requirements
Design, select, and analyze mechanical components - bearings, shafts, belts, pulleys, couplings, springs, fasteners, and more - largely independently
Build and execute test protocols, and lead DFMEA sessions to catch design risks early
Bring a continuous-improvement mindset to design for manufacturability
Leading the Project
Serve as the main point of contact for the project, partnering closely with your electrical project engineer counterpart to keep electrical development aligned with the overall schedule
Own the project timeline and budget for multiple concurrent products, keeping milestones, documentation, and the NPD process on track
Lead cross-functional meetings and technical design reviews with the full project team - R&D, industrial design, quality, and product management
Translate market and customer requirements into clear engineering specs, and set the development plan
Guide and mentor design engineers and mechanical designers on your projects
Global Collaboration
Work daily as part of one team with our engineering and manufacturing partners in Taiwan, China, and Vietnam, sometimes outside of typical office hours - aligning on design intent, technical issues, and customer requirements
Support the transition of new products into mass production, including quality reviews, sample evaluation, and troubleshooting
Travel internationally a few times a year (roughly 2-4 trips) to connect in person with our global team
Requirements
What You'll Bring
BS or higher in Mechanical Engineering or related field
6+ years of design experience; consumer products experience strongly preferred
Project engineering or project management experience
Significant experience designing components for real manufacturing processes - plastics, sheet metal, tube forming, casting, machining, welding & joining
Expert-level 3D CAD skills (SolidWorks preferred)
Strong FEA and analytical background (strength & fatigue analysis)
Comfortable leading and aligning a team toward a shared goal, even in tough moments, without leaving people behind
Demonstrates a foundational understanding of fitness principles, including cardiovascular exercise, mobility, and safe exercise practices
Nice to Have
Working knowledge of electrical systems (motors, electromagnets, general circuitry)
Experience with industrial design collaboration and product ergonomics
Basic understanding of financial principles as they relate to product decisions
Why You'll Love It Here
Real engineering ownership - you're not just managing a schedule; you're solving the mechanical problems yourself
A genuinely global team: our Taiwan, China, and Vietnam-based partners aren't a hand-off, they're teammates working the same problems alongside you
50 years of staying power, backed by award-winning products people actually use
Physical Demands / Work Environment
Physical Demands:
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and use hands to finger, handle or touch objects, tools or controls. The employee frequently is required to talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, reach above the shoulders, stoop, kneel, or crouch. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and the ability to adjust focus.
Work Environment:
This position is onsite full-time, no remote or hybrid schedule is being offered
This does require international travel to our manufacturing plants in Asia. You would travel 2-4 times a year, anywhere from 1-2 weeks at a time.
Numbers & Facts
Location
Cottage Grove, WI
Industry
Healthcare Services
Company Size
100 to 499 employees
Website
http://www.johnsonfitness.com/
About Company
Johnson Health Tech specializes in the design, production and distribution of award-winning exercise equipment under three key flagship fitness brands – Matrix, Vision and Horizon. Our North American office, located just outside of Madison, Wisconsin, houses our global product development and marketing team, as well as the sales and administration staff that services the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.
Each our of brands is specifically designed and engineered to meet the unique need of the market it serves - from high end commercial to boutique specialty retail outlets or sporting goods stores and mass merchants. We strive to deliver the greatest value by providing the lowest total ownership across all channels. Our commitment to product innovation, superior quality and unmatched customer service has made JHT one of the largest and fastest-growing producers of fitness equipment in the world.