Senior Mechanical Engineer

Role Overview

Key Responsibilities

• Lead mechanical design efforts from concept through production release for supporting field hardware.
• Create and maintain detailed 3D CAD models, engineering drawings, BOMs, GD&T, and product documentation.
• Perform tolerance stack-up analysis, structural and vibration analysis, and other engineering analyses required to validate designs.
• Develop and execute environmental and durability testing, including shock, vibration, temperature, and ingress protection testing.
• Collaborate closely with Electrical, Systems, Software, Manufacturing, and Field Operations teams to ensure mechanical designs satisfy system-level integration, calibration, and usability requirements.
• Drive Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA) throughout the product lifecycle.
• Work directly with machine shops, fabricators, suppliers, and manufacturing partners to bring designs into production.
• Build and test prototypes, rapidly iterate designs, and incorporate lessons learned from testing and field deployments.
• Own sourcing and supplier relationships for mechanical components, custom cases, foam, and other specialized hardware.
• Develop and maintain assembly instructions, packing procedures, maintenance documentation, and engineering change documentation.
• Provide hands-on mechanical engineering support to field teams, troubleshoot hardware issues, and implement robust corrective actions.
• Identify opportunities to improve the reliability, usability, manufacturability, and cost of existing hardware.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline. Master's degree is a plus.
• 7+ years of professional mechanical engineering experience, preferably with a significant portion focused on precision mechanical systems, ruggedized equipment, or field-deployable hardware.
• Advanced proficiency in 3D CAD, with SolidWorks preferred, including complex assemblies, sheet-metal design, and GD&T.
• Demonstrated experience designing ruggedized equipment and field-deployable hardware.
• Experience designing hard cases, transit cases, and custom protective foam packaging, including CNC-cut and/or 3D-printed foam solutions.
• Experience designing precision mounting and alignment systems for radar, optical, camera, or other sensor payloads.
• Strong understanding of materials selection and manufacturing processes, including machining, sheet metal fabrication, casting, additive manufacturing, and common fastening methods.
• Experience with tolerance analysis, structural analysis/FEA, and environmental or durability testing.
• Demonstrated ability to take hardware from initial concept through production and field deployment.
• Experience working directly with external vendors, machine shops, fabricators, and contract manufacturers.
• Strong technical communication and documentation skills.
• Demonstrated ability to independently identify problems, develop solutions, and drive projects to completion.

Preferred Skills

• Experience designing equipment for defense, aerospace, C-UAS, radar, sensor, survey, or geospatial applications.
• Experience with mast systems, tripods, pan/tilt mechanisms, precision positioning systems, or calibration equipment.
• Experience with rapid prototyping using 3D printing, CNC machining, and other in-house fabrication methods.
• Familiarity with environmental and durability standards such as MIL-STD-810 and IP ratings.
• Experience designing hardware for high-shock, high-vibration, outdoor, or otherwise demanding operating environments.
• Experience with fielded products and sustaining engineering, including troubleshooting and corrective action.
• Experience mentoring engineers or providing technical leadership on small engineering teams.

About Fortem Technologies