Head of Mechanical Engineering

About the role

We are pioneering modular motion technologies to power the next generation of innovation for Industrial, Aerospace and Defense. If you're excited about disrupting legacy industries, and passionate about building the financial infrastructure behind cutting-edge hardware, let's chat! We are at the forefront of innovation, crafting exclusive motion control components that propel the industrial, aerospace, and defense sectors into the future. A couple other things: We offer a lot of autonomy We like to run lean for impact We have great benefits We are well funded, and already generating revenue We're currently in Torrance, CA, but will be moving into a new facility in Hawthorne, CA in the summer!

Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership & Oversight
• Engineering Authority: Serve as the final technical decision-maker for all mechanical designs. Review and approve engineering drawings, analyses, and design packages across the actuator product line.
• Deep Product Ownership: Maintain comprehensive system-level knowledge of all actuator products including kinematic architecture, load paths, drivetrain design, thermal management, and qualification status.
• Design Reviews: Lead formal design reviews (PDR, CDR, TRR) and ensure all mechanical work meets internal standards and applicable aerospace/defense requirements.
• Technical Mentorship: Provide hands-on guidance to the mechanical engineering team, elevating design quality, analytical rigor, and engineering judgment across the group.
• Actuator & Mechanism Development
• Electromechanical Actuator Design: Lead development of precision electromechanical actuators integrating motors, geartrains, lead screws, encoders, braking systems, and structural housings for flight and industrial applications.
• Geartrain & Drivetrain Expertise: Apply deep knowledge of gear ratios, backlash control, lubrication, and AGMA standards to drivetrain design decisions.
• Mechanism Integration: Own packaging and integration of actuator sub-systems including precision bearings, seals, thermal interfaces, and position feedback elements within tight volumetric and mass constraints.
• Requirements Architecture: Translate mission-level needs into quantified functional, performance, and interface requirements for mechanical assemblies.
• Aerospace Standards & Qualification
• Standards Compliance: Own mechanical compliance to applicable aerospace and defense standards including DO-160, MIL-STD-810, MIL-PRF-27369, and AS9100. Identify applicable requirements early and drive design-to-compliance from inception.
• Qualification Strategy: Architect qualification and acceptance test programs including test equipment design, procedure development, and formal execution. Ensure traceability from requirements to test evidence.
• Environmental & Structural Survivability: Guide design decisions for performance in high-vibration, thermal extreme, and vacuum environments. Apply fatigue, margin of safety, and life analysis to qualify structural and dynamic hardware.
• GD&T & Drawing Standards: Enforce ASME Y14.5 GD&T on all drawings. Ensure drawing packages support both manufacturing and inspection to aerospace quality levels.
• Operations & Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Team Building: Hire, develop, and retain mechanical engineers. Define team structure, role responsibilities, and technical development roadmaps.
• Supply Chain Partnership: Work closely with contract manufacturers and suppliers to ensure hardware conformance. Manage NCRs, deviations, and waivers with engineering rigor.
• Production Transition: Lead DFM/DFA efforts to move designs from prototype to production-ready. Reduce cost, improve yield, and maintain performance margins through production design iterations.
• Hands-On Culture: Lead by doing. Take on design work alongside the team-own hardware, run analyses, and stay close to the product. Set the standard through personal output, not just direction.
• Program Scheduling: Partner with program management to develop detailed lower-level schedules that support project milestones. Proactively identify risks, shift resources to address issues, and keep engineering execution on track.
• Engineering Efficiency: Develop workflows, templates, and tools that accelerate design iteration without sacrificing analytical rigor or compliance. Identify and elimi

Additional Information

** Applicants must be U.S. Citizens or U.S. Permanent Residents (Green Card holders) to meet customer and regulatory requirements**

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