Principal Mechanical Engineer

ABOUT THE ROLE Join a small defense technology engineering team developing autonomous, field-deployed directed energy systems. As Principal Mechanical Engineer, you will own system-level mechanical architecture and help take complex hardware from prototype through production and deployment. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Lead mechanical architecture across the system and integrate it with electrical, power, embedded, and optics disciplines. - Make technical decisions on challenging engineering problems from concept through production readiness. - Guide hardware release and production processes in close collaboration with the manufacturing team. - Identify technical risks early and review designs, analyses, documentation, and release standards. - Perform hands-on design and analysis when your experience can resolve difficult problems quickly. - Balance cost, mass, reliability, schedule, and field performance in design and manufacturing decisions. - Share technical judgment and mentor engineers through direct collaboration and example. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR - At least 10 years of experience designing and shipping complex hardware systems. - Mechanical design as your primary discipline, including recent personal CAD and engineering analysis work. - Repeated experience taking hardware from prototype through manufacturing and field deployment. - Experience designing ruggedized systems for real-world conditions and correlating FEA or hand calculations with test data. - Strong mechanical expertise, with sound technical judgment in electrical engineering, power electronics, or embedded systems. - Experience owning mechanical architecture and integrating multiple engineering disciplines. - A senior individual contributor or technical lead background at a hardware company that has shipped products. - Relevant backgrounds may include defense, aerospace, high-performance automotive, maritime, robotics, or directed energy. - Experience with lasers or high-power systems, thermal management, gimbals or beam directors, military qualification standards, or production line development is useful. COMPENSATION & BENEFITS Base salary is $235,000 to $305,000 USD annually. Visa sponsorship is not available. Equity and benefits details were not provided. LOCATION This is an on-site role in San Francisco, California, United States.