Senior Mechanical Engineer

Senior Mechanical Engineer (Responsible Engineer)Body Design & Hydrodynamics | Structures | Mechanisms | Propulsion | Energy Storage📍 Greater Los Angeles, South Bay (On-site)💰 $180,000 – $220,000+ plus EquityOwn a subsystem. From blank sheet to field.You'll succeed here if you enjoy owning problems, not just components.We're partnering with a venture-backed engineering company developing advanced autonomous platforms. They're building the entire platform in-house and hiring five Senior Mechanical Engineers who want genuine end-to-end ownership.You won't own a component inside someone else's assembly. You'll be the Responsible Engineer for a full mechanical subsystem, owning it from requirements and concept through CAD, analysis, prototyping, test and production, including how your subsystem integrates with everyone else's.The team is targeting hardware in the field within months. This suits engineers who make fast, sound trade-offs to reach a working 80%, and who challenge requirements rather than inherit them.Areas of particular interest includeExternal body design and hydrodynamics. Optimising the full vehicle profile for drag and performance. Strong CAD plus the ability to run your own CFD, or partner closely with a specialist.Structures and integration. Bringing multiple vehicle sections together, with sealing and ingress prevention under pressure.Mechanisms and actuation. Control surfaces, actuators, motors and gear linkages.Energy storage packaging. Physical packaging and thermal analysis of cells and packs.Propulsion. Owning the full thruster assembly including shaft, gearbox and motor selection through supplier trade studies.We're Looking For5–7 years designing mechanical hardware from concept through productionExperience personally architecting and delivering a full subsystem, not contributing to one part of a larger programDeep expertise in at least one of the areas aboveExpert-level CAD (Siemens NX ideal; SolidWorks or CATIA considered) managing complex assembliesRuns their own analysis, FEA, CFD or hand calculations, rather than handing it to a dedicated analystDesign for manufacturing experience, working directly with machine shops and fabrication partnersBackgrounds in automotive or EV body design, aerospace fuselage and airframe, UAVs, robotics or marine systemsAlso considered: specialist FEA or CFD engineers with genuine depth. The team is open to a dedicated analysis seat alongside the design roles.The Kind of Engineer Who Thrives HereDeeply curious. You interrogate a requirement rather than accept it, because the best requirement is often no requirement. You validate supplier data yourself using first principles rather than trusting a datasheet. You move fast and you're not a perfectionist.Why Join?Own an entire subsystem from concept through field deploymentBuild a platform from the ground up rather than iterate on legacy designsNo layers between you and the designMeaningful early-stage equity, with flexibility to weight the package more towards base salary if preferredSee your work deployed in months, not yearsCompensationThe band reflects the core senior range. There is genuine flexibility above it for exceptional candidates.RequirementsBS or higher in Mechanical Engineering (or related discipline)U.S. Citizen or Green Card Holder required. Citizenship is an advantage for future clearance eligibility but is not a requirement for this roleAble to work on-site in the South Bay, Los Angeles