Mechanical Engineer

Mechanical Engineer (Thermal & Ruggedized Systems)
Location: Escondido, CA (Engineering Team Headquarters)
Employment Type: Full-Time (Permanent) and Contract-to-Hire Opportunities Available
Experience Level: 3–10 Years
About the Opportunity
We are seeking talented Mechanical Engineers to join a growing engineering organization focused on designing and developing high-performance, rugged computing platforms for demanding commercial, industrial, and defense applications. We are actively hiring for both a permanent position and an additional contract-to-hire role.
This position is ideal for engineers who enjoy solving complex thermal and mechanical design challenges, working in multidisciplinary teams, and developing products that operate reliably in harsh environments. You'll play a key role in taking customer requirements from concept through design, analysis, testing, documentation, and production.
Position Overview
As a Mechanical Engineer, you will be responsible for the design and development of rugged computer systems, enclosures, and thermal management solutions. The role requires a balance of hands-on engineering design, analysis, and cross-functional collaboration with systems, electrical, software, and program management teams.
The majority of your time will be focused on product development, mechanical design, documentation, and engineering execution, with simulation activities supporting critical design decisions throughout the product lifecycle.
Key Responsibilities
• Design ruggedized computer systems, chassis, and enclosures for commercial, industrial, and defense applications.
• Develop thermal management solutions utilizing:
○ Conduction cooling
○ Forced-air cooling
○ Liquid cooling systems
• Design packaging solutions for:
○ Rack-mounted server platforms
○ Embedded computing systems
○ Vehicle-mounted systems
○ Avionics and mission-critical applications
• Perform mechanical and thermal analyses to validate design performance.
• Utilize SolidWorks and simulation tools to evaluate:
○ Shock resilience
○ Vibration performance
○ Thermal behavior and heat transfer
• Support thermal characterization, testing, and verification activities.
• Create and maintain engineering documentation including drawings, test reports, design packages, BOMs, and release documentation.
• Collaborate with systems, electrical, software, and manufacturing teams throughout the product development lifecycle.
• Participate in design reviews and support continuous product improvement initiatives.
• Translate broad or ambiguous customer requirements into actionable engineering solutions.
Required Qualifications
• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field.
• 3–10 years of mechanical product design experience.
• Experience designing electronic systems and hardware enclosures.
• Strong understanding of:
○ Thermodynamics
○ Heat transfer
○ Conduction cooling
○ Forced convection/fan cooling
○ Liquid cooling methods
• Experience developing products for demanding or rugged operating environments.
• Proficiency with 3D CAD tools, preferably SolidWorks.
• Strong mechanical design fundamentals, including materials, tolerancing, manufacturability, and product development processes.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
Preferred Qualifications
• Experience with rugged electronics packaging, including:
○ Defense systems
○ Vehicle-mounted computing platforms
○ Avionics packaging
• Familiarity with MIL-STD-810 environmental requirements and testing.
• Experience performing SolidWorks Simulation analyses including:
○ Thermal analysis
○ Shock analysis
○ Vibration analysis
• Background in computer hardware, server systems, embedded systems, or defense electronics packaging.
• Experience supporting in-house simulation and analysis efforts throughout product development.
Soft Skills & Attributes
Successful candidates will be:
• Comfortable working in environments with evolving requirements and ambiguity.
• Able to take high-level customer objectives and convert them into clear engineering plans and deliverables.
• Self-directed and proactive problem solvers.
• Effective collaborators who thrive in cross-functional teams.
• Detail-oriented while maintaining a strong systems-level perspective.
Team & Culture
You will join a collaborative engineering organization of approximately 12–15 engineers consisting of both full-time employees and contractors. The core engineering team is based in Escondido and includes mechanical, systems, electrical, and software engineering disciplines.
Engineers typically work within project teams of 4–5 technical contributors alongside a dedicated Program Manager, providing significant opportunities for cross-functional collaboration and ownership.
Why Join Us?
• Work on cutting-edge rugged computing and embedded hardware platforms.
• Solve challenging thermal and mechanical engineering problems.
• Contribute to products deployed in mission-critical and harsh-environment applications.
• Be part of a growing engineering team with opportunities for technical ownership and career growth.
• Influence products from concept through deployment.
Ideal Backgrounds: Mechanical Engineering, Thermal Engineering, Electronic Packaging, Embedded Systems Hardware, Server Hardware, Aerospace/Avionics Packaging, Defense Electronics, or Ruggedized Product Development.