Mechanical Engineer (NPI)

Hullbot; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work arrangements

Parental leave policy

Marrickville office and facilities

Job summary

Hullbot is seeking a Mechanical Engineer (NPI) to take modules from prototype to scalable production. You will own manufacturability and reliability, iterating designs with R&D and tightening tolerances for robust field performance.

You’ll analyze failures using fleet data, define production processes for potting, sealing and bonding, and collaborate with suppliers and machine shops to ensure first-article success and sustained quality as volumes grow.

Qualifications

• > Degree in Mechanical or Manufacturing Engineering (or equivalent hands-on experience).
• "> Strong 3D CAD skills (Onshape, SolidWorks, Fusion 360, NX, or similar).
• "> 3+ years in mechanical design, manufacturing, or NPI with prototype-to-production experience.
• "> Experience designing for large-quantity production.
• "> Knowledge of tolerances, materials, and manufacturability.
• "> Data-driven root-cause analysis of field failures.
• "> Experience designing jigs, fixtures, and production tooling.
• "> Experience with injection moulding, CNC machining, vacuum casting and potting/encapsulation.
• "> Proficiency with MRP/ERP systems and BOM management.

Responsibilities

• Own design for manufacture and reliability on the modules you’re responsible for, reworking parts for producibility and quality.
• Collaborate with R&D to shape designs for manufacture early, avoiding locked-in decisions.
• Use fleet reliability data and returned hardware to analyze root causes and roll out design changes to production.
• Analyze critical interfaces, seals, and fits to ensure first-time correct assembly.
• Define controlled-environment processes such as potting, sealing, bonding with materials, dispense paths, cure schedules, and acceptance criteria.
• Coordinate with external suppliers and machine shops on DFM reviews, quoting, and first-article inspection.
• Develop and maintain work instructions, process docs, and quality checkpoints.
• Drive continuous improvement in reliability, cycle time, cost, and first-pass yield as volumes scale.

Skills

3D CAD

NPI experience

High-volume design

Tolerance & drawings

Jigs & fixtures

MRP/ERP

Producibility focus

Education

Mechanical/Manufacturing Engineering degree

Tools

Onshape

SolidWorks

Fusion 360

NX

Job description

At Hullbot we're on a mission to decarbonise the global maritime industry.

We're designing and building autonomous underwater robots that inspect and clean ship hulls. Hullbot's systems are actively deployed in locations around the world, maintaining hulls free of biofouling, reducing fuel use and cutting emissions.

If you want to work on real robotic solutions with measurable impact, solving one of the world's biggest environmental challenges, Hullbot is the place to do it.

The Role

We're looking for a Mechanical Engineer (NPI) who thrives in the transition from prototype to production.

You'll be a part of our New Product Introduction (NPI) team, focused on developing modules as they mature towards volume: making them robust, repeatable, and ready to build at scale.

Our robots operate in one of the most challenging environments on the planet, and hardware reliability is key to our success. As part of the NPI team, you'll implement improvements to mechatronic subsystems and parts that help us scale.

Every module is embedded with intelligence that enables reliability analysis at fleet scale. You'll use your mechanical design and analytical skills to get to the bottom of issues, collaborate on the improvements, and deploy those changes to production.

What You'll Do

• Own design for manufacture and reliability on the modules you're responsible for: reworking parts and assemblies for producibility, ease of build, and consistent quality
• Work alongside R&D while designs are still moving, shaping them for manufacture early instead of inheriting decisions that are already locked in
• Use fleet reliability data and returned hardware to analyse the root cause of failures in the field, implement design changes, update tooling and documentation, and roll out into production
• Analyse critical interfaces, seals, and fits so assemblies go together right the first time
• Define and prove controlled-environment processes such as potting, sealing, and bonding. This includes the materials, dispense paths, cure schedules, and acceptance criteria.
• Work with external suppliers and machine shops on DFM reviews, quoting, and first-article inspection
• Develop and maintain work instructions, process documentation, and quality checkpoints
• Drive continuous improvement in reliability, cycle time, cost, consistency, and first-pass yield as volumes scale

What We're Looking For

• Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or similar (or equivalent hands-on experience)
• Strong 3D CAD skills (Onshape, SolidWorks, Fusion 360, NX, or similar), including a focus on clean, scalable document structures
• 3+ years in mechanical design, manufacturing, or NPI, including hands-on involvement in taking a product from prototype through to repeatable production
• Experience in designing and optimising parts for large-quantity production
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, tolerances, and materials, and how design choices affect manufacturability. Confident with tolerance stack-ups and drawings a supplier can build from
• Analytical and data-focused: comfortable using test, production, and field failure data to find the real root cause.
• Experience designing jigs, fixtures, and production tooling
• Experience with manual and automated production processes involving injection moulding, CNC machining, vacuum casting and forming, potting and encapsulation
• A flexible, collaborative approach: clear on what you own, comfortable working across team lines to get to the right answer
• Comfortable getting hands-on: in the workshop, on the line, pulling apart returned hardware and iterating on what you find
• Experience working day-to-day in an MRP/ERP system: managing parts and BOMs, and running supplier communication through it

You’ll Thrive Here If You…

• Think in terms of process control, repeatability, and yield
• Are comfortable rolling up your sleeves and getting robots built, and making sure they are best in class.
• Take ownership and pride in the outcome.
• Want to know why something failed, not just that it did
• Are comfortable in a complex environment where sharing, documentation and collaboration between small, fast-moving teams is key.

Bonus Experience

• Production of systems for underwater, harsh environments, ingress protection and/or corrosion resistance. Sealing and pressure-housing design: O-rings, glands, penetrators, corrosion and material compatibility
• Robotics or electromechanical product manufacturing

Why Hullbot?

• Build and scale a product that is having a positive, measurable impact on the world
• See your design decisions reach a fleet working in some of the harshest conditions on earth
• Opportunities for rapid learning and personal development
• Work in an advanced manufacturing facility and office space in the heart of Marrickville, with flexible work arrangements available
• Collaborative, fast-moving culture where your work has visible, immediate impact
• Generous parental leave policy for both primary and secondary carers