Principal Mechanical Design Specialist

Samuel Automation; Southwestern Ontario; On-site; CAD 69,000 - 94,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Short-term incentive plan

Job summary

Samuel Automation is seeking a Principal Mechanical Design Specialist to act as a senior technical authority, guiding complex mechanical design challenges and improving consistency across designs. You will contribute to early concept discussions with Applications, while mentoring developing mechanical designers.

You will lead system-level decisions, review critical designs for safety and reliability, and foster practical, buildable solutions in collaboration with Sales, Applications, Operations

Qualifications

• Degree or Diploma in Mechanical, Mechatronic, Systems Design, Engineering Physics, Engineering Science, or related discipline.
• Extensive experience in industrial automation, custom machine design, and complex system development.
• Strong expertise in concept development, technical risk identification, machine architecture, and system integration.
• Experience mentoring junior engineers and developing technical capability in others.
• Strong proficiency in SolidWorks, PDM, AutoCAD, and related engineering tools.

Responsibilities

• Provide advanced technical leadership by solving hard mechanical design problems and guiding architecture decisions.
• Standardize design practices to improve reuse, robustness, and reliability across the function.
• Mentor junior designers and developing team members through hands-on guidance.
• Support proposal and concept development with senior mechanical input for feasibility and risk discussions.
• Collaborate with Applications, Sales, Operations, and Manufacturing to ensure practical, buildable solutions.

Skills

Mentoring junior designers

Technical leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Clear communication

Education

Degree or Diploma in Mechanical, Mechatronic, Systems Design, Engineering Physics, Engineering Science, or related discipline

Tools

SolidWorks

PDM

AutoCAD

Job description

As the Principal Mechanical Design Specialist, you are a senior technical authority and internal consultant who helps solve complex mechanical challenges, improves consistency across designs, and strengthens early concept, feasibility, and risk discussions with Applications.

What You’ll Be Doing

This role combines three core expectations: advanced technical guidance, consistent design practices, and mentorship of developing mechanical designers.

Advanced Technical Leadership

• Solve the hardest mechanical design problems and guide major architecture decisions on complex or high-risk systems
• Help teams make better technical decisions by applying practical judgment, system-level thinking, and long-term design experience

Design Standardization & Technical Excellence

• Improve reuse, engineering robustness, and common design practices across the Mechanical Design function
• Review critical designs for safety, manufacturability, performance, quality, and long-term reliability

Collaboration with Applications Engineering

• Support proposal and concept development by contributing senior mechanical judgment to feasibility, architecture, and risk discussions
• Help ensure proposed solutions are practical, buildable, and ready for execution

Mentorship & Technical Development

• Mentor junior designers, developing team members, and co-op students through practical, hands-on design guidance
• Build stronger engineering judgment across the team by sharing practical knowledge and reinforcing sound design practices

Customer & Cross-Functional Support

• Support customer-facing, build, integration, and issue-resolution work with credible senior mechanical input
• Help Sales, Applications, Operations, Manufacturing, and customer teams align around practical technical solutions

Systems Engineering & Lifecycle Support

• Contribute mechanical input on requirements, specifications, FMEAs, interfaces, verification, testing, and acceptance criteria
• Strengthen execution readiness and lessons learned without taking ownership away from the assigned project or design execution leads

Working Relationship

This role partners with the Mechanical Design Manager and Team Leads to raise technical quality, support sound decision-making on complex work, and mentor others through technical influence rather than direct people management.

• Principal Mechanical Design Specialist: guides complex technical decisions, strengthens common practices, develops technical capability, and reduces early design risk
• Team Lead, Mechanical Design: leads daily execution, coaches designers, manages workload visibility, and supports delivery quality
• Mechanical Design Manager: sets priorities, manages people decisions, handles final escalations, and oversees department administration

Where This Role Adds the Most Value

• Complex or high-risk projects
• New platform or product architecture development
• Cross-project technical problems requiring deeper expertise
• Common design practices and technical improvement initiatives
• Early concept decisions where experienced judgment can reduce downstream risk
• Technical growth of less experienced designers

Key Requirements

• Degree or Diploma in Mechanical, Mechatronic, Systems Design, Engineering Physics, Engineering Science, or related discipline
• Extensive experience in industrial automation, custom machine design, and complex system development
• Strong expertise in concept development, technical risk identification, machine architecture, and system integration
• Experience mentoring junior engineers and developing technical capability in others
• Strong proficiency in SolidWorks, PDM, AutoCAD, and related engineering tools
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex technical ideas clearly across teams
• Ability to travel to customers, other sites, or business units as needed

The base pay range for this position is $49.85/hour - $68.54/hour (CAD). The posted range reflects the expected base hourly rate for this position. Actual base pay will be determined based on factors such as geographic location, skills, education, and experience, as well as internal equity considerations. Offers are typically made within the range and not at the top of the range to support growth and progression. This position is eligible to participate in a short-term incentive plan. Incentive awards, if any, are based on business and individual performance and are not guaranteed.

SAMST