Engineer I (HW_Payload)

Webbtree; Navi Mumbai; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 2,400,000; Full time

Job summary

ideaForge in India is seeking an experienced payload design engineer to independently design mechanical and electromechanical UAV payload subsystems, including gimbals, enclosures, sensor modules, and mounts. You’ll drive from concept through prototyping to production handover as an individual contributor within the payload engineering team.

The role requires strong fundamentals in mechanical design, GD&T, and familiarity with Creo Parametric and Windchill.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical / Mechatronics / Robotics Engineering.
• Strong fundamentals in mechanical design and electromechanical systems.
• 3+ years of hardware/product design engineering experience or strong project/internship experience.
• Ability to independently execute mechanical designs for parts, subassemblies, and modules.

Responsibilities

• Independently design mechanical and electromechanical payload subsystems (gimbals, enclosures, sensor modules, mounts).
• Execute concept development, detailed design, prototyping, and validation activities.
• Generate trade-off studies, mass estimates, and component specifications.
• Select and validate components through testing and experimentation.
• Perform structural, vibration, tolerance, and basic thermal calculations.
• Design for dynamic operating environments including vibration, shock, fatigue, and transportation loads.
• Implement thermal management concepts (conduction paths, heatsinks, airflow, material selection).
• Apply EMI/EMC-aware mechanical design practices including grounding provisions, shielding, and cable routing.

Skills

Creo Parametric

Windchill PLM

GD&T

Tolerance analysis

NPD/NPI

Engineering calculations

Enclosure design

Structural design

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical / Mechatronics / Robotics Engineering

Tools

Creo Parametric

Windchill PLM

Job description

Company Profile

ideaForge is India’s leading unmanned aerial systems (UAS) company and a pioneer in indigenous drone technology. Founded in 2007 by IIT Bombay alumni, the company designs, develops, and manufactures high-performance UAVs for defense, homeland security, and industrial applications.

With strong in-house capabilities across R&D, engineering, software, manufacturing, and testing, ideaForge delivers mission-ready systems built for reliability, autonomy, and real‑world operations. Its platforms are trusted by Indian defense forces, paramilitary units, and enterprise customers for critical missions.

Guided by its core philosophy of “creating meaningful impact—making the world safer and better,” and its engineering ethos of “Built like a bird, tested like a tank,” ideaForge continues to push the boundaries of aerial intelligence through innovation and excellence.

Job Description

The candidate will be responsible for independently designing and developing UAV payload subsystems, performing mechanical and electromechanical design, analysis, and validation to support research and development of UAV payloads.

The role involves creating new designs from scratch or re‑designing existing products and contributing across all stages of the product development cycle—from concept and detailed design to prototyping, testing, and production handover—while working as an individual contributor within the payload engineering team.

Key Responsibilities

Design & Development

• Independently design mechanical and electromechanical payload subsystems (gimbals, enclosures, sensor modules, mounts, etc.).
• Execute concept development, detailed design, prototyping, and validation activities.
• Generate trade‑off studies, mass estimates, and component specifications for assigned modules.
• Select and validate components through testing and experimentation.
• Perform structural, vibration, tolerance, and basic thermal calculations.
• Design for dynamic operating environments including vibration, shock, fatigue, and transportation loads.
• Implement thermal management concepts such as conduction paths, heat sinks, airflow, and material selection.
• Apply EMI/EMC‑aware mechanical design practices including grounding provisions, shielding support, and cable routing considerations.
• Ensure compliance with UAV payload constraints (SWaP, vibration, environmental).
• Execute DFM/DFA and DFMEA activities for assigned parts and modules.
• Prepare and maintain CAD models, drawings, BoMs, and design documentation.
• Support root cause analysis (RCA) and design improvements for testing and field issues.
• Support integration, environmental testing, and flight trials.

Developing Best Practices

• Apply first‑principles thinking to develop robust engineering solutions.
• Follow standardized design, documentation, and release processes.
• Stay updated with new materials, manufacturing technologies, and design methodologies.
• Contribute to reusable design elements and libraries

Cross‑Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with electronics, software and firmware, manufacturing, quality, and supply chain teams.
• Support system integration, testing, and flight trials.
• Coordinate with vendors for component development and validation.

Skills & Qualification

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical / Mechatronics / Robotics Engineering.
• Strong fundamentals in mechanical design and understanding of electromechanical systems.
• 3+ years of industry experience in a hardware/product design engineering role (or strong project/internship experience).
• Ability to independently execute mechanical designs for parts, subassemblies, and modules.
• Hands‑on exposure to electromechanical assembly, integration, and validation.
• Experience or strong interest in working with gimbals, EO/IR payloads, motors, encoders, or precision mechanisms is a plus.
• Good understanding of modern engineering practices including documentation, validation, and configuration management.
• Exposure to manufacturing processes such as machining, injection molding, composites, sheet metal, and 3D printing.
• Good understanding of GD&T and tolerance concepts.
• Working knowledge of Creo Parametric for part modeling and assemblies.
• Exposure to PLM systems (Windchill preferred) is a plus.
• Exposure to structural FEA, vibration analysis, and thermal analysis is a plus.
• Familiarity with EMI/EMC‑aware mechanical design practices is a plus.

Technical Skills

• Creo Parametric (advanced parametric modeling and assemblies)
• Windchill PLM (part lifecycle management, configuration control, ECR/ECN processes)
• GD&T and GPS standards (ISO/ASME)
• Tolerance analysis and tolerance stack‑up
• New Product Development / Introduction (NPD/NPI)
• Engineering calculations and design trade studies
• Precision mechanical assemblies
• Enclosure and housing design
• Structural design and basic calculations
• Hardware development and validation
• Mechanics of materials
• DFM/DFA and DFMEA

Other Skills

• Cross Functional Collaboration
• Methodology Development
• Quality and Reliability
• Technical Documentation
• Stay Informed on New Technologies