Founding Mechanical Engineer

Jobot; Los Angeles (CA); Remote; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobot is seeking a Founding Mechanical Engineer to join our startup team in Los Angeles, with a remote-friendly arrangement. You will own mechanical design from concept to prototype, bridging hardware and software as we build a new platform for hardware engineering.

Ideal candidates have strong fundamentals, 2+ years of experience, and comfort moving from CAD to analysis, prototyping, and manufacturing. This is a builder role with significant ownership and growth potential.

Qualifications

• Strong fundamentals in mechanics, materials, structures, and mechanical design.
• Experience with 3D CAD and engineering drawings.
• 2+ years of relevant engineering experience.
• Ability to work across mechanical design, analysis, prototyping, testing, and manufacturing.

Responsibilities

• Develop mechanical concepts from initial requirements through detailed design.
• Create 3D CAD models, assemblies, drawings, and engineering documentation.
• Perform first-principles engineering calculations and trade studies.
• Design, build, test, and iterate on physical prototypes.
• Troubleshoot mechanical and hardware problems and determine root causes.
• Work with manufacturing processes, suppliers, and fabrication partners.

Education

B.S./M.S. in Mechanical Eng

Job description

Founding Mechanical Engineer

$90000 - $130000 per year | Los Angeles, CA | Remote | Permanent

A bit about us:

We're building a new generation of engineering software designed to make hardware development dramatically faster.

Our platform brings together the tools, data, and engineering workflows that teams rely on to move from an initial concept to a manufacturable product. We're starting with complex hardware and aerospace applications, where engineering teams face some of the most demanding design and manufacturing challenges.

We're a small, early-stage team, which means you'll have a real voice in what we build, how we build it, and where we go next.

Why join us?

This is an opportunity to join at the ground floor and have an outsized impact.

You'll work closely with an experienced hardware founder and get exposure to problems that span mechanical design, analysis, prototyping, manufacturing, and engineering software.

You won't be handed a narrow list of tasks and asked to stay in your lane. You'll have the opportunity to:

• Work on challenging, real-world hardware problems
• Take ideas from concept through design, prototype, testing, and iteration
• Learn directly from experienced aerospace and hardware engineers
• Help shape a product that is changing how engineers work
• Use modern software and AI tools to make engineering faster and more effective
• Take meaningful ownership early in your career
• Grow into a highly capable, well-rounded engineer with experience across the full product development process

If you're ambitious, curious, hands-on, and excited by the idea of building something from the ground up, this is a chance to make an impact well beyond what you'd typically get in a traditional engineering role.

Job Details

We're looking for a Mechanical Engineer to join our founding team and help build the future of hardware engineering.

This role is ideal for someone with a strong mechanical engineering foundation who wants more ownership, more variety, and a much steeper learning curve than a traditional engineering position can offer.

You'll work across mechanical design, engineering analysis, prototyping, testing, manufacturing, and product development. You'll also have a unique opportunity to bring your experience as an engineer directly into the development of the software platform we're building.

This is a role for a builder.

You'll be expected to ask questions, get your hands dirty, work through ambiguity, and figure things out.

What You'll Do

• Develop mechanical concepts from initial requirements through detailed design
• Create 3D CAD models, assemblies, drawings, and engineering documentation
• Perform first-principles engineering calculations and trade studies
• Design, build, test, and iterate on physical prototypes
• Troubleshoot mechanical and hardware problems and determine root causes
• Work with manufacturing processes, suppliers, and fabrication partners
• Support structural, mechanical, thermal, and systems-level engineering activities
• Evaluate design alternatives and make data-driven engineering recommendations
• Develop tools, scripts, and workflows that improve engineering efficiency
• Work closely with software engineers to translate real engineering workflows into software products
• Help identify opportunities where automation and AI can improve the engineering process
• Communicate technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical teammates
• Take ownership of projects and drive them forward with a high degree of independence

What We're Looking For

• B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field
• Approximately 2+ years of relevant engineering experience
• Strong fundamentals in mechanics, materials, structures, and mechanical design
• Experience with 3D CAD and engineering drawings
• Experience taking a design through some combination of analysis, prototyping, testing, or manufacturing
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills
• Ability to work from incomplete or ambiguous requirements
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Curiosity and a genuine desire to understand how things work
• Comfortable learning new tools, technologies, and concepts quickly
• Willingness to take ownership rather than wait for detailed instructions

We'd Especially Like to Meet You If You Have

• Aerospace, defense, robotics, automotive, industrial, or other hardware experience
• Experience designing mechanisms, structures, or flight/vehicle hardware
• Hands-on experience building and testing prototypes
• Experience with machining, sheet metal, composites, additive manufacturing, or other fabrication processes
• Experience with FEA or other engineering analysis tools
• Experience working in a startup or small engineering team
• Programming or scripting experience, particularly Python
• Experience using AI or automation to improve engineering workflows
• A history of building things outside of work — projects, robots, vehicles, machines, or anything else you're curious enough to take apart and rebuild

What Makes Someone Successful Here

• You don't need to know everything on day one.
• We're looking for someone who is smart, curious, resourceful, and hungry to learn.
• You might not know the answer to a problem when you start — that's okay. What matters is that you know how to break the problem down, ask good questions, learn what you need to learn, and keep going until you find the answer.
• The best person for this role will be someone who enjoys moving between the computer and the physical world — someone who can work through the engineering math, open up a CAD model, build a prototype, talk through a manufacturing problem, and figure out what to try next.
• If you're looking for a role where you can learn quickly, build real things, work closely with experienced engineers, and help shape an early-stage company, we'd love to meet you.

Jobot is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We provide an inclusive work environment that celebrates diversity and all qualified candidates receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, age (40 and over), disability, military status, genetic information or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws. Jobot also prohibits harassment of applicants or employees based on any of these protected categories. It is Jobot’s policy to comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws respecting consideration of unemployment status in making hiring decisions.

Sometimes Jobot is required to perform background checks with your authorization. Jobot will consider qualified candidates with criminal histories in a manner consistent with any applicable federal, state, or local law regarding criminal backgrounds, including but not limited to the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring and the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.