Hardware Upgrade Engineer – Pilot Lines & Fixtures

ENSURGE; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 121,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Ens​urge is seeking a Hardware Development Engineer to design and execute upgrades across pilot manufacturing lines. You will own upgrades end-to-end—from concept and CAD design to fabrication, installation, and validation on the line.

The role requires 3–10+ years in mechanical/hardware design, strong SolidWorks skills, and hands-on experience with fixtures or tooling in demanding environments. Collaboration with Equipment Engineering, Maintenance, and Manufacturing Engineering is key to

Qualifications

• 3–10+ years of experience in mechanical or hardware design engineering, ideally supporting manufacturing or process equipment.
• Strong CAD proficiency (SolidWorks or equivalent) and fundamentals in design, tolerancing, and materials.
• Hands-on experience designing, building, and installing fixtures, tooling, or equipment hardware.
• Comfortable working on the equipment floor, troubleshooting with technicians and engineers.
• Able to move a design from concept to installed hardware quickly with rigor.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and install upgrades to existing production and pilot equipment—from targeted fixes to full subsystem redesigns.
• Translate equipment issues and process requirements into concrete hardware designs with Equipment Engineering.
• Own upgrade projects end-to-end: concept, design, fabrication/procurement, installation, validation.
• Create detailed CAD models and drawings for fixtures, brackets, tooling, and custom hardware.
• Apply mechanical design and tolerancing for vacuum/cleanroom environments.
• Specify components, materials, and vendors; manage fabrication or outside machining to delivery.
• Build and test prototypes before full installation.
• Collaborate daily with Equipment Engineering and Maintenance to prioritize upgrades by uptime and safety impact.
• Coordinate with Manufacturing Engineering to support throughput and repeatability.
• Align with Quality and EHS on hardware changes affecting control, traceability, or safety.
• Validate hardware against acceptance criteria before handoff to production.
• Document designs, change history, and maintenance procedures for repeatable upgrades.
• Feed lessons learned into equipment standards and future tool designs.

Skills

Mechanical design

SolidWorks

Vacuum systems

On-floor troubleshooting

DFM design

Education

BS in Mechanical Engineering

MS in Mechatronics

Tools

SolidWorks

Job description

Ens​urge is seeking a Hardware Development Engineer to design and execute upgrades across pilot manufacturing lines. You will own upgrades end-to-end—from concept and CAD design to fabrication, installation, and validation on the line.

The role requires 3–10+ years in mechanical/hardware design, strong SolidWorks skills, and hands-on experience with fixtures or tooling in demanding environments. Collaboration with Equipment Engineering, Maintenance, and Manufacturing Engineering is key to