Head of Mechanical Engineering — Modular EV Platform Leader

Groundedrvs; Detroit (MI); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity stake

Health insurance

Job summary

Grounded, a Detroit-based startup, is seeking a Head of Mechanical Engineering to lead a team that builds a modular vehicle platform. You will define architecture, scale the mechanical organisation, and stay hands-on in CAD and on the shop floor while shipping real vehicles today.

You will balance delivering current customer work with developing a reusable module library, and partner with software to automate workflows in a fast-growing environment.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in mechanical design/engineering with leadership experience.
• Proven track record bringing physical products from concept to production.
• Hands-on CAD ability and quick iteration on shop floor.
• Experience hiring and growing engineering teams.
• Startup or small-company background preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, hire, and grow the mechanical engineering team.
• Set technical vision and standards for design across modules and vehicles.
• Own modular system architecture, interfaces, BOMs, and library deployment.
• Balance production backlog with modularity iteration and platform roadmap.
• Stay hands-on in CAD on complex assemblies and collaborate with technicians.
• Coordinate with software to automate design/manufacturing workflows.
• Establish scalable engineering processes with executive alignment.

Skills

Mechanical design

Engineering management

Production scaling

CAD expertise

Systems thinking

Startup experience

Team leadership

Vendor collaboration

Tools

NX CAD

SolidWorks

CATIA

Job description

Grounded, a Detroit-based startup, is seeking a Head of Mechanical Engineering to lead a team that builds a modular vehicle platform. You will define architecture, scale the mechanical organisation, and stay hands-on in CAD and on the shop floor while shipping real vehicles today.

You will balance delivering current customer work with developing a reusable module library, and partner with software to automate workflows in a fast-growing environment.