Junior Mechanical Engineer/ Designer

kinetic-custom-trailers; Waco (TX); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Kinetic Custom Trailers in Waco, TX is seeking a motivated mechanical design professional to help design and deliver custom trailer solutions. You’ll collaborate with engineering, production, and sales to turn concepts into real, buildable parts and assemblies.

You’ll create 3D models and detailed drawings in SolidWorks, evaluate manufacturability, and support weight distribution and design validation. Hands-on fabrication experience is valued to bridge design and manufacturing on the shop floor.

Qualifications

• Experience with SolidWorks or similar 3D CAD software.
• Mechanical design, drafting, or engineering.
• Manufacturing or steel fabrication experience.
• Welding, machining, forming, or fabrication processes.
• Design for manufacturability.
• Hydraulic or pneumatic systems.
• Hands-on mechanical or fabrication work.
• Curious, detail-oriented, willing to learn, and able to work with engineers and shop floor.

Responsibilities

• Create and modify 3D models and detailed drawings using SolidWorks.
• Develop practical designs that can be efficiently fabricated and assembled.
• Work directly with production teams to troubleshoot issues and improve designs.
• Assist with weight distribution calculations and design validation.
• Support design analysis, including Finite Element Analysis (FEA).
• Help develop new and improved trailer designs.
• Review designs for compliance with FMVSS/CMVSS and transportation requirements.
• Collaborate with engineering, sales, manufacturing, and other team members throughout the design and build process.

Skills

SolidWorks

Mechanical design

Drafting

Fabrication

Manufacturing

Design for manufacturability

Weight distribution calculations

FEA

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field

Diploma or certificate in Mechanical Engineering Technology or CAD

Equivalent hands-on design experience

Tools

CAD software

Job description

About Kinetic Custom Trailers

At KINETIC, we don’t just build trailers, we engineer custom solutions that push the boundaries of design, functionality, and quality. As a leader in the custom trailer manufacturing industry, we take pride in creating smart, efficient designs that meet the unique needs of every client, no matter how complex or specialized.

Backed by nearly a decade of proven success at our long-standing Canadian headquarters, we’ve brought that momentum to Waco—opening fresh opportunities for skilled, driven people to grow with us. Whether you’re on the shop floor, behind a CAD screen, or working with customers, you’ll be part of a company that values excellence, adaptability, and forward-thinking.

Love designing things that actually get built?

Kinetic Custom Trailers is looking for someone who enjoys turning ideas into real-world products. If you have experience with SolidWorks, mechanical design, drafting, fabrication, or manufacturing, we want to hear from you—even if you don’t meet every qualification listed below.

We are open to a range of backgrounds, including recent engineering graduates, CAD designers, engineering technologists, mechanical designers, and early-career engineers. Hands-on manufacturing or fabrication experience is also highly valued.

What You’ll Do

You’ll work closely with engineering, production, and sales to design custom trailers and solve real manufacturing challenges.

• Create and modify 3D models and detailed drawings using SolidWorks
• Develop practical designs that can be efficiently fabricated and assembled
• Work directly with production teams to troubleshoot issues and improve designs
• Assist with weight distribution calculations and design validation
• Support design analysis, including Finite Element Analysis (FEA) where applicable
• Help develop new and improved trailer designs
• Review designs for compliance with applicable FMVSS/CMVSS and transportation requirements
• Collaborate with engineering, sales, manufacturing, and other team members throughout the design and build process

What We’re Looking For

You do not need to check every box to be considered.

We’re especially interested in candidates with experience or education in one or more of the following:

• SolidWorks or similar 3D CAD software
• Mechanical design, drafting, or engineering
• Manufacturing or steel fabrication
• Welding, machining, forming, or other fabrication processes
• Design for manufacturability
• Hydraulic or pneumatic systems
• Hands-on mechanical or fabrication work

Most importantly, we’re looking for someone who is curious, detail-oriented, willing to learn, and comfortable working with both engineers and the people building the product on the shop floor.

Education & Experience

We are intentionally flexible on education and years of experience.

Possible backgrounds include:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or another engineering discipline, including recent graduates
• Diploma or certificate in Mechanical Engineering Technology, Engineering Design and Drafting, CAD, or a related technical field
• Equivalent hands-on design, drafting, fabrication, or manufacturing experience in place of formal education

Previous mechanical design or manufacturing experience is preferred, but we encourage you to apply even if you are earlier in your career.

Why Kinetic?

At Kinetic Custom Trailers, you won’t spend your entire day designing the same component over and over. Our custom manufacturing environment gives you the opportunity to work on real products, unique engineering challenges, and designs you can see being built on the production floor.

If you enjoy CAD, manufacturing, problem-solving, and seeing your designs come to life, we’d like to talk to you.