Mechanical Engineer

Surge Group; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

This is a fully in-person Mechanical Engineer role in the Bay Area. You will design, build, and scale robotic and mechanical systems for our first production facility, integrating across mechanical, controls, and manufacturing systems.

We welcome experienced engineers with 5–10+ years in hardware, mechatronics, or robotics, or exceptional recent graduates with hands-on project experience. You will own end-to-end development and potentially lead a small hardware team.

Qualifications

• Approximately 5-10+ years of hands-on mechanical or hardware engineering experience.
• Strong experience within high-velocity advanced manufacturing, space, defense, robotics or comparable engineering environments.
• A track record of taking physical systems from design through build to functioning production.
• Strong mechatronics and/or robotics experience.
• Comfortable working across mechanical systems, controls and manufacturing integration.
• Evidence of increasing technical ownership and responsibility throughout your career.

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end design, build and integration of robotic and mechanical systems.
• Develop individual components and integrate them into complete operating subsystems.
• Architect and scale production systems from prototype through industrial deployment.
• Work across mechanical design, controls and manufacturing systems integration.
• Help establish internal engineering processes, design cycles and review standards.
• Collaborate closely with process, software and other engineering disciplines.
• Take ownership of complex cross-functional technical problems.
• For experienced candidates, help manage and develop a small hardware engineering team.
• Work directly within the company's live processing and manufacturing environment.

Skills

Hands-on engineering

Mechatronics

Robotics

Leadership potential

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Job description

Bay Area, CA | Fully On-Site | Full-Time

We're partnered with an early-stage advanced manufacturing company building next-generation infrastructure for critical-material processing.

The company is developing highly automated production systems that combine robotics, mechanical engineering, controls, and advanced manufacturing, and is now hiring a Mechanical Engineer to help design, build, and scale its first production facility in the Bay Area.

This is a highly hands-on role. You won't simply operate or maintain existing equipment - you'll help design, build, integrate and scale the systems themselves.

We are open to two profile types:

• Experienced mechanical/hardware engineers with a strong track record of building and scaling physical systems.
• Exceptional recent graduates with substantial, demonstrable hands-on engineering projects and the ability to execute independently.

What You'll Be Doing

• Own the end-to-end design, build and integration of robotic and mechanical systems.
• Develop individual components and integrate them into complete operating subsystems.
• Architect and scale production systems from prototype through industrial deployment.
• Work across mechanical design, controls, and manufacturing systems integration.
• Help establish internal engineering processes, design cycles and review standards.
• Collaborate closely with process, software and other engineering disciplines.
• Take ownership of complex cross-functional technical problems.
• For experienced candidates, help manage and develop a small hardware engineering team.
• Work directly within the company's live processing and manufacturing environment.

What We're Looking For

Experienced Candidates

• Approximately 5-10+ years of hands-on mechanical or hardware engineering experience.
• Strong experience within high-velocity advanced manufacturing, space, defense, robotics or comparable engineering environments.
• A track record of taking physical systems from design through build to functioning production.
• Strong mechatronics and/or robotics experience.
• Comfortable working across mechanical systems, controls and manufacturing integration.
• Evidence of increasing technical ownership and responsibility throughout your career.

Particularly relevant backgrounds include organizations such as SpaceX, Tesla, Anduril, Relativity Space, or comparable advanced-manufacturing environments.

Recent Graduates

• Undergraduate or graduate engineering background with significant hands-on project experience.
• Projects such as competition robotics, rocketry, build teams, independent hardware systems or comparable technical work.
• Evidence that you personally drove a significant project from concept to a working result.
• Ability to execute independently and operate effectively in a fast-paced engineering environment.

You'll Stand Out If You

• Have built something successfully end-to-end.
• Have helped commission or stand up a production line or industrial facility.
• Combine strong hands-on engineering ability with leadership potential.
• Take high levels of ownership and move quickly from problem to working solution.
• Are comfortable operating across robotics, hardware, software and process engineering.
• Are motivated by building new domestic manufacturing infrastructure.

This is a fully in-person role in the Bay Area. The team operates at a high-intensity pace, typically around 50-60 hours per week across six days, with Saturdays generally being a half day.