Mechanical Engineer - Maritime

Spear AI; Falmouth (KY); On-site; USD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A technology company is seeking an experienced Mechanical Engineer with maritime experience in Falmouth, Kentucky. The role involves leading design projects for unmanned maritime sensor systems, mentoring junior engineers, and ensuring designs meet operational requirements in challenging environments. Candidates should have a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, at least 5 years of experience, and hands-on prototyping skills. Willingness to obtain a Secret or Top Secret/SCI clearance is required.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant experience in mechanical engineering, preferably maritime.
• Hands-on experience in prototyping, testing, and refinement of designs.
• Ability to participate in at-sea deployment and operations.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the senior mechanical engineer, mentoring juniors.
• Design and document mechanical systems for maritime use.
• Incorporate technician feedback throughout the design cycle.

Skills

Prototyping and troubleshooting

Mentoring junior engineers

Operational testing

Additive manufacturing

Communication skills

Education

B.S. in Mechanical Engineering or Naval Architecture

Tools

SolidWorks

Job description

Spear AI is seeking an experienced Mechanical Engineer with maritime experience. You will be part of a cross functional team designing, building, testing, and deploying unmanned maritime sensor systems.

You will be in the lab and out on the water frequently.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the second and senior mechanical engineer in the team, mentoring junior engineers and technicians.
• Structural and Functional Design – Design and document mechanical systems applying both analysis and intuition as appropriate. Optimize for various factors and ensure compliance with requirements.
• Design for operational maritime use including submerged systems – Design systems with an operator‑centric viewpoint that will survive and thrive in challenging maritime and submerged environments.
• Produce Mechanical CAD artifacts including drawings, documentation, and revision control.
• Select and determine appropriate manufacturing processes, generate appropriate documentation for technicians or suppliers, and optimize designs for the selected processes. Emphasis on distributed/low‑tech manufacturing and avoidance of precision machining.
• Additive Manufacturing – Design parts for additive manufacturing, understand how to optimize additive manufacturing, and determine appropriate testing regimens for additive parts.
• Prototyping and Troubleshooting – Build, test, and troubleshoot prototypes of designs. Engineers should be heavily involved in building the initial prototypes.
• Handoff to manufacturing – Develop documentation, procedures, and artifacts to transition manufacturing processes to technicians.
• Operational Testing – Plan, support, and participate in operational testing of prototypes including bench testing and field testing up to sea during early stages.
• Incorporate feedback – Elicit and incorporate feedback from assembly and field technicians throughout the design cycle to improve performance, reliability, and cost effectiveness.

Requirements

• A B.S. in Mechanical Engineering or Naval Architecture and minimum 5+ years of relevant experience (or a minimum of 10 years of highly relevant experience with a minimum of five years of experience working in a design role).
• Prior maritime design experience.
• Familiarity with standard mechanical engineering tools and processes. SolidWorks preferred but not required, provided you can cross over to SolidWorks quickly.
• Extensive hands‑on experience in prototyping, testing, and refinement of designs in the lab and preferably in a field environment.
• Suitable written and verbal communication skills for working in a high‑performing development team.
• Ability to physically participate in at sea deployment, test, and recovery operations, including carrying and maneuvering on a small boat at sea, communicating verbally, and carrying out fine manipulations.
• Willingness to receive a Secret or Top Secret/SCI security clearance. This will be at no expense to you. Failure to obtain or maintain a clearance will be grounds for termination.

Desired

• Prior experience with small boats and at sea operations.
• Prior experience with UxS (Unmanned Systems) – desired.