Principal Mechanical Design Engineer - Electrical Enclosures

STS Aviation Group; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

STS Technical Services seeks a Principal Mechanical Design Engineer – Electrical Equipment Enclosures in Milwaukee, WI. This onsite, direct-hire role focuses on mechanical design, structural analysis, thermal management, and validation of electrical power distribution enclosures.

A hands-on engineer with 12+ years of direct design experience is required. You will lead enclosure development, perform advanced analyses, and drive prototype testing and production readiness, collaborating with

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline.
• 12+ years of direct design experience with enclosures for electrical power distribution equipment.
• Demonstrated expertise using ANSYS or comparable simulation software for structural, dynamic, or short‑circuit‑force analysis.
• Experience modeling thermal performance, airflow, heat transfer, and temperature rise in enclosed electrical equipment.
• Experience owning the mechanical design of enclosures and structures through analysis, prototype development, certification testing, and production release.
• Deep knowledge of fabricated sheet metal structures, welded assemblies, bolted joints, fasteners, materials, tolerances, and design for manufacturing.

Responsibilities

• Own the structural and mechanical design of enclosures, frames, doors, covers, barriers, mounting structures, bus supports, and bracing systems for electrical power distribution equipment.
• Translate electrical ratings, short‑circuit requirements, thermal loads, environmental requirements, and manufacturing constraints into robust mechanical designs.
• Establish structural and thermal design criteria, safety margins, calculation methods, and reusable engineering standards across product families.
• Make material, thickness, joining, fastening, gasketing, and reinforcement decisions based on analysis, testing, cost, and manufacturability.
• Lead finite element analysis (FEA) of short‑circuit forces, structural loading, stress, deformation, vibration, and dynamic response using ANSYS or comparable software.
• Lead thermal and airflow analysis to predict heat rise, hot spots, ventilation performance, and component or bus temperature limits.
• Develop simulation models that represent actual enclosure construction, joints, supports, materials, bus structures, and boundary conditions.
• Correlate simulation results with prototype and laboratory test data, continuously improving model accuracy and design rules.
• Use engineering analysis to identify design risks before certification testing and recommend changes that improve the probability of passing on the first test.
• Own the mechanical and thermal portions of verification plans, design reviews, instrumentation, acceptance criteria, and failure analysis.
• Provide mechanical and thermal technical leadership before, during, and after product and certification testing.
• Partner with product-development engineers to meet product layout and performance requirements while developing and validating enclosure and structural designs.
• Work directly with manufacturing teams on sheet metal fabrication, welding, hardware, assembly, finishing, prototypes, first builds, and design‑for‑manufacturing improvements.
• Document engineering assumptions, calculations, analysis results, design decisions, and lessons learned for inclusion in the product‑development system.

Skills

Mechanical design

Enclosures

FEA

ANSYS

Thermal analysis

Structural analysis

Prototype testing

Certification testing

Sheet metal fabrication

Manufacturing processes

Technical leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

ANSYS

CFD

Job description

STS Technical Services seeks a Principal Mechanical Design Engineer – Electrical Equipment Enclosures in Milwaukee, WI. This onsite, direct-hire role focuses on mechanical design, structural analysis, thermal management, and validation of electrical power distribution enclosures.

A hands-on engineer with 12+ years of direct design experience is required. You will lead enclosure development, perform advanced analyses, and drive prototype testing and production readiness, collaborating with