Rugged Drone Systems Engineer—Enclosures & Mounts

Software Placement Group; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Software Placement Group is seeking a mechanical engineer to own the full lifecycle of rugged hardware for drone ground-station systems in San Diego. You will design enclosures, packaging, and drone attachments, moving from concept through production.

This role emphasizes rapid prototyping with in-house 3D printing, field validation, and travel for demonstrations to ensure hardware performance during multi-drone operations.

Qualifications

• Background in mechanical engineering with experience designing and manufacturing physical hardware, from concept through production.
• Hands-on experience designing ruggedized enclosures and protective packaging solutions.
• Familiarity with rapid prototyping methods, including in-house 3D printing.
• Experience designing mounting brackets, attachments, or multi-axis mechanisms.
• Willingness to travel for field testing and demonstration events.
• Based in or able to work on-site in San Diego, CA.

Responsibilities

• Design ruggedized electronic enclosures for ground-station and communications gear.
• Specify and customize swarm packaging solutions, including Pelican cases and foam inserts.
• Design, test, and manufacture drone attachments and multi-axis mechanisms.
• Develop mechanisms for self-contained, deployable systems with integrated logistics and launch.
• Collaborate with engineering on mechanism design, prototyping, and field validation.
• Support rapid prototyping with in-house 3D printing.
• Travel for field testing and demonstrations during multi-drone flights.

Skills

Mechanical engineering

Ruggedized enclosure design

Rapid prototyping (3D printing)

Field testing

Travel for field testing

Tools

3D printing

Job description

Software Placement Group is seeking a mechanical engineer to own the full lifecycle of rugged hardware for drone ground-station systems in San Diego. You will design enclosures, packaging, and drone attachments, moving from concept through production.

This role emphasizes rapid prototyping with in-house 3D printing, field validation, and travel for demonstrations to ensure hardware performance during multi-drone operations.