Senior Cryogenic Mechanical Engineer — Vacuum Shell Lead

Joby Aviation; Santa Cruz (CA); On-site; USD 105,000 - 181,000; Full time

Job summary

Joby Aviation in Northern California seeks a hands-on Mechanical Engineer to own the cryogenic tank vacuum shell, addressing structural design, seals, and test planning for a high-performance hydrogen storage system.

The role requires a strong foundation in solid mechanics, heat transfer, and materials, with CAD and drawing release skills and hands-on hardware experience in aerospace environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
• 3–7 years of mechanical engineering experience in aerospace, energy, cryogenics, or other high-performance hardware environments.
• Strong fundamentals in solid mechanics, heat transfer, and materials behavior.
• Ability to perform first-principles hand calculations and use basic FEA or thermal analysis tools.
• Experience with 3D CAD and engineering drawing creation and release.
• Familiarity with precision machining, fabrication processes, and tolerance stack-ups.
• Working knowledge of composite structures and materials, with willingness to learn composite layup definition and drawing practices.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and comfort working in an iterative hardware development environment.
• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate across disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Own the design and development of the cryogenic tank vacuum shell, including structural layout, interfaces, sealing features, and manufacturability considerations.
• Develop and execute test plans to validate vacuum shell performance, including structural, thermal, and leak-tightness verification.
• Take responsibility for engineering decisions, trade studies, and documentation associated with the vacuum shell and related hardware.
• Generate and release detailed CAD models, drawings, and configuration-controlled documentation.
• Translate system-level performance, mass, thermal, and safety requirements into robust mechanical designs.
• Perform hand calculations and simple simulations to evaluate strength, stiffness, modal behavior, buckling, and thermal expansion.
• Support material selection for cryogenic applications, including evaluation of high-performance alloys, composites, and sealing materials.
• Contribute broadly to other mechanical design efforts across the hydrogen storage system as part of the design-build-test cycle.
• Engage directly in hardware builds, troubleshooting, and development testing, rolling up sleeves to help get hardware designed, built, and tested.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with structures, thermal, propulsion, manufacturing, and test teams to deliver integrated solutions.

Skills

Solid mechanics

Heat transfer

Materials behavior

First-principles calculations

Communication

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Problem solving

Iterative hardware development

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering

Tools

3D CAD

Engineering drawing release

FEA

Thermal analysis tools

Job description

Joby Aviation in Northern California seeks a hands-on Mechanical Engineer to own the cryogenic tank vacuum shell, addressing structural design, seals, and test planning for a high-performance hydrogen storage system.

The role requires a strong foundation in solid mechanics, heat transfer, and materials, with CAD and drawing release skills and hands-on hardware experience in aerospace environments.