Senior Mech Engineer — Aerospace & Defense Production‑Focused

Machina Labs; West Chatsworth (CA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

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Job summary

Machina Labs is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer – Aerospace & Defense to drive design from concept through production release. You will own documentation release, manage the PDM system, and mentor engineers across manufacturing and process engineering to ensure producibility and quality at scale.

This hands-on leadership role requires balancing technical execution with engineering leadership in a fast-paced startup setting, shaping robust design processes for aerospace-grade structures.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
• 5+ years of mechanical design or product development with ownership of designs through production release.
• Advanced proficiency with parametric CAD software (SolidWorks preferred; Siemens NX, CATIA, Creo, or Autodesk Inventor also considered).
• Experience administering or configuring a Product Data Management (PDM) system, preferably SolidWorks PDM.
• Strong understanding of GD&T and ASME Y14.5 drawing standards.
• Proven experience creating and reviewing production-quality mechanical drawings, assemblies, BOMs, and technical documentation.
• Solid understanding of Design for Manufacturability (DFM) for fabricated metal components and assemblies.
• Understanding of common manufacturing processes: sheet metal forming, machining, welding, trimming, drilling, fastening, fixturing, and assembly.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to mentor engineers and establish engineering standards across a multidisciplinary team.

Responsibilities

• Own the mechanical design process from concept through released production drawings, assemblies, and documentation.
• Create and modify mechanical designs for structural defense products, including missile, hypersonic, UAV, and aerospace metallic structures.
• Identify producibility issues related to forming, welding, machining, trimming, fixturing, assembly, inspection, and integration.
• Serve as the engineering release authority for CAD models, drawings, assemblies, and design data.
• Administer and maintain the Product Data Management (PDM) system, including workflows, revision control, permissions, and configuration management.
• Develop high-quality CAD models, detailed drawings, assemblies, and bills of materials.
• Establish and maintain engineering drawing standards, GD&T practices, Design for Manufacturability (DFM) guidelines, and engineering best practices.
• Review and approve engineering work produced by other team members to ensure quality, consistency, and compliance with established standards.
• Mentor manufacturing, process, and applications engineers on mechanical design principles, engineering documentation, and product development best practices.
• Collaborate closely with manufacturing teams to improve producibility, reduce cost, shorten lead times, and increase manufacturing efficiency.
• Identify manufacturing risks early and drive design improvements that enhance quality and scalability.
• Participate in customer technical discussions, design reviews, manufacturability reviews, and cross-functional engineering meetings.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives across engineering documentation, configuration management, and product development workflows.

Skills

SolidWorks

PDM administration

GD&T

ASME Y14.5

DFM

CAD modeling

Mentoring engineers

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering

Tools

Siemens NX

CATIA

Creo

Autodesk Inventor

Job description

Machina Labs is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer – Aerospace & Defense to drive design from concept through production release. You will own documentation release, manage the PDM system, and mentor engineers across manufacturing and process engineering to ensure producibility and quality at scale.

This hands-on leadership role requires balancing technical execution with engineering leadership in a fast-paced startup setting, shaping robust design processes for aerospace-grade structures.