Senior Mechanical Engineer

American Innovations; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Dental/Vision Insurance

Life and Disability Insurance

Paid Family Leave

401k Matching

Job summary

American Innovations in Austin, TX is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to own the mechanical architecture of Bullhorn RMUs, MicroMax interrupters, and DVM instruments for rugged outdoor operation. You will balance industrial design and long-term reliability, delivering field-ready hardware with tight integration to electrical, firmware, and operations teams.

You will lead design-for-injection-molding, drive tooling through first-article approval, and maintain design records, BOMs, and change

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years taking electronics-containing products from concept through production tooling.
• Mastery of plastic injection-molded enclosure design for outdoor/industrial electronics.
• Hands-on CAD experience (SolidWorks or equivalent) producing production drawings, GD&T, and tolerance analysis.
• Experience qualifying hardware for harsh environments (IP65/NEMA 4X) with molders and contract manufacturers.
• Comfort supporting related processes (sheet metal/aluminum enclosures, 3D-printed prototypes, cable assemblies).
• Working knowledge of NPI and design-control practices: design records, ECO/BOM, DFMEA input, cross-functional gates.
• Demonstrated use of CAD automation, AI-assisted DFM/drawing checks, and design libraries.

Responsibilities

• Own mechanical architecture for next-generation IoT hardware across Bullhorn RMUs, MicroMax interrupters, and DVM instruments.
• Design plastic housings, covers, adapters, battery compartments, antenna windows for outdoor and right-of-way environments.
• Produce complete mechanical design records — CAD models, production prints, GD&T, BOMs, and revision control.
• Lead design-for-injection-molding: wall thickness, seals/gaskets, inserts, and latch features for outdoor housings.
• Drive tooling from DFM through first-article approval and release production-capable tooling.

Skills

Mechanical design

Product development

Cross-functional collaboration

Owner-ship of architecture

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Equivalent experience

Tools

SolidWorks

GD&T

Mold tooling

Job description

Description

American Innovations helps customers keep their field operations running - our technology and support teams are the front line for the people who rely on our products and services every day. We're looking for people who take ownership, communicate clearly, and enjoy solving problems for others.

As Senior Mechanical Engineer, you'll be the mechanical owner of how our Bullhorn RMUs, MicroMax interrupters, and DVM instruments look, mount, seal, and last in the field. This is a senior individual-contributor role: you'll own new-product mechanical architecture and approve production tooling end-to-end, without a second mechanical engineer in the review. A cracked or leaking housing, a unit that won't fit a rectifier cabinet, or a battery door that fails outdoors is a gap in this role - so you'll balance industrial design, field installability, and long-term reliability so a customer's first physical impression of our hardware matches its quality.

What You'll Be Doing

• Own mechanical architecture for next-generation IoT hardware across our Bullhorn rectifier RMUs, test-point/AC coupon RMUs, MicroMax interrupters, and field instruments (DVM)
• Design plastic housings, covers, adapters, battery compartments, antenna windows, and user-facing features that protect electronics in outdoor, rectifier-cabinet, and right-of-way environments (UV, dust, rain, heat, vibration, surge-adjacent installs)
• Create 3D concepts and production-intent models that package PCAs, cellular/satellite radios, GPS, batteries, shunts, relays, and connectors into compact, installable products, including pole/test-station mounts and in-rectifier installs
• Produce complete mechanical design records — CAD models, production prints, GD&T, tolerance stack-ups, BOMs, and revision control — for new products and sustaining changes
• Lead design-for-injection-molding: draft, wall thickness, ribs/bosses, knit lines, gate/ejector strategy, inserts, seals/gaskets, and snap/latch features for industrial, outdoor-rated housings
• Drive tooling from DFM through first-article approval: review mold designs with toolmakers, close dimensional and cosmetic issues, and release production-capable tools as the final mechanical approver on new-product tooling
• Partner with Purchasing, contract manufacturers, and molders to hit cost, lead time, and quality targets, feeding DFM input in early so new products are manufacturable at scale
• Plan and execute mechanical verification and validation for harsh-environment IoT hardware: thermal, humidity, UV, ingress, shock/vibration, drop/abuse, and HALT as needed, including fit/function with PCA, antenna, and battery systems
• Design for measurement integrity and safety - surge-hardened installs, connector strain relief, creepage/clearance keep-outs, and service access that doesn't compromise the seal
• Support UL/TUV/FCC/safety documentation with mechanical evidence: materials, ratings, labels, and enclosure drawings
• Translate field and Technical Support feedback - install pain points, water ingress, cracked housings, battery door issues - into durable design changes, not one-off fixes
• Act as technical owner for new-product mechanical design: review and approve CAD, prints, test plans, and production Zeadiness
• Integrate closely with Electrical, Firmware, Product Management, Operations, and Purchasing so PCA outline, RF keep-outs, thermal paths, and assembly sequence are locked before tooling is cut
• Contribute mechanical deliverables - design records, DFMEA input, prototype plans, and phase-exit evidence - to formal new-product development gates
• Maintain mechanical BOMs, part numbers, and configuration under change control, coordinating with Operations so builds and production transfer aren't blocked by missing prints or tooling
• Use CAD automation, AI-assisted DFM and drawing checks, and reusable design libraries to speed up new-product mechanical work, while retaining ownership of stack-up, material selection, and tooling decisions
• Use simulation (FEA, mold-flow, thermal) to reduce prototype cycles, without substituting analysis for physical ingress, UV, and abuse testing

What We Can Offer You

• Competitive Medical/Dental/Vision Insurance
• Company Provided Life and Disability Insurance
• Paid Family Leave
• Matching 401k
• Supportive and collaborative work environment
• A rewarding culture with a focus on positive business practices and protecting the environment

Requirements

What You'll Need to Succeed:

• A bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent experience, with 7+ years taking electronics-containing products from concept through production tooling
• Demonstrated mastery of plastic injection-molded enclosure design for outdoor or industrial electronics - draft, tooling, seals/gaskets, UV-stable resins - backed by a portfolio of shipped parts, not only prototypes
• Hands-on CAD experience (SolidWorks or equivalent) producing production drawings, GD&T, and tolerance analysis, with comfort packaging PCAs, batteries, antennas, and connectors into compact housings
• Experience qualifying hardware for harsh environments: ingress (IP65/NEMA 4X class), temperature, UV, shock/vibration, and practical DFM work with molders and contract manufacturers
• Comfort supporting related processes - sheet metal/aluminum enclosures, 3D-printed prototypes, cable assemblies - used alongside injection-molded parts
• Working knowledge of NPI and design-control practices: design records, ECO/BOM, DFMEA input, and representing mechanical engineering at cross-functional phase gates
• Demonstrated use of CAD automation, AI-assisted DFM/drawing checks, and structured design libraries to increase throughput, without outsourcing engineering judgment

Nice To Have

• Experience in outdoor IoT, telemetry/RMU, instrumentation, or other rugged connected devices
• Awareness of antenna/RF keep-out design considerations
• Experience supporting UL/IEC 61010 or comparable safety documentation
• Experience potting electronics
• Experience packaging high-voltage or high-current electronics
• A strong design-for-manufacturability, design-for-testability, or design-for-repairability background

Successful applicants must be eligible to work in the US (visa sponsorship is not provided at this time) and must be able to pass a pre-employment background and drug test. American Innovations is an Affidant Action and Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.