Senior Mechanical Engineer

Aircapture; Berkeley (CA); On-site; USD 165,000 - 185,000; Full time

Job summary

Aircapture in Berkeley, CA seeks a Senior Mechanical Engineer to design and develop mechanical systems for next-generation DAC units, from concept to deployment, collaborating with electrical, controls, and process engineers.

You’ll translate prototypes into scalable production, support field deployments, work with vendors, and drive testing, validation, and continuous improvement to meet ambitious climate goals.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent required.
• 7+ years delivering hardware systems from design through build, test and deployment.
• Experience in fast-paced, cross-functional startup environments.
• Hands-on design and ability to work with hardware tools.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop mechanical systems for next-gen DAC units across lifecycle.
• Translate prototypes into scalable, manufacturable systems with cross-functional teams.
• Support field deployments and iterate based on real-world performance.
• Collaborate with vendors and manufacturing partners to scale production.
• Drive testing, validation, and continuous improvement.

Skills

Mechanical design

Product deployment

Cross-functional collaboration

Hands-on hardware

System integration

Prototyping

Fabrication readiness

Education

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Master’s degree a plus

Job description

At Aircapture we’re creating technology to solve what we believe to be our lifetime’s most pressing challenge: the climate crisis. We supply commercial and industrial customers with clean CO2 captured from our atmosphere to radically improve the environment, our economy, and our lives. We value building a team of people who represent diverse backgrounds–be it thought, education, gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation–to reach our goals. Thank you for considering us.

As a Senior Mechanical Engineer at Aircapture, you will be an essential member of our team, collaborating with Electrical and Process Engineers on our R&D efforts and improving installed systems. This is a very exciting time to join Aircapture as we expand our market share and revolutionize Direct Air Capture (“DAC”) technology. If you want to have a major impact at a groundbreaking climate technology startup, this is the role for you!

This role is onsite at our development and production facility in Berkeley, California.

Salary: $165,000-185,000 per year

What You’ll Do Here

• Design and develop mechanical systems for our next-generation DAC units, impacting the entire product lifecycle: concept, design, build, test, and deployment
• Translate prototypes into scalable, manufacturable systems while collaborating cross-functionally with electrical, controls, and systems teams
• Support field deployments and iterate technology based on real-world performance
• Work with vendors and manufacturing partners to bring systems into production
• Drive engineering rigor through testing, validation, and continuous improvement

Your Skills and Abilities Include

• Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent experience, Master’s degree a plus
• 7+ years of experience developing and scaling industrial or hardware systems, and a proven track record of taking products from design through build, test, and deployment
• Experience working with cross-functional teams in fast-paced environments–we are an early stage start-up and success requires flexibility and a solutions-oriented mindset and attitude
• Ability to operate both strategically and hands-on–you love to design and also don’t hesitate to pick up a wrench
• Strong fundamentals in mechanical design and system integration, including expertise in one or more of these focus areas:
  • Experience with computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
  • Background in radio frequency (RF) system design
  • Experience with refrigeration or thermal systems
  • Familiarity with contract manufacturing
  • Experience with gas handling, processing, or liquefaction systems
  • Experience with rotating machinery such as fans, compressors, and pumps

This position requires physical activities including climbing stairs or ladders, stooping, crouching to work on equipment, operating machinery and lifting and carrying loads of 50 lbs or more.

Aircapture strives to create a safe, inclusive, equitable, and diverse workplace. Every teammate adds to who we are, diversifying our ideas, experiences and viewpoints and makes us stronger. We hope you feel welcome here.