Senior Mechanical Engineer

Lyten; Indianapolis (IN); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Lyten is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to drive lightweighting initiatives for Lyten Motorsports in Indianapolis. You will lead carbon fiber development, replacing legacy metal components with carbon structures while expanding in-house additive manufacturing capabilities.

The role demands strong DFM for composites and 3D printing, plus expertise in designing for manufacturability, ply schedules, and FEA validation. You will collaborate closely with the shop floor to iterate rapidly.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering with 5+ years of design experience, or master's with 3+ years.
• Proficiency in CATIA, Siemens NX, or SolidWorks.
• Experience with DFM for composites and 3D printing.
• Strong knowledge of composite mechanics, bonding, and material properties.
• Solid GD&T fundamentals.
• Ability to iterate quickly from digital design to physical parts.

Responsibilities

• Lead traditional carbon fiber development from concept to production.
• Identify metal components for composite replacement to reduce weight.
• Design complex composite parts with ply schedules and joints.
• Develop surface models and tooling for carbon fiber layup.
• Design end-use parts, jigs, and fixtures for in-house AM.
• Apply topology optimization and generative design to maximize strength-to-weight.
• Select optimal additive technology and materials for apps.
• Collaborate with composite shop floor to ensure manufacturability and troubleshoot.
• Create engineering drawings, ply-books, and work instructions.
• Perform structural analysis and FEA to validate stiffness and failure modes.
• Support physical testing to correlate with analytical models.

Skills

3D CAD software

DFM for composites

Composite mechanics

GD&T

Problem solving

Additive manufacturing

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical/Aerospace

Master's degree in Mechanical/Aerospace

Tools

Fibersim

CPD

Altair Inspire

nTop

Job description

Lyten is leading an industrial revolution through Lyten 3D Graphene™, a breakthrough supermaterial unlocking a new generation of products - from lithium-sulfur batteries and energy storage systems to concrete admixtures, lightweight composites, and next-generation sensors that are revolutionizing industries. Together, these innovations are making a massive global improvement and driving real-world impact across energy, mobility, construction, and defense.

At Lyten, we believe the most meaningful careers begin with purpose - and with people who want to make a difference. We're not just developing advanced supermaterials - we're about to change the world as we know it, reshaping how energy is stored, how products are built, and how progress is made.

We're entering an exciting growth phase, scaling production across the U.S. and Europe and expanding our team of engineers, scientists, and innovators.

Senior Mechanical Engineer

Position Overview

We are seeking a highly innovative Senior Mechanical Engineer to drive our lightweighting initiatives at Lyten Motorsports. In this role, you will be the driving force behind leading traditional, ground-up carbon fiber developments, as well as identifying, designing, and validating the transition of legacy metal vehicle components into advanced Carbon structures.

Additionally, you will lead design efforts for our in-house Additive Manufacturing (3D printing) capabilities. Because our composite manufacturing and additive manufacturing operations are co-located in the same Indianapolis facility, you will have the unique advantage of designing, prototyping, and iterating rapidly alongside the technicians building your parts. The ideal candidate has a strong foundation in Design for Manufacturability (DFM) for both composites and 3D printing, combined with a passion for high-performance motorsports engineering.

Key Responsibilities

• Composite Design & Development: Lead traditional, clean-sheet carbon fiber development projects, designing new CFRP components from initial concept through final production.
• Identify target metal components within motorsports platforms for composite replacement to achieve significant weight reduction without sacrificing structural integrity.
• Design complex composite parts, including defining ply schedules, laminate orientations, core materials, and bonded joint designs.
• Develop surface models and tooling designs (molds, trim jigs) for carbon fiber layup.
• Additive Manufacturing Design: Design end-use parts, manufacturing aids, jigs, and fixtures utilizing our in-house Additive Manufacturing equipment.
• Apply topology optimization and generative design principles to maximize the strength-to-weight ratio of 3D-printed components.
• Determine the optimal additive technology (e.g., FDM, SLA, SLS) and material selection for specific engineering applications.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Manufacturing Support: Work hand-in-hand with the composite shop floor (located in the same building) to ensure designs are highly manufacturable and to troubleshoot layup or demolding challenges.
• Create detailed engineering drawings, ply-books, and manufacturing work instructions for the composites and additive teams.
• Analysis & Validation: Perform structural analysis and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) on both composite and 3D-printed parts to validate stiffness, load paths, and failure modes.
• Support physical testing and validation of prototype components to correlate with analytical models.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline AND 5+ years of mechanical design experience, with a strong focus on both advanced composites and additive manufacturing OR master's degree in mechanical engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline field AND 3+ years of related experience
• Technical Skills: Advanced proficiency in 3D CAD software (e.g., CATIA, Siemens NX, or SolidWorks).
• Proven experience in Design for Manufacturability (DFM) specifically tailored to composite layup and 3D printing.
• Strong understanding of composite mechanics, metal-to-composite joint design (bonding/fastening), and material properties.
• Solid foundation in Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T).
• Problem Solving: Ability to iterate rapidly, moving from digital design to physical part quickly in a fast-paced environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct engineering experience within the motorsports industry (IndyCar, IMSA, NASCAR, F1, etc.).
• Experience using composite-specific design software (e.g., Fibersim, CPD).
• Familiarity with topology optimization software (e.g., Altair Inspire, nTop).
• Hands-on experience running industrial 3D printers or working directly on a composites shop floor.

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