Senior Mechanical Engineer

Span; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation + equity grants

Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage

Flexible hours and time off

Job summary

Span is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to join our Mechanical team in San Francisco. This role involves hands‑on technical design, 3D CAD modeling, and cross-office collaboration with teams in India, driving efficiencies and mentoring less experienced engineers.

The ideal candidate will have over 5 years of experience in mechanical design, strong proficiency in SolidWorks, and familiarity with ASME Y14.5-2018 standards. Benefits include competitive compensation, comprehensive health coverage, and flexible work hours.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of mechanical design experience with ASME Y14.5-2018.
• Proficiency in SolidWorks and familiarity with CAD tools.
• Experience with product life-cycle management tools.

Responsibilities

• Create detailed 3D CAD models and 2D drawings.
• Drive DFM/DFA reviews with manufacturing partners.
• Document design specifications and decisions.

Skills

3D CAD modeling

ASME Y14.5-2018 standards

SolidWorks

Tolerance analysis

Product life-cycle management tools

Google Workspace

Education

BS in Mechanical Engineering or related field

Job description

The Role

We are seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to join our Mechanical team in San Francisco. The role combines hands‑on technical mechanical design work — 3D CAD modeling and 2D drafting against ASME Y14.5‑2018 standards — with ownership of the systems and workflows that allow our globally distributed mechanical engineering organization to operate as a single, cohesive team.

SPAN’s mechanical engineering capability spans San Francisco and India, with senior engineering talent across both locations contributing to a shared product portfolio. In this role, you will own the SF‑side prioritization, intake, and shared‑tooling workstreams that connect the two offices — architecting the templates, conventions, workflows, and collaboration infrastructure that allow engineers in both locations to operate from a common foundation. Your work directly enables the productivity of a broader engineering bench, including multiple senior and senior staff engineers in India whose effectiveness depends on a strong, well‑organized partnership across time zones.

You will also work directly with our manufacturing partners across China and Southeast Asia, driving DFM reviews, resolving tooling and assembly questions, and shepherding pilot builds. As an experienced practitioner, you will serve as a technical resource within the broader mechanical engineering function and contribute to the development of less experienced engineers across the team.

Responsibilities

• Create detailed 3D CAD models and 2D drawings, ensuring compliance with ASME Y14.5‑2018 standards.
• Own the prioritization, intake, and sequencing of CAD work flowing between the San Francisco and India offices, serving as the SF‑side point of contact for cross‑office coordination.
• Architect and maintain the shared tools, templates, file management conventions, and collaboration workflows that allow our distributed mechanical engineering team to function as a single team across time zones.
• Drive DFM/DFA reviews with manufacturing vendors in China and Southeast Asia, resolve tooling and assembly issues, and protect design intent through production.
• Perform tolerance analysis and contribute substantively to Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA) processes.
• Document design specifications and decisions clearly to maintain transparency across distributed teams.
• Apply product life‑cycle management tools and processes to manage revisions and maintain design integrity.
• Lead resolution of design issues, driving modifications that improve product performance.
• Define product performance requirements and test criteria for verification and validation.
• Drive product modules and components from concept to production volume while improving cost and quality.
• Serve as a technical resource and mentor for less experienced engineers, sharing standards, best practices, and operational knowledge across the team.

Potential Projects

• Designing components for energy‑efficient electrical ecosystems.
• Designing new product concepts based on team inputs.
• Driving engineering change requests and design updates.
• Architecting an improved international 2D CAD collaboration workflow — file structure, drawing templates, intake process, status tracking — in partnership with engineering leadership across both offices.
• Leading tooling reviews and pilot builds with international manufacturing partners.

Qualifications

• Hold a BS in Mechanical Engineering or a related field; advanced degree a plus.
• Have a track record of identifying systemic issues and executing on resolutions to drive structural fixes that balanced competing inputs (design intent, manufacturability, cost, schedule) and outlasted any single project.
• Have 5+ years of experience in mechanical design with substantial application of ASME Y14.5‑2018, or a Master’s degree with 2+ years of equivalent experience.
• Demonstrate strong proficiency in SolidWorks; deep familiarity with other parametric modeling tools is a viable substitute.
• Have proven experience performing tolerance analysis and contributing to FMEA processes.
• Have hands‑on experience using product life‑cycle management (PLM) tools to manage engineering projects through their lifecycle.
• Are proficient with the Google Workspace suite of tools (Sheets, Slides, Docs, Drive) for documentation, tracking, and cross‑office collaboration.
• Have experience owning prioritization and sequencing of work across competing requests — a meaningful portion of this role is deciding what work goes where, and when.
• Communicate clearly and patiently in writing — much of the cross‑office and vendor collaboration happens asynchronously over email, chat, and drawing markups.
• Are comfortable with occasional early‑morning or evening calls to overlap with teams in India, China, and Southeast Asia.
• Have a track record of creating Standard Operating Procedures for product manufacturing or test execution.
• Have prior experience mentoring or serving as a technical resource for less experienced engineers.
• Have prior experience working with international design teams or offshore CAD/drafting resources.
• Have experience collaborating with contract manufacturers or tooling vendors in China, India, or Southeast Asia.

Bonus Qualifications

• A process‑or tooling‑improvement mindset — you've built templates, conventions, scripts, macros, or workflows that helped a team run more smoothly.
• Experience automating JIRA workflows — custom dashboards, automation rules, intake forms, or integrations that reduced manual coordination overhead.
• Familiarity with electrical systems and mechanical design integration.
• Experience demonstrating product performance through Engineering and Design Verification Test phases.
• Knowledge of industry standards and practices in manufacturing and product design.
• Cross‑cultural communication experience or fluency in a second language relevant to our partner regions.

Benefits

Competitive compensation + equity grants at a well‑funded, venture‑backed company

Comprehensive benefits: 100% employee premiums for base plans on medical, dental, vision with options for additional coverage. Parental leave up to twenty‑four (24) weeks depending on eligibility.

Comfortable, sunny office space located near BART and Caltrain public transit.

Strong focus on team building and company culture: Employee Resource Groups, monthly social events, recognition breakfast, lunch, and learns.

Flexible hours, one holiday per month, and flexible time off.