Senior Mechanical Engineer

CYVL; Somerville (MA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) with immediate vesting

Generous PTO and parental leave

Professional development stipend

Team events and growth-centric culture

Job summary

Cyvl, a Boston-area hardware and software innovator in Infrastructure Intelligence, seeks a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer to own the sensor housing, enclosure, and mounting system for rugged vehicle use. You will drive design from concept to production, collaborating with electronics, firmware, and perception teams to deliver durable, field-ready hardware.

The role requires hands-on design ownership, through simulations, prototyping, and collaboration with contract manufacturers.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering with 3–7 years of experience, ideally in robotics, automation, automotive, or ruggedized electronics.
• Cradle-to-grave design experience with precision-machined and molded parts; tooling, drafts, gates, and resin choices.
• Experience designing for CNC machining, molded plastics, and 3D printing; sheet metal or weldments as needed.
• Follow-through from concept to production; collaboration with molders and tool shops on DFM.
• Thermal management of electronics in sealed enclosures and IP rating considerations.
• Strong documentation skills and revision control in PLM or equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Take designs from concept to production with cross-functional engineers.
• Prove design by structural and thermal simulations; conduct vibration, ingress, and environmental testing.
• Design a mounting system easy for non-specialists to install on diverse vehicles without damage.
• Produce drawings, GD&T, models, and BOMs for repeatable manufacturing.
• Determine what stays in machining versus tooling as volume grows; lead DFMs with CM.
• Own product lifecycle documentation and ensure alignment between released design and built units.
• Troubleshoot mechanical issues from design through field and improve unit reliability.
• Support transition to contract manufacturing with documentation, fixtures, tolerance strategy, and early DFM.

Skills

Mechanical design

SolidWorks

OnShape

Creo

DFM

Thermal management

Vibration testing

Documentation

Education

BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

OnShape

Creo

Job description

About Us

Cyvl is a Boston-based tech startup revolutionizing the way civil engineering firms and governments map and manage transportation infrastructure. Our enterprise-grade hardware and software solutions leverage 3D mapping sensors to capture LiDAR, imagery, and GPS data, retrofitted to our customers' vehicles. This data is processed through our AI-powered cloud pipelines to generate actionable condition and geospatial reports, saving our customers time, money, and resources. We are in a phase of rapid growth, disrupting a massive and outdated market with our innovative solutions.

At Cyvl, our mission is to empower governments to build and maintain public infrastructure they're proud of by accelerating decision-making through our sensors and Infrastructure Intelligence Platform. As our Senior Mechanical Design Engineer, you'll own the design of the sensor that makes all of it possible and help define what the next generation looks like as we scale production.

We're a fast-moving, high-growth team that believes in solving real-world problems with authenticity, simplicity, and boldness. Every member of our team is empowered to take ownership, deliver results, and leave a lasting impact on the communities we serve.

About You

We're looking for a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer to own the hardware at the center of everything we do. Our sensor mounts to the roof of a customer's vehicle and stays there through winters, potholes, and the occasional car wash. It has to survive all of that and still come back with clean data. The enclosure, chassis, thermal path, sealing, and mounting system are yours, along with the drawings and documentation that let someone else build it correctly a thousand times. This is a hands-on design role with real ownership. If you're motivated by hardware that holds up in the real world, this role is for you.

Key Responsibilities

• Take designs from concept to production with our electrical, firmware, and perception engineers
• Prove the design survives real life: structural and thermal simulation, vibration and shock, ingress and environmental testing
• Design a mounting system a non-specialist can install on a wide range of customer vehicles without damaging them
• Produce the drawings, GD&T, models, and BOMs that let someone who has never met you build it correctly
• Decide what stays machined and what moves to tooling as volume grows, and run DFM with our molders
• Own the product lifecycle process and its documentation, keeping the released design and the built unit in agreement
• Troubleshoot mechanical issues across design, build, and field, and lead the work that raises unit reliability
• Support the move to contract manufacturing: assembly documentation, fixtures, tolerance strategy, FAI, and early DFM with the CM
• Meet relevant safety, vehicle-mounting, and quality standards, and hold the line on cost as we scale

Qualifications

Required:

• BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering or a related field, with 3-7 years of experience, ideally in robotics, automation, automotive, or ruggedized electronics
• Cradle-to-grave design experience with precision-machined and molded parts; SolidWorks preferred, but OnShape, Creo, or similar is fine
• Experience designing for CNC machining, molded plastics, and 3D printing, and comfortable picking up sheet metal or weldments when a part calls for it
• Has taken parts to tooling and shipped them, designing for the mold rather than just in plastic: draft, parting lines and gates, shrink and warp, ejection, and resin choice for years of sun and road grime
• Has worked directly with molders and tool shops through DFM review, tool kickoff, first shots, and tuning
• Comfortable building, testing, and iterating on functional prototypes by hand
• Experience with tolerance stackups, FAI review, and DFMEAs
• Has followed designs through the production line, fixing issues in engineering builds, production builds, and the field
• Experience managing revision control, change orders, and deviations in a PLM system or a disciplined equivalent
• Thermal management of electronics inside sealed enclosures, and sealing to a real IP rating
• Strong judgment on design, performance, and logistical tradeoffs, and clear technical documentation
• Willing and able to work from our Boston‑area office 5 days per week

Nice to Have

• Experience designing enclosures for a standard autonomy stack: cameras, GNSS, LiDAR, IMUs, and edge compute
• Vehicle‑mounted or automotive accessory hardware, including roof‑rack, rail, and magnetic mounts
• Optical window design, sealing, and keeping glass clean in a road environment
• An eye for beautiful, well‑designed components: parts that look and feel considered, with finish, texture, parting lines, and fit that read as premium
• Experience taking hardware from low‑volume in‑house assembly to contract‑manufactured production
• Hardware deployed into government, public‑sector, or other regulated environments
• A portfolio or photos of hardware you've designed; we'd rather see the parts than read about them

What we offer

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k) with immediate vesting
• Generous PTO, paid parental leave, and flexible work options
• Annual professional development stipend
• Team events, referral bonuses, and a collaborative, growth‑focused culture

About Cyvl

At Cyvl, you'll join a driven and supportive team that's all out in building technology with real impact. We care deeply about our work, our customers, and each other. Collaboration and trust are at the core of how we operate.

Our values guide how we operate and shape a team that is genuinely RAARE:

Real – authentic, transparent, focused on solving real problems with simple, effective solutions.

All Out – bold, driven, and committed to delivering results that matter.

Accelerating – always learning, growing, and moving with intention.

Reliable – we follow through and deliver at a consistently high bar.

Empowering – we lift each other up and help governments build infrastructure they can be proud of.

Learn How we Think

Learn about our startup journey

Learn what we are doing

Learn about our customers

Together, we stay curious, learn quickly, and keep raising the bar. If you want to grow, make an impact that truly matters, and be part of a team that's shaping the future of public infrastructure, you'll feel right at home at Cyvl.

At Cyvl, we welcome and celebrate diversity in all its forms. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. Your unique perspective is valued here.

Compensation Range: $140K - $180K