Senior Mechanical Engineer, Precision IR/Optical Systems

Socket.dev; Santa Barbara (CA); On-site; USD 145,000 - 195,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

medical

dental

vision

401(k)

PTO

HSA

FSA

9/80 alternate work week schedule

LTD

life insurance

Job summary

Santa Barbara Infrared, Inc. (SBIR) is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to own the architecture and guide the development of precision E‑O/IR test systems for infrared test equipment.

You will define design approaches, create and refine complex assemblies, ensure system‑level integration, and act as a technical leader to junior engineers while remaining hands‑on in CAD, analysis, and prototyping. This on‑site, full‑time role in Santa Barbara, CA offers a salary range of $145,000 to $195,000

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent.
• 10+ years of related experience.
• Expert with CAD tools (SolidWorks preferred) including revision control (PDM/PLM), and GD&T (ASME Y14.5) including tolerance stack‑ups.
• Experience with Finite Element Analysis (FEA) for static analysis.
• Background in optical systems (including alignment and precision adjustment mechanisms), vacuum hardware design, electro‑mechanical system design, and/or power electronics packaging.

Responsibilities

• Own architecture and complete lifecycle of E-O/IR systems, ensuring that mechanical designs meet all performance, environmental, and compliance requirements, driving traceability from concept through delivery.
• Contribute to the ME team’s budgetary and schedule estimations, and rapidly identify corrective paths to keep projects on track.
• Identify technical, schedule, and manufacturing risks early, and drive mitigations to maintain program success.
• Partner with project managers, system engineers, vendors, and production staff to support manufacturing and rapidly implement performance, reliability, and quality improvements.
• Drive ECO’s to create and maintain detailed design documentation, including fabrication/assembly drawings, BOMs, and Interface Control Documents (ICDs).

Skills

SolidWorks

GD&T

FEA

Optical design

Vacuum hardware

Education

Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering

Master's in Mechanical/Optical/Aerospace

Tools

PDM/PLM

ANSYS

COMSOL

Zemax

Job description

Santa Barbara Infrared, Inc. (SBIR) is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to own the architecture and guide the development of precision E‑O/IR test systems for infrared test equipment.

You will define design approaches, create and refine complex assemblies, ensure system‑level integration, and act as a technical leader to junior engineers while remaining hands‑on in CAD, analysis, and prototyping. This on‑site, full‑time role in Santa Barbara, CA offers a salary range of $145,000 to $195,000