Senior Mechanical Engineer - Ruggedized Laser Systems

Hardware FYI; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and equity

United Health Care medical, dental, &

Flexible PTO + sick days

Travel to field test events

Lunches and office snacks

E-bike and scooter stipend

Direct access to leadership

Job summary

Aurelius Systems is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to own major subsystems of a rugged laser weapon system from architecture through bench validation and production handoff. You will design laser head enclosures, gimbal structures and beam director mounts, ensuring survivability in harsh environments.

You will apply heavy FEA, MIL-STD-810 testing, and thermal management to keep high‑power electronics aligned and reliable in the field, coordinating with Detroit manufacturing and mentoring

Qualifications

• 5+ years in mechanical engineering on ruggedized, field-deployable systems.
• At least one subsystem you took from prototype to production.
• Strong FEA (ANSYS, Nastran, Abaqus or equivalent) and the bench work to back it up.
• Hands-on design to MIL-STD-810 or equivalent shock and vibration standards.
• Thermal design for high-power systems.
• Evidence you learn fast. You got effective in a new domain in months, not years.

Responsibilities

• Mechanical design of major subsystems: laser source and head enclosures, gimbal and beam director structure, mounts.
• Survivability to MIL-STD shock, vibration, humidity, dust and austere environments.
• Thermal management for high-power laser and electronics packaging.
• Precision and optomechanical packaging that holds alignment through shock and thermal cycles.
• FEA (static, modal, random vibration, shock response spectrum) and correlation to test.
• Test rigs, instrumentation and bench validation you build and run yourself.
• DFM and the handoff to manufacturing in Detroit.
• Design reviews and raising the bar for the junior ME team.

Skills

5+ years mech eng

Prototype to production

FEA expertise

MIL-STD-810

Thermal design

Fast learner

Education

BS/MS in Mechanical/Aerospace

Tools

ANSYS

Nastran

Abaqus

Job description

Aurelius Systems is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to own major subsystems of a rugged laser weapon system from architecture through bench validation and production handoff. You will design laser head enclosures, gimbal structures and beam director mounts, ensuring survivability in harsh environments.

You will apply heavy FEA, MIL-STD-810 testing, and thermal management to keep high‑power electronics aligned and reliable in the field, coordinating with Detroit manufacturing and mentoring