Senior Mechanical Engineer, UAV Hardware & Prototyping

Drive Capital; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% Employer paid Health, Dental and

Life Insurance (Employer Paid)

401k Matching

Unlimited PTO with minimum 2 weeks

Equity Package

Work/Home Office Stipend

Global Entry

16 Week Paid Parental Leave

Monthly Health and Wellness Stipend

Job summary

HavocAI is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to lead the maturation of Locust, a DoD fieldable UAS, from prototype to production readiness. You will own airframe design for manufacturability, perform structural analyses, and drive system integration while coordinating with manufacturing partners and government customers.

The role requires hands-on CAD work, prototype assembly, and field/test experience, with a focus on lightweight structures, design-for-manufacturability, and rapid iteration

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related discipline.
• 3+ years of mechanical product development experience.
• Strong 3D CAD and mechanical design experience.
• Demonstrated experience taking hardware from concept through prototype and testing.
• Hands-on experience assembling, modifying, troubleshooting, and testing electromechanical systems.
• Strong understanding of mechanical design fundamentals including materials, fasteners, tolerancing, structures, and manufacturing processes.
• Experience designing parts for CNC machining, sheet metal, composites, additive manufacturing, or similar fabrication processes.
• Experience developing test fixtures and executing mechanical validation testing.
• Ability to independently troubleshoot hardware failures and drive design changes.

Responsibilities

• Design mechanical components, assemblies, structures, enclosures, mounts, and mechanisms for unmanned aerial systems
• Develop concepts and detailed designs using 3D CAD
• Own mechanical designs from initial requirements through prototype, test, iteration, and production release
• Build and assemble prototype vehicles and subsystems
• Work directly with machine shops, fabrication vendors, and suppliers to rapidly produce prototype hardware
• Develop engineering drawings, tolerances, interfaces, and manufacturing documentation
• Perform engineering calculations including structural, load, thermal, vibration, tolerance, and basic mechanical analysis
• Design lightweight structures while balancing strength, stiffness, manufacturability, cost, and weight
• Develop and execute mechanical test plans Conduct structural, vibration, environmental, durability, and system-level testing
• Diagnose mechanical failures and rapidly implement design improvements
• Support flight testing and vehicle-level integration
• Work closely with electrical, embedded, autonomy, controls, manufacturing, and test engineers
• Design for manufacturability, assembly, serviceability, and field repair
• Participate directly in vehicle builds, troubleshooting, test campaigns, and engineering validation

Skills

3D CAD

Mechanical design

Structural analysis

Prototype development

Vendor collaboration

Machining knowledge

UAS/UAV experience

Test planning

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

FEA software

Job description

HavocAI is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to lead the maturation of Locust, a DoD fieldable UAS, from prototype to production readiness. You will own airframe design for manufacturability, perform structural analyses, and drive system integration while coordinating with manufacturing partners and government customers.

The role requires hands-on CAD work, prototype assembly, and field/test experience, with a focus on lightweight structures, design-for-manufacturability, and rapid iteration