Senior Mechanical Lead – UAV Hardware & Production

Lever, Inc.; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Rainmaker is a bold hardware company in California building a cloud seeding UAV system. This role blends hands-on contribution with technical leadership, owning hardware from concept to production while guiding engineers on the team.

You will lead a team of mechanical engineers, collaborate with Electrical, Manufacturing, and Test teams, and drive design, prototyping, testing, and manufacturing readiness. The role offers $120,000-$150,000 per year and the opportunity to scale cutting-edge

Qualifications

• 7+ years of mechanical engineering in hardware development (UAV/UAS exposure).
• Experience managing engineers — direct reports, performance, and resources.
• Excellence in parametric CAD (SolidWorks).
• Strong FEA experience: linear static, linear dynamic, nonlinear dynamic, thermal.
• Hands-on rapid prototyping: FDM, SLA, MJF, CO2 laser, fiber laser, press brake.
• Significant composites experience — layup, tooling, and design for manufacturing.

Responsibilities

• Direct Reports: Manage a team of mechanical engineers; set goals and mentor.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Electrical, Manufacturing, Production, and Test teams.
• Resource Allocation: Prioritize and assign engineering resources across projects and subsystems.
• Hiring: Collaborate with recruiting and Program Manager on hires and interviews.
• Org Scaling: Define team structure, processes, and standards as engineering grows.

Skills

UAV/UAS experience

Team leadership

Mechanical design

SolidWorks

FEA

Rapid prototyping

Composites

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

FEA software

Job description

Rainmaker is a bold hardware company in California building a cloud seeding UAV system. This role blends hands-on contribution with technical leadership, owning hardware from concept to production while guiding engineers on the team.

You will lead a team of mechanical engineers, collaborate with Electrical, Manufacturing, and Test teams, and drive design, prototyping, testing, and manufacturing readiness. The role offers $120,000-$150,000 per year and the opportunity to scale cutting-edge