Senior Research Engineer, Solid Mechanics

Gridware; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 185,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, Dental & Vision insurance

Paid parental leave

Alternating day off

Two-week paid break per year

Commuter allowance

Company-paid training

Job summary

A cutting-edge technology company in San Francisco is seeking a Senior Research Engineer with deep expertise in solid mechanics to develop innovative sensing capabilities. The candidate will design measurement algorithms, lead field validation studies, and mentor team members, bridging theory and practical applications. Applicants should hold a PhD or MS in Mechanical or Civil Engineering with significant industry experience. The position offers a competitive salary of $185,000 - $200,000 annually and various benefits including health insurance and paid parental leave.

Qualifications

• PhD in Mechanical Engineering or related field plus 3+ years of experience, or MS with 6+ years.
• Deep expertise in solid mechanics, able to derive structural models.
• Experience with nonlinear material behavior and its effects on mechanical properties.

Responsibilities

• Design physics-based measurement algorithms.
• Conduct field validation studies.
• Mentor team members on structural mechanics.

Skills

Solid mechanics expertise

Experimental design and analysis

Scientific computing

Technical judgment

Education

PhD or MS in Mechanical/Civil Engineering

Tools

Python

MATLAB

Job description

About Gridware

Gridware is a San Francisco‑based technology company dedicated to protecting and enhancing the electrical grid. We pioneered a groundbreaking new class of grid management called active grid response (AGR), focused on monitoring the electrical, physical, and environmental aspects of the grid that affect reliability and safety. Gridware’s advanced Active Grid Response platform uses high‑precision sensors to detect potential issues early, enabling proactive maintenance and fault mitigation. This comprehensive approach helps improve safety, reduce outages, and ensure the grid operates efficiently. The company is backed by climate‑tech and Silicon Valley investors.

Role Description

We are seeking a Senior Research Engineer with deep expertise in solid mechanics to build the theoretical foundation of new sensing Gridware’s new sensing capabilities. You will be the team’s subject matter expert on the mechanics of structures, and your work will directly shape how we measure, validate, and improve our physics‑based measurement systems.

You will develop performant measurement algorithms, lead sensitivity analyses that quantify how physical assumptions and algorithm inputs propagate into measurement error and run field validation studies. You will bridge the gap between structural mechanics theory and deployed sensing products.

This position focuses on mechanics modeling, algorithm design, validation study design, and technical leadership rather than fleet‑scale data operations or software implementation.

Responsibilities

• Design physics‑based measurement algorithms.
• Determine which physical and structural input parameters most reduce algorithm uncertainty, to what precision they are needed, and how to acquire them—optimizing the trade‑off between input data cost and measurement accuracy. Identify which error sources dominate and mitigate them.
• Design and execute field validation studies: develop the protocol, sample size, acceptance criteria, and ground‑truth measurement methods to evaluate our measurement products.
• Serve as the team’s theoretical subject matter expert on structure mechanics: failure modes, material nonlinearity, creep, damage progression, soil‑structure interaction, and regulatory strength standards.
• Investigate alternative measurement principles that could improve accuracy or add interpretability.
• Mentor team members on structural mechanics fundamentals and raise the rigor of the team’s scientific work.
• Collaborate closely with cross‑functional stakeholders to operationalize new capabilities from measurement to customer delivery.

Required Skills

• PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Civil/Structural Engineering, or a closely related field plus 3+ years of relevant industry experience, or MS in one of those fields plus 6+ years of relevant industry experience with a demonstrated track record of leading structural mechanics work end‑to‑end.
• Deep expertise in solid mechanics: beam theory, stress‑strain constitutive models, failure criteria, fracture mechanics, fatigue. Able to derive and critically evaluate structural models from first principles.
• Experience with nonlinear material behavior—specifically wood, composites, biological materials, or other anisotropic/viscoelastic materials. Understanding of how material structural variability, environmental factors, anisotropy, and aging affect mechanical properties.
• Track record of designing and analyzing physical experiments or validation studies with quantitative rigor—defining acceptance criteria, characterizing uncertainty, and drawing defensible conclusions.
• Scientific computing: comfortable developing mechanics models and writing experimental analysis pipelines in Python, MATLAB, or equivalent.
• Strong technical judgment, communication, and ability to translate complex mechanics into actionable engineering recommendations.
• Experience leading technically complex work across multiple stakeholders and deadlines.

Relevant Depth Areas

We do not expect every senior candidate to be equally deep in every area below. Strong candidates will usually bring deep experience in several of these areas.

• Wood, timber, or nonlinear material mechanics: experience with the mechanical behavior of wood, fiber‑reinforced composites, or other anisotropic/viscoelastic materials—species‑ or batch‑dependent properties, moisture and environmental effects, progressive degradation, load duration factors, and relevant standards.
• Sensor data interpretation for physical systems: experience using sensor signals to infer the physical state of a structure or system—developing physics‑based models that connect indirect measurements to quantities of interest, and understanding how measurement error propagates into derived quantities.
• Geotechnical mechanics: soil‑structure interaction modeling, foundation stiffness characterization, or embedded pile/pole analysis.
• Probabilistic structural analysis: reliability methods, Monte Carlo simulation, extreme value statistics, or load and resistance factor design (LRFD) applied to structural systems.
• Experimental mechanics: strain gauging, load testing, DIC, or other experimental stress/strain measurement on structures. Experience designing controlled loading experiments.
• FEA of nonlinear or composite structures: finite element modeling of wood, composite, or other nonlinear material systems under combined loading—material model selection, mesh sensitivity, and validation against experimental data.

Bonus Skills

• Familiarity with GIS tools or spatial analysis for infrastructure data.
• Published research in wood mechanics, structural reliability, or structural health monitoring.
• Experience designing field studies or validation trials with external partners.

Salary

$185,000 - $200,000 a year

Visa Restrictions

At this time, Gridware is unable to provide visa sponsorship or immigration support for this role. We’re only able to consider candidates who are currently authorized to work in the country of employment without visa sponsorship now or in the future.

Ideal Candidate

This describes the ideal candidate; many of us have picked up this expertise along the way. Even if you meet only part of this list, we encourage you to apply!

Benefits

• Health, Dental & Vision (Gold and Platinum with some provider plans fully covered)
• Paid parental leave
• Alternating day off (every other Monday)
• “Off the Grid”, a two week per year paid break for all employees.
• Commuter allowance
• Company‑paid training