Sr. Mechanical Engineer

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

Job summary

Santa Barbara Infrared, Inc. (SBIR), a HEICO subsidiary, seeks a Senior Mechanical Engineer to own the architecture and guide development of precision E-O/IR systems for test equipment. You will define design approaches, create complex assemblies, ensure system integration, and mentor junior engineers in CAD, analysis, and prototyping.

This on-site, Santa Barbara, CA role offers $145,000–$195,000 per year DOE and a standard M–F schedule.

Qualifications

• Hands-on CAD, analysis, and prototyping experience.

Responsibilities

• Own architecture and lifecycle of E-O/IR systems, ensuring performance, environmental and compliance requirements.
• Contribute to team budget and schedule estimations; identify corrective paths to keep projects on track.
• Identify risks early and drive mitigations to maintain program success.
• Collaborate with project managers, system engineers, vendors, and production staff to improve performance, reliability, and quality.
• Drive semiconductor integration and hardware design for IR scene projection products.
• Create and maintain detailed design documentation (fabrication/assembly drawings, BOMs, ICDs).

Job description

Santa Barbara Infrared, Inc. (SBIR), a subsidiary of HEICO Corporation (NYSE: HEI, HEI.A), designs and manufactures electro-optical (E-O), including advanced infrared (IR), test instrumentation used worldwide. Our products support the testing of military and commercial sensor systems in laboratory, production, depot, and field environments. SBIR has built its reputation as a fast-paced, innovative company that provides highly engineered, cost-effective solutions to the aerospace and defense community.

Role Summary

We are seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to own the architecture and guide the development of precision mechanical systems for IR test equipment. In this role, you'll define mechanical design approaches, create and refine complex assemblies, and ensure system-level integration in collaboration with cross-disciplinary teams. You will serve as a technical leader to junior engineers, providing design guidance, reviews, and best practices, while remaining hands-on in CAD, analysis, and prototyping. Your expertise will directly shape the performance and reliability of next-generation optical test systems used by global aerospace and defense leaders. This is a hands-on, on-site role based in Santa Barbara, CA.

$145,000.00/yr. -$195,000.00/yr. – DOE

M-F (Full-Time, On-Site)

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 semiconductor integration and hardware design for IR scene projection products and programs.
• Drive ECO's to create and maintain detailed design documentation, including fabrication/assembly drawings, BOMs, and Interface Control Documents (ICDs).