Sr Mechanical Engineer - Optical Solutions

Molex; Fremont (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 225,000; Full time

Job summary

Molex is seeking a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer to shape the hardware interfaces of high‑performance optical networking platforms. You will define system layouts, tactile experiences, and premium aesthetics for line cards, modules, chassis systems, and other optical hardware under demanding thermal conditions.

You will drive surface finishes, color cues, detents, and force profiles while translating concepts into manufacturable solutions, prototyping rapidly, and validating usability and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering.
• At least 7 years of Mechanical Design experience.
• Experience with designing data center hardware (line cards, racks, server rack mounts, open/closed frame racks, PDUs, chassis).
• At least 5 years of leading mechanical designs from concept to production.
• Experience designing mechanical interfaces with demonstrable attention to look, feel, and tactile quality.
• Experience with tolerance stack-ups, finite element analysis (FEA), and thermal management.

Responsibilities

• Design and standardize mechanical user interface elements with explicit appearance and quality standards goals.
• Specify product interface and mechanism details and define force curves, detents, travel, and feedback.
• Translate industrial design concepts into manufacturable mechanical solutions preserving visual cues.
• Produce rapid prototypes to validate ergonomic performance, functionality and visual/tactile fidelity.
• Plan and run usability and sensory evaluations to measure perceived quality, ease of use, and visual clarity of interaction points.
• Generate mechanical and cosmetic specifications including materials, finishes, textures, tolerances, and color/marking standards.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align system performance with usability, visual and tactile intent.
• Work with manufacturing and suppliers to ensure tooling and surface treatments preserve look and feel at scale.
• Support reliability and environmental testing with acceptance criteria that include appearance retention and wear resistance.
• Drive continuous improvement by analyzing field feedback and implementing design changes.
• Document design rationale for mechanical performance and look-and-feel decisions.
• Address customer technical issues in collaboration with application engineers, Quality, and technical support teams.

Job description

Molex is a global leader in the optical industry, renowned for delivering high-performance, field-proven wavelength management solutions. Our expertise spans components, modules, integrated line‑cards, and chassis, with a strong focus on innovation, miniaturization, and manufacturing automation. Our advanced optical, mechanical, electrical, and software design capabilities support the evolving needs of high‑density, high‑bandwidth, and flexible optical networks across telecom, datacom, hyperscale data centers, artificial intelligence, and supercomputing.

Our Optical Solutions team is headquartered in Fremont, CA, with design and manufacturing teams across the world. Our customers are world‑wide leaders in technology and we are meeting their telecom and datacom developing next‑generation optical systems for AI, cloud, and advanced optical networks.

As a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer, you will design, define and deliver system layout, appearance, tactile experience, and ease of use for Molex OSBU's optical networking hardware‑line cards, optical modules, chassis systems, and other high‑performance optical platforms. You will blend mechanical design expertise, human‑centered design, and systems thinking to deliver intuitive, visually coherent, ergonomic, mechanically reliable, and premium‑feeling interfaces for dense, thermally constrained environments.

You will define the visual language of mechanical elements (surface finishes, color cues, iconography, fonts, weights), the tactile behavior (force profiles, detents, feedback), and the overall sensory impression.

What You Will Do

• Design and standardize mechanical user interface elements such as handles, levers, latches, insertion/extraction mechanisms, service and bezel features with explicit appearance and quality standards goals such as consistent surface texture, visual alignment, and perceptible quality.
• Specify product interface and mechanism details and define force curves, detents, travel, and feedback so interactions feel intentional, repeatable, and premium.
• Translate industrial design concepts into manufacturable mechanical solutions while preserving visual cues (color accents, matte/gloss contrasts, safety markings) that guide user actions.
• Produce rapid prototypes (3D print, quick‑turn machined and sheet metal parts, prototype tooling) to validate ergonomic performance, functionality and visual/tactile fidelity.
• Plan and run usability and sensory evaluations to measure perceived quality, ease of use, and visual clarity of interaction points.
• Generate mechanical and cosmetic specifications including materials, finishes, textures, tolerances, and color/marking standards tied to acceptance criteria.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams including Optical, Electrical, Thermal, Firmware, and Product Management to align system performance with usability, visual and tactile intent.
• Work with manufacturing and suppliers to ensure tooling, surface treatments, and assembly processes preserve look and feel at scale.
• Support reliability and environmental testing with acceptance criteria that include appearance retention, tactile consistency after lifecycle testing, and resistance to wear.
• Drive continuous improvement by analyzing field feedback on perceived quality, serviceability, and visual/tactile failure modes and implementing corrective design changes.
• Document design rationale for both mechanical performance and look and feel decisions to guide future product families.
• Address customer technical issues in collaboration with application engineers, Quality, and technical support teams.

Who You Are (Basic Qualifications)

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
• At least 7 years of Mechanical Design experience.
• Experience with designing data center hardware (line cards, racks, server rack mounts, open/closed frame racks, PDUs, chassis).
• At least 5 years of leading mechanical designs from concept to production.
• Experience designing mechanical interfaces with demonstrable attention to look, feel, and tactile quality.
• Expert proficiency in SolidWorks for 3D modeling, assemblies, and detailed drawings.
• Experience with materials, surface finishes, textures, and color application as they affect quality and durability.
• Experience with manufacturing processes (sheet metal, die casting, machining, injection molding) and how they influence final appearance and feel.
• Experience defining and measuring tactile metrics (force, travel, detent) and translating them into CAD features, fixture requirements, and visual outcomes.
• Experience in DFM/DFA.
• Experience with tolerance stack ups, finite element analysis (FEA), and thermal management.

What Will Put You Ahead

• Background in industrial design collaboration, human factors engineering, or ergonomics with a portfolio of high‑quality user interface designs.

For this role, we anticipate paying $170,000 - $225,000 per year. This role is eligible for variable pay, issued as a monetary bonus or in another form.

Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status. Except where prohibited by state law, some offers of employment are conditioned upon successfully passing a drug test. This employer uses E-Verify. Please click here for additional information.