Staff Mechanical Engineer

Blackstone Talent Group; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 160,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Blackstone Talent Group in San Francisco is seeking a Staff Mechanical Engineer to lead mechanical hardware design for Hayden AI's vision AI platform in real-world deployments.

You will own architecture, sheet metal, and integration with electrical and CV teams, traveling domestically and internationally to installations.

The role requires 8+ years' experience in automotive-grade design, GD&T, and a startup mindset, with opportunities to mentor and scale production.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
• 8+ years of experience designing and shipping complex hardware systems.
• Hands-on experience with vehicle/automotive-grade mechanical design.
• Expertise in structures, brackets, and sheet metal fabrication.
• Proficient in CAD (SolidWorks, Creo, NX).
• Strong GD&T, tolerance analysis, and stack-ups.
• DFM/DFA for low-to-medium volume production scaling.
• Experience designing for harsh environments.
• Proven track record from prototype to production.
• Fast-paced startup mindset and ownership.
• Experience working with JDM partners.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end design of vehicle-mounted hardware systems, including enclosures, brackets, and structural components.
• Own mechanical architecture for automotive environments (vibration, shock, thermal, weather exposure).
• Design and develop sheet metal and fabricated structures optimized for performance, cost, manufacturability, assembly and installation.
• Drive product development from concept → prototype → validation → production → installation.
• Perform and guide engineering analyses (FEA, vibration, fatigue, thermal, tolerance stack-ups).
• Partner cross-functionally with electrical, computer vision, manufacturing and installation team.
• Work closely with suppliers and contract manufacturers on DFM/DFA, tooling, and scaling production.
• Establish best practices for CAD, drawings, GD&T, and design reviews.
• Mentor engineers and raise the bar for mechanical design quality and rigor.
• Identify technical risks early and lead mitigation strategies.
• Travel to customer sites to support pilot hardware installations.

Skills

Ownership mindset

Startup environment

Mechanical design

Cross-functional collaboration

Tolerance analysis

Education

Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering or related field

Tools

SolidWorks

Creo

NX

Job description

Blackstone Talent Group, an award-winning technology consulting and talent agency is seeking a Staff Mechanical Engineer to join our Client's team.

About The Role

As the Staff Mechanical Engineer, you will play a key role in building the rugged hardware systems that bring Hayden AI’s vision AI platform into real-world deployment. You will own critical mechanical engineering efforts across product architecture, structural and thermal design, vehicle integration, prototyping, validation, and production launch for automotive-grade systems operating in challenging outdoor environments.

You will report into the Mechanical Engineering team and partner closely with Electrical, Embedded, Computer Vision, Manufacturing, Operations and Installation teams. We’re looking for someone who thrives in a fast-moving startup environment and brings deep technical capability, strong engineering judgment, and hands‑on experience developing reliable hardware products for production.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end design of vehicle-mounted hardware systems, including enclosures, brackets, and structural components
• Own mechanical architecture for products operating in automotive environments (vibration, shock, thermal, weather exposure)
• Design and develop sheet metal and fabricated structures optimized for performance, cost, manufacturability, assembly and installation
• Drive product development from concept → prototype → validation → production → installation
• Perform and guide engineering analyses (FEA, vibration, fatigue, thermal, tolerance stack-ups)
• Partner cross-functionally with electrical, computer vision, manufacturing and installation team
• Work closely with suppliers and contract manufacturers on DFM/DFA, tooling, and scaling production
• Establish best practices for CAD, drawings, GD&T, and design reviews
• Mentor engineers and raise the bar for mechanical design quality and rigor
• Identify technical risks early and lead mitigation strategies
• Travel to customer sites (domestically and internationally) to support pilot hardware installations

Required

• Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering or related field
• 8+ years of experience designing and shipping complex hardware systems
• Strong hands‑on experience with vehicle or automotive-grade mechanical design
• Deep expertise in structures, brackets, and sheet metal fabrication
• Proficiency in CAD (e.g., SolidWorks, Creo, NX)
• Strong understanding of GD&T, tolerance analysis, and stack-ups
• Experience in design, manufacturing technologies and DFM/DFA for low-to-medium volume production scaling
• Experience designing for harsh environments (vibration, ingress protection, thermal cycling)
• Proven track record of taking products from prototype to production
• Strong ownership mindset and ability to operate in a fast-paced startup
• Experience working with and managing JDM partners

Preferred

• Master’s in Mechanical Engineering or related field
• Experience with vehicle integration (mounting to buses, fleets, or automotive platforms)
• Familiarity with automotive standards (e.g., vibration, environmental, ingress protection)
• Experience with sheetmetal and machined structural components
• Background in ruggedized electronics enclosures or camera/sensor systems
• Experience with FEA tools
• Experience working with global suppliers

Security Clearance Required: N/A

Blackstone Talent Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of Blackstone Technology Group, a global IT services and software firm that implements technological solutions across commercial industry verticals and the US Federal Government. Blackstone's global talent augmentation practice was founded in 1998. Blackstone Talent Group has offices in San Francisco, Denver, Houston, Colorado Springs, and Washington, DC. We specialize in providing clients the best talent across a variety of industries and sectors.