Senior Mechanical Engineer

About the Role

A fast-moving, venture-backed robotics startup in Austin, TX — building multi-mission ground robots for emergency response, industrial operations, and defense — is hiring a Senior Mechanical Engineer to take end-to-end ownership of critical mechanical and electro-mechanical systems. You'll work directly with the founding team in a small, highly capable group with backgrounds from NASA, Lockheed Martin, and top defense research organizations, engineering hardware that operates in some of the most demanding environments imaginable: extreme heat, corrosive conditions, and water-heavy deployments.

This is a fully on-site, in-person role based in Austin, TX. Visa sponsorship is not available.

What You'll Do

• Own multiple mechanical and electro-mechanical systems across all stages of product maturity — from concept through production.

• Collaborate directly with the founding team to validate and translate requirements into final engineering solutions.

• Drive concept validation and rapid iteration; build representative test platforms as needed to generate critical learnings quickly.

• Develop solutions across systems — producing concepts, 3D CAD models, and physical prototypes.

• Lead design reviews to evaluate designs, engineering drawings, and assemblies; recommend actions to prevent issues before they arise.

• Conduct mechanical analysis (strength, reliability, assembly) on critical systems to verify designs meet requirements.

• Develop system-level testing procedures and methods; design jigs, test fixtures, and tooling as required.

• Perform root cause analysis on hardware failures encountered during development and field deployment.

• Assemble and build systems to support testing or manufacturing efforts.

• Document design rationale, analysis, test results, and engineering recommendations.

• Monitor progress across concurrent projects; diagnose blockers and keep stakeholders informed.

• Ensure compliance with relevant industry standards, regulations, and best practices across mechanical, thermal, and environmental design.

• Engage directly with end users to inform and refine engineering direction where necessary.

What We're Looking For

Required:

• 5–10 years of hands-on mechanical engineering experience, with demonstrated seniority in owning systems end-to-end.

• Expertise in electro-mechanical systems integration and proven ability to lead mechanical engineering teams and projects through the full product lifecycle.

• Proficiency with SolidWorks (CAD) and Ansys (FEA/simulation) for mechanical design and analysis.

• Design and engineering experience for components and systems operating in high-temperature, corrosive, and water-heavy environments.

• Strong engineering fundamentals; degree in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related field.

• Experience mentoring or coaching engineers and contributing to team development.

• Ability to context-switch across multiple concurrent projects and adapt to fast-changing priorities.

• Must be able to work fully on-site in Austin, TX — no remote or hybrid arrangements.

Nice to Have:

• Background in aerospace, defense, robotics, or other high-reliability hardware industries.

• Experience at organizations operating at the intersection of hardware and hazardous-environment robotics.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary: $130,000 – $250,000 USD annually, depending on experience.

• Equity participation in a venture-backed early-stage company.

• Opportunity to work on high-impact, mission-critical hardware with a small, elite team.

Location

Austin, Texas, United States — fully on-site. Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.