Senior Mechanical Engineer

Los Angeles · On-site$140k – $220k + Equity

About this role

We are looking for a Senior Mechanical Engineer with 5+ years of experience to serve as a Responsible Engineer for critical mechanical subsystems on our autonomous underwater vehicle platform. You'll join a fast-moving, SpaceX-inspired team building attritable UUVs from the ground up for the U.S. Navy. We need someone who can own their subsystem end-to-end — from concept through design, analysis, prototyping, field testing, and production — and get hardware in the water within months, not years. This is a role for a self-starting builder who thrives on speed, makes smart trade-offs to hit the 80% fast, and challenges requirements using first-principles thinking.

What will you be doing?

Own one of five mechanical subsystems (Hull & Hydrodynamics, Structures & Integration, Mechanisms & Actuation, Battery & Energy Storage, or Propulsion) as the Responsible Engineer through its entire lifecycle

Design in CAD (NX preferred), perform FEA/CFD analysis (NX Nastran, Ansys Fluent, or Siemens Star-CCM+), and iterate rapidly between design, analysis, and test without relying on dedicated analysts

Prototype, assemble, and validate hardware on the bench and in the water — including field testing and sea trials

Integrate your subsystem with electrical, firmware, and software counterparts, managing cross-disciplinary interfaces without systems engineers as intermediaries

Work directly with manufacturing partners and suppliers, validating components with first-principles physics rather than blindly trusting supplier data, and driving your subsystem to mass production readiness

Company at a glance

This defense technology startup, founded in 2024 by veterans from SpaceX, Tesla, and Vast Space, develops multi-domain autonomous systems for the U.S. Navy at significantly lower costs than established competitors.

Founded2024
Team Size1-10
WorkspaceOn-site
IndustryDefense and Space Manufacturing
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA

What happens next

Skip the application pile. I get you in front of the people who decide.

Confirm the fit

A few questions to make sure this role is the right shape for you. Two minutes.

I pitch you to the company

I write the intro, send it to the founder, and handle the back-and-forth.

A meeting lands on your calendar

When the company wants to meet, I get the call on your calendar. You just show up.

Culture & values

SpaceX-inspired culture with strong Responsible Engineer model

Every engineer owns their system end-to-end: requirements, design, implementation, testing, field deployment, and production

Team moves fast, works hard, and expects urgency that early-stage defense demands

Values builders over researchers, first-principles thinking over inherited convention, and speed over process

Decisions driven by physics, test data, and product outcomes

No organizational handoffs or siloed responsibilities

Greenfield environment with no legacy code or inherited architecture

Hands-on engineering culture with work in lab, dive pool, and field deployments

Small elite team of ~7 people where every hire has outsized impact

Rapid iteration and intensity expected

Engineers make foundational technical decisions from scratch

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