Head of Mechanical Engineering

About the role

We are seeking a Head of Mechanical Engineering to lead our mechanical engineering function. This role requires a deep understanding of electromechanical actuators and the authority to set engineering direction, enforce aerospace standards, and build a high-performing team.

Responsibilities

• Engineering Authority: Serve as the final technical decision-maker for all mechanical designs.
• Deep Product Ownership: Maintain comprehensive system-level knowledge of all actuator products including kinematic architecture, load paths, drivetrain design, thermal management, and qualification status.
• Design Reviews: Lead formal design reviews (PDR, CDR, TRR) and ensure all mechanical work meets internal standards and applicable aerospace/defense requirements.
• Technical Mentorship: Provide hands-on guidance to the mechanical engineering team, elevating design quality, analytical rigor, and engineering judgment across the group.
• Electromechanical Actuator Design: Lead development of precision electromechanical actuators integrating motors, geartrains, lead screws, encoders, braking systems, and structural housings for flight and industrial applications.
• Geartrain & Drivetrain Expertise: Apply deep knowledge of gear ratios, backlash control, lubrication, and AGMA standards to drivetrain design decisions.
• Mechanism Integration: Own packaging and integration of actuator sub-systems including precision bearings, seals, thermal interfaces, and position feedback elements within tight volumetric and mass constraints.
• Requirements Architecture: Translate mission-level needs into quantified functional, performance, and interface requirements for mechanical assemblies.
• Aerospace Standards & Qualification Standards Compliance: Own mechanical compliance to applicable aerospace and defense standards including DO-160, MIL-STD-810, MIL-PRF-27369, and AS9100. Identify applicable requirements early and drive design-to-compliance from inception.
• Qualification Strategy: Architect qualification and acceptance test programs including test equipment design, procedure development, and formal execution. Ensure traceability from requirements to test evidence.
• Environmental & Structural Survivability: Guide design decisions for performance in high-vibration, thermal extreme, and vacuum environments. Apply fatigue, margin of safety, and life analysis to qualify structural and dynamic hardware.
• GD&T & Drawing Standards: Enforce ASME Y14.5 GD&T on all drawings. Ensure drawing packages support both manufacturing and inspection to aerospace quality levels.
• Operations & Cross-Functional Collaboration: Team Building: Hire, develop, and retain mechanical engineers. Define team structure, role responsibilities, and technical development roadmaps. Supply Chain Partnership: Work closely with contract manufacturers and suppliers to ensure hardware conformance. Manage NCRs, deviations, and waivers with engineering rigor. Production Transition: Lead DFM/DFA efforts to move designs from prototype to production-ready. Reduce cost, improve yield, and maintain performance margins through production design iterations.
• Hands-On Culture: Lead by doing. Take on design work alongside the team—own hardware, run analyses, and stay close to the product. Set the standard through personal output, not just direction.
• Program Scheduling: Partner with program management to develop detailed lower-level schedules that support project milestones. Proactively identify risks, shift resources to address issues, and keep engineering execution on track.
• Engineering Efficiency: Develop workflows, templates, and tools that accelerate design iteration without sacrificing analytical rigor or compliance. Identify and eliminate bottlenecks across the design-analyze-release cycle.
• Technology Roadmap: Collaborate with leadership to define and maintain a mechanical technology roadmap. Identify capability gaps, emerging technologies, and strategic investments that keep Salient Motion ahead of the market.

Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or closely related field. Advanced degree a plus.
• Experience: 10+ years of experience in mechanical engineering, with at least 3 years in a technical leadership or senior engineering role. Deep background in electromechanical actuator or precision mechanism development required.
• Actuator Expertise: Proven, hands-on design experience with electromechanical actuators—including motor integration, geartrains, output mechanisms, and position sensing—across the full product lifecycle.
• Aerospace Standards: Demonstrated working knowledge of DO-160, MIL-STD-810, and related standards. Experience leading or contributing to formal qualification campaigns.
• Structural Analysis: Proficiency in analytical methods for strength, fatigue, stiffness, and margin of safety. Ability to perform and review hand calculations and FEA.
• CAD Mastery: Expert-level use of SolidWorks, CATIA, NX, or equivalent 3D CAD platform. Strong configuration management practices.
• GD&T: Advanced command of ASME Y14.5. Ability to define and review tolerance schemes for precision assemblies.
• Leadership: Demonstrated ability to lead technical teams, drive design reviews, and make high-stakes engineering decisions under program pressure.

Qualifications

• Nice to Have: Experience in flight hardware programs (UAV, launch vehicle, spacecraft, or crewed systems). Familiarity with AS9100 quality management systems. Background in motor-drive integration and thermal-mechanical co-design. Experience qualifying hardware to MIL-PRF-27369 or similar actuation-specific standards. Exposure to both fast-moving R&D environments and structured compliance-driven programs. Prior experience at a small or scaling aerospace company.

Benefits

We offer competitive compensation, exceptional healthcare benefits, and a range of additional perks including life insurance, flexible PTO, and financial wellness resources.

Pay

$220,000 to $250,000 base salary + equity

Schedule

Full-time, permanent position