Principal Engineer Low Voltage Switchgear Mechanical

About the role

The Principal Mechanical Design Engineer – Low Voltage (LV) Switchgear serves as the senior technical authority for the mechanical architecture, design governance, validation strategy, industrialization, and lifecycle support of low-voltage switchgear and power distribution products.

Responsibilities

• Own and govern the mechanical architecture strategy for LV switchgear, switchboards, MCCs, and power distribution equipment across assigned programs, platforms, or product families.
• Translate customer, regulatory, manufacturing, and lifecycle requirements into scalable engineering specifications, design rules, technical roadmaps, and release deliverables.
• Lead system-level mechanical architecture decisions for enclosure systems, structural assemblies, busbar support systems, insulation interfaces, short-circuit resistant mechanical assemblies, mechanical interlocks, doors, hinges, latching mechanisms, seismic features, and associated switchgear mechanical hardware to achieve safety, reliability, manufacturability, and serviceability objectives.
• Contribute to overall system architecture and own mechanical definition of compartmentalization strategies, equipment layouts, accessibility, maintainability, cable routing concepts, heat-flow paths, service access, and installation/serviceability requirements in alignment with safety and operational objectives.
• Provide technical direction for thermal engineering activities including airflow design, ventilation strategies, heat dissipation analysis, CFD modeling, temperature-rise assessment, thermal margin strategy, and thermal validation testing.
• Define and govern mechanical design criteria for structural integrity, tolerance management, GD&T, sheet metal design, welding design, copper bus interfaces, hardware selection, coatings, gasketing, sealing, ergonomics, and assembly/service access.
• Guide concept development, prototype builds, design verification, pilot production, production release, and post-launch engineering support activities across multiple programs.
• Drive critical engineering decisions that optimize product cost, performance, manufacturability, schedule, quality, reliability, serviceability, safety, and long-term platform reuse.
• Establish design transfer expectations, support manufacturing readiness reviews, resolve production ramp issues, and guide engineering change implementation across global manufacturing sites.
• Ensure compliance with applicable standards and requirements including UL 891, UL 1558, NEC, IEC 61439, NEMA, IEEE C37.20.1, ANSI/IEEE switchgear standards, seismic requirements, and customer-specific specifications.
• Serve as the senior LV switchgear mechanical engineering representative for customer technical reviews, architecture discussions, issue resolution, and product development decisions.
• Lead Design for Manufacturing (DFM), Design for Assembly (DFA), Design for Reliability (DFR), Design for Automation (DfA), Design for Serviceability (DFS), and Value Analysis/Value Engineering (VAVE) initiatives.
• Define and oversee mechanical validation and qualification strategies including environmental, thermal, short-circuit, seismic, arc-flash, enclosure integrity, safety, customer witness testing, and FAT evaluations.
• Provide expert support for field troubleshooting, corrective actions, production issues, supplier technical issues, and complex field issue resolution activities.
• Lead high-impact technical risk reviews, root-cause investigations, corrective actions, design governance reviews, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Mentor engineers, review critical technical deliverables, and develop reusable standards, design guides, checklists, templates, and best practices for LV switchgear mechanical engineering execution.
• Collaborate with global engineering, manufacturing, sourcing, quality, regulatory, suppliers, and customer teams to align technical decisions with business and program objectives.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related technical field.
• 12+ years of mechanical engineering experience, including significant experience in low-voltage switchgear, switchboards, MCCs, or power distribution products.
• Demonstrated senior technical leadership across multiple NPI programs, product platforms, design releases, or successful product launches.
• Advanced CAD proficiency using Creo, SolidWorks, Inventor, or equivalent 3D CAD platforms, including complex assemblies, configuration management, and design release discipline.
• Deep knowledge of sheet metal design, busbar systems, structural assemblies, insulation and support interfaces, manufacturing processes, assembly methods, and applicable standards.
• Knowledge of UL 891, UL 1558, IEC 61439, NEMA, IEEE C37.20.1, ANSI/IEEE switchgear standards, and associated mechanical design requirements.
• Strong experience with tolerance stack-up analysis, GD&T, welding design, sheet metal design for manufacturability, fastener strategy, structural integrity, and serviceability design.
• Experience supporting sheet metal fabrication, punching, bending, welding, coating, copper bus fabrication, hardware installation, and assembly process development.
• Experience with FEA, CFD/thermal analysis, structural simulations, temperature-rise assessment, airflow design, and mechanical/thermal validation planning.
• Experience with seismic design considerations and qualification requirements for power distribution equipment.
• Experience with service entrance equipment, switchboards, and low-voltage power distribution assemblies.
• Experience with PLM systems such as Windchill or equivalent.
• Strong ability to influence technical direction, resolve ambiguity, make risk-based engineering decisions, and communicate effectively with customers and executive stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related technical discipline.
• Lean/Six Sigma experience.
• Experience supporting global manufacturing operations, design transfers, production ramps, and engineering change implementation.
• Experience in data centers, industrial, utility, renewable energy, energy storage, or critical power markets.
• Experience with arc-resistant switchgear design concepts, pressure relief methods, personnel protection strategies, and enclosure integrity considerations.
• Experience establishing mechanical engineering standards, design review governance, reusable technical libraries, product platform strategies, or modular switchgear architectures.
• Experience with supplier technical development, should-cost/VAVE activities, tooling strategy, or manufacturing automation readiness.

Leadership Expectations

• Provide enterprise-level LV switchgear mechanical engineering guidance across programs, product platforms, and customer engagements.
• Lead complex mechanical design reviews, technical risk assessments, architecture governance, and engineering decision forums throughout the product lifecycle.
• Mentor Lead Engineers and Senior Engineers; strengthen technical capability, design discipline, and ownership across the engineering team.
• Establish and continuously improve mechanical engineering standards, best practices, design guidelines, verification expectations, and governance processes.
• Influence cross-functional decisions by balancing technical depth, customer requirements, manufacturability, cost, quality, reliability, schedule, safety, and compliance.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• NPI milestone achievement, technical readiness, and on-time product launch.
• First-pass qualification, validation, and certification success.
• Product architecture robustness, design reuse, platform scalability, and reduction of late-stage technical changes.
• Design-related field quality, warranty performance, and corrective action effectiveness.
• Product cost competitiveness, manufacturability, assembly efficiency, and margin improvement.
• Manufacturing readiness, design transfer effectiveness, and production ramp stability.
• Customer satisfaction, technical issue closure responsiveness, and quality of customer-facing technical communication.
• Engineering standards adoption, technical capability development, and design governance effectiveness.

Working Conditions

Standard full-time position with a typical work schedule of 40 hours per week. Collaboration with global teams may occasionally require flexibility in working hours to accommodate different time zones. Travel up to 20% domestic and international as required. Office, laboratory, manufacturing, supplier, and customer-site environment exposure may be required.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, Prescription Drug, and Vision Insurance with HRA and HSA options
• 401K Match
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Paid Time Off
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Life, AD&D, and Disability Insurance
• Commuter Benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Pet Insurance
• Adoption Assistance
• Annual Merit Increases
• Community Volunteer Opportunities

Pay

The pay range for this role is $126,100 - $227,000. Job-related, non-discriminatory factors used to determine the actual offered rate include qualifications and experience, geographic location, education, external market data, and consideration of internal equity.

Schedule

Standard full-time position with a typical work schedule of 40 hours per week. Collaboration with global teams may occasionally require flexibility in working hours to accommodate different time zones. Travel up to 20% domestic and international as required.