Principal Mechanical Design Engineer

Title: Principal Mechanical Design Engineer - Electrical Equipment Enclosures Company: Global Power Components – www.globalpowercomponents.com Location: Milwaukee, WI (onsite 5-days/week) Hire Type: Direct Hire Position Summary Global Power Components is seeking a Principal Mechanical Design Engineer to provide expert technical leadership for the mechanical design and analysis of electrical power distribution enclosures. This role will own enclosure integrity, short-circuit withstand, thermal management, simulation, and design validation. The engineer will work directly with product development, certification, and manufacturing teams to turn new equipment concepts into safe, repeatable, production-ready designs. Key Responsibilities Enclosure Design and Technical Ownership Own the structural and mechanical design of enclosures, frames, doors, covers, barriers, mounting structures, bus supports, and bracing systems for electrical power distribution equipment.Translate electrical ratings, short-circuit requirements, thermal loads, environmental requirements, and manufacturing constraints into robust mechanical designs.Establish structural and thermal design criteria, safety margins, calculation methods, and reusable engineering standards across product families.Make material, thickness, joining, fastening, gasketing, and reinforcement decisions based on analysis, testing, cost, and manufacturability. Simulation, Analysis, and Test Confidence Lead finite element analysis of short-circuit forces, structural loading, stress, deformation, vibration, and dynamic response using ANSYS or comparable simulation software.Lead thermal and airflow analysis to predict heat rise, hot spots, ventilation performance, and component or bus temperature limits.Develop simulation models that represent actual enclosure construction, joints, supports, materials, bus structures, and boundary conditions.Correlate simulation results with prototype and laboratory test data, then continuously improve model accuracy and design rules.Use analysis to identify design risk before certification testing and recommend changes that improve the probability of passing on the first test. Validation, Certification, and Manufacturing Integration Own the mechanical and thermal portions of verification plans, design reviews, instrumentation, acceptance criteria, and failure analysis.Provide mechanical and thermal technical leadership before, during, and after product and certification testing.Partner with the product-development engineer to meet product-layout and performance requirements while developing and validating the enclosure and structural design.Work directly with manufacturing on sheet metal fabrication, welding, hardware, assembly, finishing, prototypes, first builds, and design-for-manufacturing improvements.Document assumptions, calculations, analysis results, design decisions, and lessons learned so they become part of the product-development system. Qualifications Required: Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline.Twelve or more years of direct design experience with enclosures for electrical power distribution equipment.Demonstrated expertise using ANSYS or comparable simulation software for structural, dynamic, or short-circuit-force analysis.Experience modeling thermal performance, airflow, heat transfer, and temperature rise in enclosed electrical equipment.Experience owning the mechanical design of enclosures and structures through analysis, prototype, certification testing, and production release.Deep knowledge of fabricated sheet metal structures, welded assemblies, bolted joints, fasteners, materials, tolerances, and design for manufacturing.Ability to make and defend technical decisions using calculations, simulations, test evidence, and sound engineering judgment. Preferred Experience designing switchgear, switchboards, motor control centers, busway, panelboards, or other high-current electrical equipment.Experience analyzing electromagnetic short-circuit forces and the mechanical response of bus supports, barriers, and enclosures.Experience with coupled structural and thermal simulation, CFD, multiphysics analysis, or nonlinear contact analysis.Experience preparing designs for UL, IEEE, ANSI, NEMA, IEC, or related certification and high-power laboratory testing.Experience building simulation methods and design standards for a new or expanding product platform. Success Profile Is a true technical expert who uses engineering tools and evidence to reduce design and certification risk.Does not rely on excessive material or conservative sizing as a substitute for analysis.Balances short-circuit performance, thermal performance, manufacturability, cost, and scalability.Remains hands-on with models, calculations, designs, prototypes, and laboratory testing.Establishes reusable methods that raise the technical capability of the broader engineering team.