Senior Mechanical Engineer
CleraOn-site - Detroit, Michigan, United StatesPosted 2026-11-14
- This listing's locations
- On-site - Detroit, Michigan, United States
- Employment
- Full-time
- Workplace
- On site
- Compensation
- USD 165000–210000 per year
Department: Engineering
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About the Role
Own major mechanical subsystems for ruggedized, field-deployable directed-energy systems, from architecture through production handoff. You will work across a lean engineering team to ensure systems perform reliably in demanding field conditions.
What You'll Do
- Design and validate mechanical subsystems, including laser enclosures, beam director structures, gimbals, and precision mounts.
- Perform static, modal, random vibration, and shock response spectrum FEA, then correlate results with bench and field testing.
- Develop thermal management solutions for high-power laser and electronics packaging across thermal cycles.
- Build, instrument, and operate test rigs to characterize system behavior before field deployment.
- Design for MIL-STD-810 shock and vibration requirements and other austere environments.
- Take designs from concept through prototyping, validation, and manufacturing handoff.
- Collaborate with senior engineers, lead design reviews, mentor junior engineers, and travel to field tests.
What We're Looking For
- At least 5 years of mechanical engineering experience on ruggedized, field-deployable, or high-performance systems, including taking a subsystem from prototype to production.
- Experience modeling, building, instrumenting, and validating systems designed to withstand shock, vibration, and environmental extremes.
- Proficiency with ANSYS, Nastran, Abaqus, or equivalent FEA tools, supported by hands-on testing and analysis correlation.
- Experience with MIL-STD-810 or equivalent standards, high-power thermal management, test rigs, instrumentation, and manufacturing handoff.
- A BS or MS in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related field.
- Experience in lasers, directed energy, ruggedized optical systems, or vehicle-mounted systems is a plus.
- U.S. citizenship is required.
Compensation & Benefits
Base salary: $165,000 to $210,000 annually. Visa sponsorship is not available.
Location
On-site in Detroit, Michigan, with travel for field testing and range validation.