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    Senior Mechanical Engineer

    CleraOn-site - Detroit, Michigan, United StatesPosted 2026-11-07
    This listing's locations
    On-site - Detroit, Michigan, United States
    Employment
    Full-time
    Workplace
    On site
    Compensation
    $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 early architecture through production handoff. You will work across a lean engineering team to help ensure systems perform reliably in demanding field conditions.

    What You'll Do

    • Design and validate mechanical subsystems, including 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, field testing, and manufacturing handoff.
    • Lead design reviews, collaborate with senior engineers, and mentor junior mechanical engineers.
    • Travel to field test events and range days to validate performance and iterate on designs.

    What We're Looking For

    • At least 5 years of mechanical engineering experience with ruggedized, field-deployable, or high-performance systems, including taking a subsystem from prototype to production.
    • Strong hands-on FEA experience with ANSYS, Nastran, Abaqus, or equivalent, including test correlation.
    • Experience designing to MIL-STD-810 or equivalent shock and vibration standards, and packaging precision optomechanical systems.
    • Experience designing thermal management for high-power systems, building test rigs, and supporting manufacturing handoff.
    • A BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
    • Laser, directed-energy, optical bench ruggedization, or vehicle-mounted systems experience is a plus.
    • U.S. citizenship is required. The role requires on-site work in Detroit and travel for field testing.

    Compensation & Benefits

    Base salary is $165,000 to $210,000 annually. Visa sponsorship is not available.

    Location

    On-site in Detroit, Michigan, with travel for field test events and range validation.