Staff Mechanical Engineer

Staff Mechanical Engineer

Los Angeles, CA

Direct Hire/FTE

$140-180K/Annum

About this role:

We're looking for a Staff Mechanical Engineer to lead the design and development of the mechanical and structural systems that make our autonomous underwater vehicles survive and perform at depth. This is a senior technical role — you'll drive architecture-level decisions on hull geometry, pressure structures, thermal systems, and mechanisms while staying close enough to the hardware to get your hands dirty. You'll set the standard for how we design, analyze, build, and test mechanical systems at Odin.

What You'll Do

• Lead the structural design of pressure vessels and housings that protect vehicle electronics and payloads in deep ocean environments.
• Drive hull and fairing design with attention to hydrodynamic performance, manufacturability, and system integration.
• Design and develop mechanical mechanisms and actuators for vehicle control surfaces, payload deployment, and other dynamic subsystems.
• Own thermal management strategies across the vehicle — ensuring electronics, batteries, and other heat-generating systems operate within limits across all mission profiles.
• Champion design-for-manufacturing principles, working closely with machine shops, fabrication partners, and internal technicians to ensure designs translate cleanly from CAD to production.
• Perform and guide structural, thermal, and fluid analyses to validate designs before they hit the water.
• Define mechanical interfaces across the vehicle — coordinating with electrical, firmware, and software engineers to ensure clean cross-disciplinary integration.
• Develop and execute test plans for mechanical subsystems, from bench-level validation through full-vehicle pressure testing and ocean trials.
• Mentor junior engineers and establish best practices for mechanical design and documentation.

What We're Looking For

• B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Ocean Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
• 8 years of experience in mechanical design and development, with a track record of taking complex hardware from concept through qualification.
• Deep expertise in structural design for pressure-loaded environments — analysis methods, material selection, and seal design.
• Strong CAD proficiency and experience managing complex assemblies across multi-disciplinary teams.
• Experience with hydrodynamic or aerodynamic body design and an understanding of drag, stability, and flow interaction fundamentals.
• Demonstrated ability to design for manufacturing — you know how parts get made and you design accordingly.
• Hands-on experience with prototyping, assembly, and test — you're comfortable in a shop and on a dock.
• Strong analytical skills — FEA, hand calculations, and the judgment to know which approach a problem needs.
• Ability to lead technical trade studies and present recommendations to engineering and program leadership.
• U.S. Citizenship and ability to obtain a security clearance.

Nice to Have

• Experience designing underwater vehicles, torpedoes, or other subsea systems.
• Background in defense, aerospace, or marine robotics hardware development.
• Familiarity with corrosion engineering and material compatibility in seawater environments.
• Experience with composite structures or advanced manufacturing methods.
• Exposure to environmental qualification testing — shock, vibration, pressure cycling, and thermal extremes.
• Active security clearance (Secret or above).