Senior Mechanical Engineer / Machine Designer

Design For Making is looking for an experienced Mechanical Engineer / Machine Designer who knows how to turn a concept into a machine that actually works.

This is not a position focused solely on CAD modeling or producing drawings. We need someone with strong mechanical instincts who understands custom machinery, industrial automation, robotics, manufacturing, and design for fabrication and assembly.

You’ll work on custom automation systems that may include robotics, conveyors, material handling, pneumatic systems, servo-driven mechanisms, tooling, fixtures, machine frames, guarding, and other purpose-built equipment.

We use Onshape as our primary mechanical design platform.

• Design custom automated machinery and mechanical systems from concept through production.
• Create complete 3D machine assemblies, mechanisms, tooling, fixtures, frames, guarding, and related components in Onshape.
• Develop practical mechanical solutions for robotic and industrial automation applications.
• Perform engineering calculations and component sizing for motors, gearboxes, actuators, bearings, shafts, linear motion components, pneumatic systems, structural members, and other machine components.
• Select appropriate purchased components and integrate them into machine designs.
• Design for manufacturability, assembly, serviceability, reliability, and safety.
• Produce detailed manufacturing drawings, assemblies, and Bills of Materials.
• Establish appropriate tolerances, fits, materials, finishes, and fabrication methods.
• Conduct and participate in design reviews and challenge designs before they reach the shop floor.
• Identify mechanical risks, interference issues, failure points, maintenance concerns, and manufacturing problems early in the design process.
• Work closely with controls engineers, robot programmers, machinists, fabricators, assemblers, project managers, vendors, and customers.
• Support machine assembly and troubleshoot problems when the physical machine does not behave exactly like the CAD model said it would.
• Participate in testing, Factory Acceptance Testing, installation, commissioning, and continuous design improvement.
• Update designs and documentation based on lessons learned during manufacturing, assembly, and testing.
• Help develop and improve DFM's mechanical engineering standards and design practices.

We’re looking for someone who has actually designed machines.

Strong candidates will have experience with several of the following:

• Custom automation equipment
• Industrial machinery
• Robotic work cells
• Conveyor and material-handling systems
• Pneumatic systems
• Servo and motor-driven mechanisms
• Linear motion systems
• Machine frames and weldments
• Bearings, shafts, couplings, gearboxes, and power transmission
• Robotic end-of-arm tooling
• Fixtures and tooling
• Sheet metal and fabricated components
• Machined components
• Machine guarding and industrial safety
• Tolerance stack-ups and GD&T
• Design for manufacturing and assembly
• Equipment troubleshooting and root-cause analysis

• Strong mechanical design and machine-development experience.
• Advanced proficiency with professional 3D CAD systems.
• Ability and willingness to become highly proficient in Onshape; existing Onshape experience is strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of mechanical engineering fundamentals and machine design.
• Ability to take an incomplete problem or customer need and develop a practical mechanical solution.
• Ability to create designs that can actually be fabricated, assembled, maintained, and operated.
• Ability to produce clear, accurate manufacturing drawings and documentation.
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills.
• Comfortable working directly with machinists, fabricators, technicians, controls engineers, and other hands-on technical staff.

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline.
• 5 years of experience designing custom machinery, industrial automation, or production equipment.
• Significant experience with Onshape.
• Experience designing robotic automation systems.
• Experience taking equipment through the full lifecycle of concept → design → fabrication → assembly → debugging → FAT → installation/commissioning.
• Familiarity with industrial automation components from suppliers such as SMC, Festo, Parker, THK, Hiwin, Bosch Rexroth, SEW-Eurodrive, Oriental Motor, Rockwell Automation, or similar.
• Understanding of machine safety principles and risk assessment.
• Experience working in a machine shop, fabrication environment, automation integrator, or custom equipment manufacturer.

You should be the kind of person who looks at a machine and immediately starts thinking:

Why is that bearing there?

How are they assembling that?

Can a machinist actually make this?

What happens when that actuator jams?

How do we adjust this during commissioning?

How does someone replace that component three years from now?

Is there an easier way to accomplish the same motion?

We value engineers who are willing to challenge a design, prototype ideas, get their hands dirty, walk out onto the shop floor, talk with the people building the machine, and keep improving a design until it works reliably.

Design For Making develops custom automation, robotics, controls, manufacturing, and industrial equipment solutions for customers with unique production challenges. Our projects move through design, manufacturing, assembly, programming, testing, customer acceptance, installation, and commissioning, so our engineers have an opportunity to see their designs become real machines rather than handing drawings off and never seeing them again.

We’re a small, growing team, which means engineers have the opportunity to make meaningful technical decisions and directly influence how we design and build equipment.

If you enjoy solving difficult mechanical problems and want to build machines rather than spend your career making minor revisions to the same product, we’d like to talk with you.