Role Summary

The Senior Mechanical Engineer serves as RAIA’s mechanical design authority, combining high-level machine design and hands-on project execution with applications engineering, external engineering oversight, and development of scalable mechanical engineering standards. This is a foundational technical role intended to multiply the organization’s engineering capability rather than simply add design capacity.

This role leads mechanical concepts and technical validation for custom automation systems across aerospace, industrial, energy, and advanced manufacturing environments. The engineer works directly with customers to understand manufacturing constraints, develop right-sized solutions, and support opportunity qualification, estimates, and proposals.

Operating within a lean, execution-focused organization, the Senior Mechanical Engineer owns the technical quality of mechanical deliverables whether produced internally or by subcontract engineering partners. The position works closely with Engineering & Integration, Controls, Robotics, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and customer teams from initial assessment through deployment and production stabilization.

Core Responsibilities

Mechanical Design Authority & Technical Execution

Lead mechanical architecture, concept development, detailed design, and technical review of automation systems including robotic cells, assembly equipment, material handling, inspection, process equipment, and manufacturing support systems.
Own mechanical design decisions involving functionality, cycle time, structural adequacy, motion, tolerances, safety, maintainability, manufacturability, cost, and long-term reliability.
Produce and approve CAD models, layouts, manufacturing drawings, bills of material, calculations, and technical design packages; remain hands-on for complex or critical design work.
Coordinate mechanical interfaces with controls, robotics, vision, pneumatics, electrical systems, and customer equipment; lead mechanical design reviews and risk resolution.

Applications Engineering & New Opportunities

Participate in customer visits and operational assessments to identify actual production constraints and determine whether automation is justified and what level of solution is appropriate.
Develop preliminary concepts, layouts, process approaches, equipment selections, feasibility assessments, cycle-time assumptions, and ROM budgets for new opportunities.
Partner with commercial and project leadership on technical scope, estimating, supplier input, proposals, presentations, assumptions, exclusions, and execution risk.
Communicate concepts and tradeoffs directly with customers; support fast, credible responses to opportunities of varying sizes, including retrofits and incremental improvements.

Subcontract Engineering Leadership

Define scopes of work, design inputs, standards, deliverables, milestones, and acceptance criteria for outsourced mechanical engineering.
Direct and technically review subcontract design resources, resolve engineering questions, monitor technical progress, and verify design quality and completeness before release.
Coordinate subcontract engineering capacity with Engineering & Integration leadership and Supply Chain while maintaining RAIA ownership of customer requirements, design authority, technical decisions, and final deliverables.
Capture externally developed models, drawings, calculations, and lessons learned in RAIA-controlled libraries and revision systems so outsourced work increases lasting internal capability.

Engineering Standards, Reuse & Scalability

Establish and maintain mechanical drawing standards, approved components, preferred design practices, reusable machine modules, design checklists, and reference architectures.
Build a structured knowledge base of proven designs, engineering assumptions, historical project results, and application-specific expertise for use across future projects and technology groups.
Work with internal systems and external technology partners to organize engineering content for progressively automated design generation, with expert review and approval retained.
Identify repetitive engineering work that can be standardized, templated, outsourced, or automated without compromising engineering judgment or technical accountability.

Manufacturing, Integration & Customer Deployment

Collaborate with Manufacturing and Supply Chain to ensure designs are practical to fabricate, assemble, source, service, and deploy.
Support build, debug, installation, commissioning, cycle-time validation, acceptance testing, and production ramp as needed; resolve difficult mechanical and integration issues directly.
Participate in customer design reviews, FAT/SAT activities, field troubleshooting, and operational improvement efforts while maintaining responsive customer relationships.

Safety, Quality & Continuous Improvement

Lead mechanical risk reviews and support machine safeguarding, ergonomic design, service access, quality verification, and appropriate engineering calculations and validation.
Maintain disciplined documentation, revision control, design release, and technical change practices for internal and external engineering work.
Use project outcomes and field performance to improve design standards, reduce rework, shorten execution time, and strengthen reliability across subsequent projects.

Preferred Experience & Competencies

Extensive mechanical engineering experience designing and deploying custom industrial automation, special-purpose machinery, or production equipment; demonstrated senior-level technical judgment.
Strong proficiency in 3D CAD, mechanical detailing, tolerance analysis, machine elements, motion systems, and practical manufacturing methods.
Experience owning technical reviews and directing external design houses or contract engineering teams while retaining final design accountability.
Ability to develop automation concepts and support applications engineering, customer discovery, estimating, and technical proposals.
Proven capability to build reusable engineering standards, design libraries, and scalable work methods rather than relying on one-off design approaches.
Hands-on experience with machine builds, integration, troubleshooting, commissioning, and production support.
Excellent customer-facing communication, technical leadership, prioritization, and cross-functional problem-solving skills.
Experience in aerospace, automotive, industrial, energy, or high-reliability manufacturing environments preferred.

You should be proficient in:

Project Management
Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Machine Building/Assembling
Mechanical Troubleshooting Skills
Process Engineering
Mechanical Design & Engineering
Machine Safety Inspections
Engineering Degree
Process Development
Automation
Solidworks

Machines & technologies you'll use:

Material Handling Systems
3D Modeling (Solidworks)
2D Drawings
Industrial Controls
CAD Software (Solidworks)
ERP Software