Compare your current skills to what this opportunity needs—we'll show you what you already have and what could strengthen your application.
Job Description
Do you like taking half-formed ideas, rough sketches, customer problems, and "wouldn't it be cool if…" conversations and turning them into real machines that actually work? Do you enjoy inventing automated equipment that helps manufacturers reduce labor, increase throughput, improve quality, and solve problems that do not have an off-the-shelf answer? Are you the person people turn to when the idea is a little weird, the application is a little messy, and somebody needs to figure out how to make it real? If so, we may have the perfect role for you. Invent Automation is looking for a Senior Mechanical Engineer / Principal Machine Design Engineer to lead the mechanical design of custom automated equipment from concept through build. This is not a role where you are just detailing someone else's design. You will be one of the key people responsible for taking a customer's need, working through the concept, and turning it into a fully designed machine that can be purchased, built, wired, programmed, debugged, and delivered. What You'll Do You will work closely with sales, controls engineering, electrical engineering, purchasing, fabrication, assembly, and the customer to bring custom automation projects to life.
Your work will include:
Taking customer requirements and machine concepts from the sales process and developing them into real mechanical solutions Leading the mechanical design effort for custom automation equipment, robotic cells, fixtures, inspection systems, material handling equipment, and other one-off machines Creating complete 3D machine designs and production-ready drawing packages Working with controls and electrical engineering to make sure the mechanical design, sensors, actuators, pneumatics, guarding, and controls strategy all work together Developing complete bill of materials packages for purchasing Supporting purchasing, fabrication, assembly, debug, and installation as the normal real-world questions and issues come up Helping guide design reviews, customer reviews, and internal project decisions Thinking through manufacturability, serviceability, safety, reliability, cost, and schedule Owning the mechanical outcome from "I have an idea" to "the machine is running" Who You Are You are a strong mechanical designer who likes responsibility. You enjoy being handed a hard problem and figuring out a practical path forward. You can think creatively, but you also know that a machine has to be built, wired, maintained, and shipped. You are probably a good fit if: You have significant experience designing custom machinery or automated equipment You can lead a mechanical design from blank screen to finished machine You understand mechanisms, structures, pneumatics, motion, guarding, fixturing, tolerances, purchased components, and real-world manufacturing You are comfortable working with controls engineers, electrical engineers, machinists, builders, and customers You can balance "cool idea" with "this has to work by Friday" You like solving problems that do not already have a standard answer You take pride in seeing your designs become physical machines on a shop floor Why This Role Is Fun This is a role for someone who likes to invent. One project might involve machine vision. The next might involve robotics. The next might be a custom fixture, a process machine, a test stand, a conveyor system, or something nobody has ever built before. You will not be designing the same bracket for the next five years. You will be helping create custom automation systems that solve real problems for real manufacturers. If you like the idea of walking through a shop and saying, "That machine started as a conversation, and now it exists," this is the kind of role you should look at seriously. The Right Person We are looking for a principal-level mechanical engineer who can be trusted with the machine. Someone who can lead, design, coordinate, communicate, and stay engaged through the messy middle of custom automation. If you love turning ideas into working equipment, helping manufacturers do more with less, and being the person who can make the wacky idea actually come to life, we would like to talk with you.
Pay:
$100,000.00 - $150,000.00 per year
Benefits:
401(k) 401(k) matching Dental insurance Flexible schedule Paid time off Retirement plan
