GSD Innovation — Spanaway, WA Full-time | In-person | Monday-Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm $72,000-$90,000 per year, depending on experience The Role GSD Innovation is looking for a resourceful, mechanically minded person to join our small team in Spanaway and take ownership of a broad range of mechanical design and manufacturing projects. We are a growing machinery business serving commercial fruit packing operations throughout North America and internationally. Our work ranges from equipment and parts support to machinery sales and, increasingly, designing and manufacturing our own conveyors and related equipment. This is not a traditional desk-based engineering position, and we're not necessarily looking for a traditional mechanical engineer. We're looking for someone who likes figuring things out, working independently and seeing projects all the way from an initial idea through design, manufacturing and a finished machine. You'll likely spend around 30-40% of your time working in CAD , primarily SolidWorks. The rest will be a mixture of project execution, purchasing and supplier coordination, manufacturing support, equipment projects and hands-on work in our workshop. What You'll Do A typical project might start with a customer requirement, an existing machine we've measured, or a concept we've developed internally. You'll help turn that into a practical design and then stay involved as it becomes a finished piece of equipment.
Responsibilities will include:
Design and modify conveyors and other machinery using SolidWorks. Develop 3D models, assemblies and manufacturing drawings. Create and maintain BOMs and other manufacturing documentation. Select and source components and work directly with suppliers. Coordinate manufacturing of custom components and resolve questions or problems as they come up. Stay involved during equipment assembly and testing, including making design improvements based on what you learn during the build. Help organize and standardize our growing library of equipment designs, drawings, BOMs and components. Support equipment refurbishment projects by identifying work required, coordinating parts and technicians, and helping hands-on when appropriate. Work alongside our technicians to solve practical mechanical and equipment problems. Help keep physical projects moving when the owner is traveling. Occasionally visit customer facilities to measure applications, understand equipment requirements or assist with installations. Help with the everyday realities of running a small machinery business when needed — receiving equipment, checking inventory, picking up components or getting an urgent customer parts shipment out the door. We have technicians who handle much of our detailed refurbishment, electrical work, assembly and field service. Your role is not to personally perform every task. We want someone who can take ownership of the overall outcome, work through problems and keep projects moving. At the same time, this is not a desk-only engineering position. You should be comfortable using tools, working around machinery and assembling much of the equipment you're designing when required. Who We're Looking For Formal qualifications matter less to us than practical ability, attitude and resourcefulness. We're looking for someone who is: Resourceful. When you encounter an unfamiliar problem, your instinct is to investigate it and work toward a solution. Reliable. We need someone we can trust to consistently show up, take ownership of work and follow things through. Mechanically minded. You have a practical understanding of how machinery and mechanical assemblies go together. Independent and proactive. You're comfortable working with relatively little supervision and don't need someone constantly assigning your next task. Hands-on when needed. You're equally comfortable opening SolidWorks or picking up a wrench. Organized. You can keep drawings, BOMs, purchasing information and projects under control as the amount of equipment we build grows. Flexible. You enjoy the variety of working in a small company rather than needing a narrowly defined job description. Low ego and collaborative. We operate with a small, relatively flat team and care much more about getting good work done than titles or hierarchy. There will occasionally be days when the most useful thing you can do is package an urgent customer order, unload a machine, pick something up from a supplier or sweep the workshop floor. The owner does those things too. We're looking for someone who sees that as part of working on a small team rather than somebody else's job. Experience Some practical 3D CAD experience is important. SolidWorks experience is preferred. Experience with another professional parametric CAD platform may also be a good fit if you already have a solid understanding of mechanical assemblies, drawings and BOM management and are comfortable transitioning to SolidWorks. Experience with some of the following would be useful: Mechanical or machinery design SolidWorks Sheet metal design Manufacturing drawings and BOMs Mechanical assemblies Bearings, shafts, motors and gearboxes Laser-cut and formed components Working with component suppliers or fabrication shops Packaging, automation, conveyor or food-processing equipment Basic industrial electrical knowledge is helpful but deep electrical expertise is not required. You should ideally be comfortable understanding the basics of motors, VFDs and simple 24VDC control circuits and performing basic troubleshooting such as continuity and voltage checks. More specialized electrical design can be handled by others. A mechanical engineering degree is not required. Spanish Spanish-language capability is a plus, but not a requirement . We regularly work alongside technicians from Chile, and the ability to communicate directly in Spanish would be valuable. Strong candidates who don't speak Spanish should still apply. Schedule and Travel This is a full-time, in-person position at our Spanaway, WA workshop, Monday through Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm. This is intentionally not a remote or hybrid position. Being physically present and able to respond to what's happening with equipment, parts and projects in the workshop is an important part of the role. Travel is relatively limited. There will occasionally be day trips or overnight visits to customer facilities, particularly around Washington, along with occasional equipment installations elsewhere. This is not a heavily traveling field-service position. Compensation & Benefits $72,000-$90,000 per year, depending on experience and capability. We want to offer competitive compensation while providing room for compensation and responsibility to grow over time as capability and contribution to the business grow.
Benefits include:
Paid time off Paid holidays Company-supported health insurance This is a full-time W-2 position. Why GSD? The biggest difference between this role and a similar job at a larger company is scope and ownership . You won't spend six months designing one small component before handing it to another department. You'll have opportunities to take a project from an idea or customer requirement through CAD, purchasing, manufacturing, assembly and testing — and ultimately see the finished equipment working in a customer's facility. We're a small team without layers of management or bureaucracy. You'll work directly with the owner and our technicians and will be trusted to make decisions, solve problems and keep projects moving. If you discover a better way to design something, organize something, source a component or build a machine, you'll have the ability to actually make that change. For the right person, there is significant opportunity over time to take ownership of increasingly large parts of GSD's technical and day-to-day operations. That responsibility will grow naturally with demonstrated capability and trust rather than being tied to a predetermined title or timeline. About GSD Innovation GSD Innovation is based in Spanaway, Washington and specializes in equipment, parts and technical support for commercial fruit packing operations. We primarily work in the blueberry and cherry industries, supporting customers throughout the United States and Canada as well as customers internationally. The company began by specializing in technical service and parts, expanded into equipment sales and refurbishment, and is now developing and manufacturing a growing range of our own conveyor and material-handling equipment. We're deliberately building a small, capable team rather than a large organization. That gives people here considerably more visibility, responsibility and influence over the finished result than they would typically have in a larger company. If you're technically curious, resourceful, enjoy variety and like the idea of taking responsibility for turning ideas into real machinery, we'd like to hear from you.
Pay:
$72,000.00 - $90,000.00 per year
Benefits:
Health insurance Paid time off Application Question(s): Are you able to work in person at our Spanaway location Monday-Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm? Which 3D CAD platforms have you used professionally, and approximately how much experience do you have with each? Briefly describe a mechanical project where you were involved in both the design and the process of getting it built. Are you comfortable working in a small company where the role includes both CAD/design work and practical workshop/operational tasks as needed? Do you speak Spanish? If yes, how would you describe your proficiency?
