Senior Mechanical Engineer

The role

You will design, develop, and manufacture hardware for ocean sensing networks. You will work across the full product lifecycle from early system architecture and prototyping through testing, deployment, and transition to manufacturing.

What you will do

• Own mechanical designs and subassemblies from early concepts and CAD through prototyping, validation, and production.
• Design reliable hardware for harsh marine environments, balancing performance, manufacturability, cost, and schedule.
• Build, test, and debug prototypes and production hardware.
• Use testing and failure analysis to drive design improvements.
• Lead mechanical design reviews.
• Collaborate with electrical, firmware, software, and manufacturing engineers on integrated systems.
• Work directly with suppliers, machine shops, vendors, and contract manufacturers to develop and scale parts and assemblies.
• Collaborate with customers to develop new marine sensing applications.
• Participate in field testing and ocean deployments.

Required qualifications

• 5+ years of professional mechanical engineering experience designing hardware for marine, robotics, aerospace, automotive, or other demanding environments.
• Strong proficiency in 3D CAD.
• Experience owning mechanical designs from concept through production.
• Strong mechanical fundamentals, including materials and process selection, structural analysis, fatigue, tolerancing, GD&T, and engineering drawings.
• Experience building, testing, debugging, and iterating on physical hardware.
• Strong engineering judgment and the ability to work effectively with team members from different fields and external vendors.

Nice to have

• Experience designing hardware for marine or subsea environments, including sealing, corrosion, and long-duration environmental exposure.
• Experience with FEA and designing for static, cyclic, impact, or thermal loads.
• Experience with sensor integration into larger systems.
• Hands-on machining or fabrication experience.
• Previous start-up experience.
• A passion for or connection to the ocean.
• Onshape or SolidWorks proficiency

Before you apply

• We do sponsor visas and retain an immigration lawyer to support the process.

About the company

Sofar operates at the intersection of ocean science, climate, and technology.