Mechanical Engineer – Optical Systems (Miami, FL)

Key Responsibilities: Design, build, and align optomechanical assemblies for the tracker platforms (optic mounts, frames, and alignment and adjustment features), owning them end to end: idea, CAD model, fabricated parts, assembled and working hardware

Build hardware hands-on: assemble prototypes and test articles, fixture and align optics, work through fit-up issues at the bench, and turn what you learn into the next design revision fast

Support test stand build, instrumentation, and commissioning: sensor mounting, wiring, calibration, DAQ integration, first light, and commissioning runs

Troubleshoot electromechanical systems hands-on: wiring harnesses, sensors, motor drivers, encoders, microcontrollers, and the code talking to them; multimeter, oscilloscope, and Python debugger in the same afternoon, root-causing failures and driving corrective actions back into the design

Work AI-native: drive the scripting, analysis, and documentation around your hardware with AI coding agents, and help make the team's test and simulation infrastructure agent-ready so campaigns can run overnight without a human babysitting them

Build and revise CAD models in PTC Creo and SolidWorks; develop drawing packages with GD&T (ASME Y14.5) for fabrication, weldments, and assemblies, run tolerance stack-up analyses, and iterate against fabrication feedback

Support structural analysis across tracker platforms: first-principles hand calculations, ANSYS FEA for detailed analysis, SAP2000 for code-checked wind-load combinations under ASCE 7-22

Maintain subsystem-level BOMs and handle vendor follow-ups: slew drives, optical components, fasteners, sheet-metal fabrication

Document analysis, build progress, and decisions on the team wiki: methodology pages, test plans, weekly status, design memos

Present and defend your own work in design reviews, growing into ownership of larger subsystems over time

Collaborate with controls, software, and supply chain teams, and with external engineering partners and vendors

Qualifications: BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a closely related discipline

1+ years of hands-on build or design experience with real hardware; internships, co-ops, research labs, and major project-team roles count

Strong fundamentals in math and physics: you reason from first principles, estimate before you compute, and check every result against known limits before you believe it; we probe this hard in interviews

Working knowledge of a parametric CAD tool; the team uses PTC Creo and SolidWorks

Working understanding of GD&T (ASME Y14.5) and tolerance stack-up analysis

Familiarity with common fabrication processes (machining, sheet metal, welding, 3D printing) and design-for-manufacturability and assembly (DFM/DFA) principles

Ability to back up simulation with first-principles hand calculations, and to run structured root-cause analysis when hardware misbehaves

A track record of building real hardware: internships, capstone projects, FSAE, solar car teams, robotics, makerspaces, or independent builds all count; bench experience matters more than coursework grades

The drive to own the full cycle yourself: take an idea to CAD, to built hardware, to test, learn from the mistakes, and iterate quickly rather than handing steps off to others

Comfort with shop and bench work: hand tools, fixturing, assembly, and careful mechanical work on precision hardware

Coursework or hands-on project experience in solid mechanics, statics, dynamics, and finite element analysis

Comfort troubleshooting electromechanical systems hands-on: wiring harnesses, sensors, motor drivers, encoders, microcontrollers, and the firmware or software talking to them

Fluency with AI coding agents (Claude Code, Codex, or similar) as a daily engineering tool: you use them to write most of your code, and you own every line they produce, reviewed, tested, and understood; expect us to ask you to show how you work with AI the same way we ask about your bench skills

The instinct to make work agentic: you can decompose a workflow into steps an agent can execute, with clean interfaces, verifiable checkpoints, and guardrails, and you have the judgment to catch an agent when it is confidently wrong; engineers who can direct several agents at once will outrun those who type everything themselves, and we hire the former

Strong written communication: you can document your work clearly enough that the next engineer can pick it up without asking you

The temperament to hold your ideas loosely: designs evolve weekly and priorities shift on real evidence; engineers who can let go and update move fastest

Preferred Qualifications: Hands-on experience assembling or aligning optical or precision mechanical hardware

Experience with motion components and mechanisms: bearings, actuators, gear and slew drives, bolted and welded joint design

Exposure to design validation and reliability practices: DFMEA, DVP&R, or environmental qualification testing

Coursework or research in optical systems, photonics, heat transfer, or solar energy

Hands-on experience with ANSYS, SAP2000, or another FEA package beyond classroom problem sets

Python or MATLAB scripting: kinematics, data reduction, plotting

Experience building agentic systems around real hardware or simulation: agents driving instruments, CAD, or simulation models through tool interfaces (MCP or similar), running parameter sweeps overnight, and summarizing the results; or any project where you gave an AI real levers and made its output trustworthy

Lab or test-stand experience involving DAQ, instrumentation, or calibration

Familiarity with controls fundamentals: open-loop versus closed-loop, sensor fusion concepts

Interest in solar energy, heliostats, or large-scale renewable infrastructure

Additional Requirements: Willingness to work extended hours and occasional weekends when builds, test campaigns, or program deadlines demand it

Ability to lift up to 25 lbs unassisted, and to work safely with shop tools, ladders, and lifts with appropriate PPE

Ability to work outdoors in Miami heat during assembly and field testing

Occasional travel to fabricators, vendors, and field sites