Mechanical Engineer (Flight Mechanisms & Stage Separation)

Location: Victorville, California, United States; onsite mechanical engineering role. Must be available to work extended hours and weekends as needed. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or nationals, lawful permanent residents, refugees, asylees, or eligible to obtain required U.S. Department of State authorizations under ITAR.

Salary: USD 105,000–180,000 base salary per year.

Company

Mach Industries is a defense technology startup founded in 2023 that develops autonomous defense platforms and decentralized defense systems through advanced manufacturing and rapid innovation.

What you will do

• Design and develop static and dynamic mechanisms for flight vehicles and other demanding applications.
• Develop stage-separation and ground-launch mechanical systems.
• Design and integrate Tier 1 flight-mechanism components, focusing on flight hardware.
• Create CAD models, drawings, and interface definitions for mechanism assemblies.
• Analyze loads, motion, clearances, deployment, and separation behavior.
• Support prototyping, hardware integration, testing, test planning, technical documentation, engineering reviews, and design improvements based on test results.

Requirements

• 5+ years of mechanical engineering experience in mechanisms, vehicle hardware, or related systems.
• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
• Strong 3D CAD skills, such as NX or SolidWorks.
• Flight-hardware experience, including vehicle-mechanism design, integration, or testing.
• Experience developing static and/or dynamic mechanisms for aerospace or other demanding applications.
• Must meet applicable ITAR eligibility requirements or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations; employment requires U.S. work authorization.

Nice to have

• Experience with stage-separation systems or launch mechanisms.
• Experience with Tier 1 vehicle components.
• Familiarity with mechanism dynamics, actuation, release systems, or deployment systems.
• Experience with FEA, mechanism simulation, or other engineering analysis tools.

Culture & Benefits

• Startup environment with approximately 350 employees and a focus on rapid innovation and national security.
• Performance-based incentives and equity participation.
• Healthcare, dental and vision plans, retirement savings, and paid time off.
• Funding for continuing education, training, and career growth.
• Compensation transparency and market-aligned salary practices.