Principal Mechanical Engineer (New - Front end innovation)

About us:

Guardian Agriculture is developing large multicopters for applying agricultural chemicals to high-value crops. Relative to existing plane- and helicopter-based crop spraying solutions, our systems radically improve precision and safety while reducing chemical use, reducing impact on pollinating insects, and minimizing opportunities for organisms to acquire chemical resistance.

Guardian is a small, multi-disciplinary team of talented engineers, technicians, and operators who prioritize high reliability product and service design over exploratory R&D. We are a hands-on team and split our time between development work, system testing, and field deployments. We value safety, thoughtful design, teamwork, and a growth mindset as we scale the organization and build an autonomous system that farmers can trust.

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SUMMARY:

Do you want to make a tangible, positive, impact on the world? Would you like to get into a growing company on the ground floor and be a key player that makes a significant difference across the business? We are working with farmers to feed more people with fewer resources utilizing an electric powertrain to do so. Guardian is quickly moving into operationalizing our product and needs someone capable of supporting our rapid transition and growth of our business. If this interests you, and your skills and experiences are a good fit, let’s talk.

We are seeking an experienced Principal Mechanical Engineer to lead the design of major areas of our aircraft system. This job is for someone who will genuinely enjoy working on large flying robots while making a significant contribution to the company's top directives.  Someone who is hands on and wants to tackle our most difficult technical challenges.

If you are a highly motivated and results-driven individual with a passion for delivering awesome and novel products to market working from the ground up, we encourage you to apply for this exciting opportunity to make a significant impact on our organization.

What You Will Do:

• Design and integrate components varying from sealed electronics enclosures to full aircraft chassis and ground support vehicle equipment.
• Apply engineering first principles, including analyzing functional requirements, evaluating design options, utilizing analytical tools, optimizing for manufacturability, considering material selection, incorporating safety and reliability factors, iterating based on feedback, and collaborating with cross-functional teams.
• Extract and translate relevant information from a business case into clear and concise product requirements for various mechanical systems.
• Utilize Onshape to create detailed models, assemblies, and drawings.
• Implement robust document control practices through structured release management, systematic versioning, and clear tracking of design.
•  Utilize hand calculations and simulation software, conduct physical tests for validation, and interpret results to optimize designs.
• Prototype parts using in-house equipment (glorious machine shop, composites lab, welding equipment, etc.), skills dependent.
• Provide management feedback on build vs. buy for various components in support of company-wide objectives.
• Communicate effectively with vendors and suppliers for prototyping and low-volume manufacturing.
• Utilize a PLM system to manage and track the product development process, including documentation control, revision management, and change management.

To Be Successful You Will Have:

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering or in a related field
• 7-10 years of experience in New Product Development (NPD)
• Strong design portfolio
• Firm grasp of engineering concepts, and experience designing mechanical systems and products
• Excellent math skills: ability to apply advanced mathematical principles and statistics to solve problems. i.e. Mathematical modeling
• Experience using CAD software such as Onshape, Solidworks preferred.
• Exceptional technical and problem-solving skills and reasoning ability
• Ability to communicate effectively and clearly.
• Must be self-motivated and a great team worker. 
• Exhibit a strong aptitude to creatively solve blank sheet design challenges.
• Ability to work across multiple disciplines to design, prototype and solve problems.
• Familiarity with a variety of manufacturing methods (composites, machining, sheet metal, weldments, thermoplastics, etc.)
• Experienced with designing mid to large mechanical systems.
• Hands-on work ethic and ego-free collaboration skills
• Comfortable working in a close-knit team
• Experience with requirements development and evaluation
• Experience with risk analysis techniques, FMEA

Additional Qualifications and experience of the ideal Candidate:

• Experience with mid-sized to large mechanical systems (car, aircraft, tractors, all-terrain vehicle, etc.)
• Experience with composite structure design (carbon fiber, fiberglass) 
• Passion for designing and building physical or electromechanical devices of any kind.
• Personal projects showcasing relevant strengths.
• Experience with large growth companies (i.e., 10-100 people)
• Python, MATLAB
• Product Life Cycle Calculation

Benefits:

Flexible time off, competitive salary, stock options, free company lunch every day, comprehensive benefits package, an extremely well-equipped fabrication shop, and the opportunity to build and use play with flying machines that will have an environmental impact.

"Guardian AG stands firmly against racial discrimination and social injustice. Everyone has a voice in our company, and we are committed to equality, inclusiveness, respect, and kindness. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, national origin, disability status, age, marital status, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by law. Guardian AG is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you need special assistance or an accommodation while seeking employment, please send an email to: [email protected]"