Senior Mechanical Engineer 

A cutting-edge technology manufacturer headquartered in the greater Chicago metro area is seeking an accomplished Senior Mechanical Engineer to lead full-cycle product development for ruggedized telecommunications and power-management solutions. This engineer will drive concepts from napkin sketch to production release, partnering with cross-functional experts in electrical, software, and systems design to launch high-reliability products that withstand harsh outdoor environments. If you thrive on ownership, collaboration, and seeing your ideas make it to market, this role was built for you. 

This Role Offers: 

• Competitive base salary with bonus potential. 
• Collaborative, high-impact culture where your designs ship to customers worldwide. 
• Direct access to senior leadership and the freedom to influence product roadmaps. 
• Comprehensive benefits package and clear advancement pathways as the business scales. 

Focus: 

• Serve as the primary mechanical design authority on multi-disciplinary project teams, guiding concept creation, detailed design, verification, and new-product introduction. 
• Translate marketing requirements into robust mechanical architectures using sheet-metal, injection-molded plastics, and PCB integration techniques. 
• Conduct thermal, structural, and tolerance analyses to prove designs meet performance, cost, and quality targets. 
• Generate and maintain engineering deliverables (3-D CAD models, drawings, BOMs, test specifications) and shepherd them through the PLM workflow. 
• Direct prototype builds, test plans, and root-cause investigations, iterating quickly to meet aggressive schedules. 
• Scout emerging materials, manufacturing processes, and external partners that accelerate innovation and reduce total product cost. 
• Provide post-launch product expertise for sustaining engineering, customer escalation, and value-engineering initiatives. 
• Mentor junior engineers and champion best-practice design standards across the organization. 

Skill Set: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering (or similar) with a strong grasp of heat transfer fundamentals and electro-mechanical packaging. 
• 5+ years of hands-on mechanical design experience developing complex products for volume production. 
• Proficiency with modern 3-D CAD (SolidWorks preferred) and PDM/BOM management tools. 
• Demonstrated success designing with sheet-metal, plastics, and electronic assemblies, including DFM/DFA considerations. 
• Working knowledge of tolerance stack-ups, thermal management techniques, vibration/shock testing, and environmental compliance (IP/NEMA, NEBS, etc.). 
• Excellent communication skills and a track record of leading cross-functional teams to hit milestone dates. 
• Ability to lift prototypes (up to 50 lbs) and perform occasional hands-on testing in a lab environment. 

Preferred & Bonus Skills: 

• SolidWorks or similar for component-level modeling and stress/deflection analysis.  
• Familiarity with cleanroom ISO classifications, radiation shielding, or other highly regulated facility standards. 
• Experience managing multi-disciplinary teams and mentoring junior engineers.