Principal Mechanical Engineer

• Use expert level knowledge to execute on major programs and lead teams; coordinates design engineering activities on assigned projects; works independently to achieve goals and objectives; recognized as a local expert in Mechanical Engineering or Opto-Mechanical Engineering discipline 
• Responsible for product design and process development activities on assigned projects; ensures product designs and processes meet customer specifications and technical requirements
• Maintain or oversees the maintenance of the system level CAD model, responsible for the system layout, component and assembly modeling, as well as detailing.
• Perform analyses necessary to certify functional and performance requirements are satisfied – includes FEA for structural integrity verification, dynamic loads characterization, shock evaluation, and thermal analyses, as well as STOP analyses using Sigfit
• Support program management with technical advice and direction on assigned programs; adheres to program financial goals and provides financial estimates and status updates to program management
• Support advanced technology development by offering insights and informed suggestions for new concepts and research and development activities
• Support Manufacturing/Operations in implementing DFM/DFMA principles to ensure products meet cost and schedule requirements
• Participates in configuration control (CCD), change control (ECO, NOR, RCN), and MRB activities to support assigned programs

Education & Experience

• Minimum nine years of related experience in a professional role with a Bachelor’s degree or related discipline.
• Minimum of seven years of experience with a Master’s degree or four years with a Ph.D. in a relevant field.

Skills

• Requires an understanding of optomechanical and/or precision mechanism design principals; the ability to apply engineering fundamentals to the design process is essential
• Experience with the design of optical systems from concept to production; familiar with the design of optics, optics mounting strategies, GD&T, manufacturability, and cost estimating
• Proficiency using 3D CAD software; SOLIDWORKS experience preferred
• Knowledge of thermal, vibrational, and shock analysis methods with application toward optical systems; Experience with analysis software: Femap/NX Nastran, Simcenter 3D, Mathcad, Matlab, and/or Star CCM+ preferred; Experience with Sigmadyne’s Sigfit is also a plus.
• Experience with precision mechanism design, analysis, assembly and/or testing methods (i.e. motor and bearing sizing, encoder selection, lubrication, flexure design, etc.)
• Experience with design and analysis of subsystems utilizing materials such as ceramics, specialty metals (Invar), carbon fiber composites, and optical coatings
• Knowledge of systems engineering tools and methods: error budgeting, FMEA, TPM tracking, etc.
• Experience integrating, aligning and testing of optical systems is a plus
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills; demonstrated ability to achieve results independently or working on a team; strong organizational skills and attention to details required
• Solid understanding of design for assembly and integration in complex opto-mechanical devices including alignment planning and tolerance stack analysis
• Experience with optical testing or dynamic testing and data reduction considered a plus

Working Conditions

• Job operates in a professional office environment
• Routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines
• Work in a cubicle office

Physical Requirements

• Walk. Occasionally move about inside the office to access file cabinets, office machinery, etc.
• Talking. Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word. Those activities in which they must convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other employees accurately, loudly, or quickly.
• Hearing. Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discriminations in sound.
• Use hands/fingers to type/handle.  Operating a computer and other office productivity machinery, such as a calculator, copy machine, and computer printer.
• Sedentary Work. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally, and all other sedentary criteria are met.

Safety Requirements

All employees are required to attend scheduled training, follow the site EHS procedures and Corporate EHS standards. This includes the use of proper protective equipment (PPE) as required by the job responsibilities.

Managers will ensure that all safety and environmental procedures are followed consistently.  They will ensure that risk assessments are performed, proper training, work instructions, required PPE is available, and will monitor compliance