Mechanical Engineer

About This Opportunity

Our company serves the $50bn niche industry of Screen Protectors for Mobile Devices in a very unusual way:  we design and manufacture a series of machines that will cut a screen protector on-demand, and install it on a phone for retailers.  So we do not sell pre-made Screen Protectors, and you cannot buy our products online - we design, manufacture, and sell a mechanical system that makes and installs screen protectors.  This position will be bringing a full-time Mechanical Engineer into our team full-time to take complete ownership over the design and manufacturing of these mechanical systems.  You will have a high degree of independence, ownership over a critical product category, and the ability to execute on ambitious and challenging long-term mechanical goals.  Several years of experience designing mechanical systems meant for mass-production is a must.  Domain-specific experience around process automation and mechatronics is a huge plus.  We do not have a huge team - you will be joining a highly specialized and high-performing engineering team, where you will be the only Mechanical Engineer - so you must be ready, willing, and able to own a product from start to finish.

Job Details

Title: Mechanical Engineer
Compensation: $115k+ annually (Depending on Experience) plus benefits
Reports To: Director of R&D
Location: R&D Lab in Philadelphia
Job Type: Full Time

Benefits: Medical, Dental, maternity and paternity leave, short term and long term disability, life insurance, 401k

What would someone do as your Mechanical Engineer, anyway?
The primary work will be around creating the next generation of our Screen Protector system, which we refer to as "RapidCut".  This will require fairly in-depth novel engineering, prototyping, design of experiments, and eventual design for manufacturing and scale-up.  There will be other work related to this system as well, such as design improvement of current systems, and value engineering - though these tasks will be about 50% or less of the long-term workload.  You will be working alongside product developers, chemical engineers, and software engineers to develop these systems together.

In plain terms, here’s what this usually means:

We are seeking someone with experience in developing mechanization for consumer-facing systems. Your role will require you to:

• Conceptualize and design systems that are not only innovative but also reliable and maintenance-free, capable of daily operation by unskilled store clerks.
• Strike a balance between cost and reliability, as these systems will be designed for mid-volume mass production.
• Utilize your experience in designing mechanisms that can be modularized for easy removal and replacement, facilitating quick repairs at customer sites.
  

• Spending the majority of your time defining first principles that will lead to success, and then researching, prototyping, and experimenting until a working design is reached
• Seeing a project through from Concept -> Proof of Concept -> Prototype -> Pre-Production Trial -> Full-Scale Production
• Collaborating with other engineers and resources, both within and outside the company, to further progress
• Operating with a high degree of independence, as we trust our engineers to manage their projects and schedules effectively.
  

If this sounds like you, your previous education, work experience, and passions probably sound like this:

• A Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, with Mechanical Engineering being the preferred discipline.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in roles where you had complete ownership of a product, a common scenario in smaller companies, or experience as a Team Lead in larger companies.
• Direct experience in domains such as automation equipment, 3D printer design, 2D/3D Mechatronic systems, or Automated Kiosk / Vending Machine design. Note that experience in areas like injection molding is less applicable.
• Experience working with SolidWorks, developing electromechanical assemblies for cost, product and process validation, ownership of the costed BOM and cost responsibility.
  

….as well as some less quantifiable attributes, such as:

• You must absolutely love the environment and challenges of "Skunkworks" style teams and projects.  This means highly creative, highly independent, and very loosely structured.  It also means the challenges you will face will not be simple, straightforward, or easy.
• Alignment with our company's core values - the short version is that open-mindedness, humility, and an ability to overcome challenges is highly valued here.
• If you are ever intrigued by a vending machine and the complexity of the mechanization used, you are what we are looking for.

Lastly, here’s what success looks like in this position:

• Success in this role will be defined by the successful execution and realization of our company's long-term product vision. Additionally, you may have the opportunity to contribute to short- and medium-term projects. Ultimately, the primary goal of this position is to achieve our 3-year vision, which we will discuss in detail during the interview process.
  If you are passionate about pushing the boundaries of Mechanical Engineering, relish the challenges of innovation, and want to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our industry, we encourage you to apply and be part of our dedicated and forward-thinking team.

About our company culture and this position:
Our company culture is the #1 reason people choose to work here, and stay once they're here - we've been rated 4+ stars on Glassdoor since 2019!  It would be a mistake to say that things like our fun quarterly events, community involvement, and efficient 40-hour work week define our culture - they're the positive side effects of our culture.  Our culture is built on good people who love their work, and work hard and intelligently to produce great results. We're grateful for the work we all do, and we tell each other that. We are a group of thoughtful, helpful people with integrity, and we get stuff done.