Senior Mechanical Engineer

About Vital Lyfe

Vital Lyfe is a tech company redefining water autonomy through innovation, creating a new category of personal water making technology built to scale where infrastructure can’t.

The Mission

Own and build the core mechanical systems behind our product; pumps, valves, pressure vessels, and fluid-handling assemblies & take them from early concepts to production at scale. This is a hands on, high-ownership role for someone who wants to design, test, break, fix, and ship hardware.

What You’ll Do

Own major mechanical subsystems from concept through production ramp and launch.

Design, prototype, and validate pumps, valves, pressure vessels, and related mechanical components.

Drive system-level tradeoffs across performance, reliability, manufacturability, and cost.

Build and run test plans to validate performance across real-world environments and edge cases.

Work closely with electrical, firmware, industrial design, and manufacturing to turn ideas into shipped product.

Help design and improve manufacturing processes and production equipment, including fixtures, tooling, and automation concepts.

Iterate fast; identify problems, propose solutions, and implement changes without heavy process overhead.

Support supplier selection, part qualification, and production ramp.

Mentor junior engineers as the team grows (without becoming detached from hands-on work).

What We’re Looking For

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field.

5+ years of experience designing and shipping mechanical or electromechanical hardware.

Strong CAD and FEA skills applied to real, production-intent designs.

Experience taking products from prototype to manufacturing.

Comfort working in ambiguity and making tradeoffs with incomplete information.

Bias toward action, ownership, and practical engineering solutions.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with consumer hardware or high-volume manufacturing.

Background in pumps, valves, pressure systems, or fluid mechanics.

Exposure to automation, manufacturing process development, or production equipment.

Startup or early-stage company experience.

Physical Job Requirements - Essential Functions

Hands on work on development hardware.

Long periods of standing, crouching, walking.

Lifting up to 50 lbs.

Why Join Vital Lyfe?

Work on high-impact problems with global relevance

Help scale breakthrough technology in water security and climate resilience

Early ownership in a high growth, engineering led startup

Join a tight knit, mission driven team in a fast-paced environment

Build long term career equity as we grow

Location Requirement: Ability to work 100% onsite in Torrance, CA (remote or hybrid work will not be considered)

Vital Lyfe is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Vital Lyfe is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.