Staff Equipment Mechanical Design Engineer

Company Overview

Amperesand is reinventing how the world powers its most critical systems.

We are facing a once-in-a-generation opportunity for infrastructure disruption. Electricity demand is skyrocketing, driven by AI factories, electric vehicles, and modern industrial growth. Energy supply is shifting to incorporate a more diverse mix of resources – including solar, gas, and batteries – at a massive scale.

And yet the power infrastructure behind our latest mega-projects hasn’t meaningfully changed in nearly 100 years. Supply chains for today’s infrastructure equipment can’t match the pace and sophistication of critical energy projects. Amperesand is building hardware and software that rewrites this broken power infrastructure playbook to support a new era of energy abundance.

We’ve built a new class of intelligent, software-defined power infrastructure products leveraging a decade of advanced medium voltage Solid State Transformer research that’s now ready for commercial deployment.

Our products and solutions go far beyond the capabilities of traditional electrical equipment. We make power systems that are faster to deploy, dramatically smaller and more efficient, and capable of supporting modern, dynamic energy needs for tomorrow’s most demanding energy consumers.

Scalable in-house advanced manufacturing capability is our foundation for meeting timeline and quality expectation to serve infrastructure customers around the world.

Amperesand is led by breakthrough energy hardware development veterans and funded by top tier investors who share our vision of building a category-defining energy technology company.

With hubs in San Francisco, Reno, and Singapore, our global team is laser focused on building foundational technology to solve the most pressing problems in power infrastructure at scale.

Join us in building the power foundation of the future!

Job Location: Reno Nevada

We are seeking an accomplished and innovative Staff Equipment Mechanical Design Engineer to join our team and drive the development of custom equipment for manufacturing power electronics products. In this role, you will be responsible for architecting, designing, and validating high-performance mechanical systems and automation equipment, ensuring robust operation in high-power density and thermally constrained environments. You will collaborate closely with product design, manufacturing, controls engineering and test engineering teams to develop scalable and reliable equipment solutions that meet performance, cost, and throughput targets.

This position presents a rare and valuable opportunity to influence equipment design from its inception, enabling early integration of design for manufacturability (DFM), design for excellence (DFX), and design for assembly (DFA) principles. As a critical interface between product development and industrialization, you will help translate cutting-edge hardware concepts into production-ready systems that meet the demands of high-volume, high-reliability manufacturing.

Responsibilities:

Conceptualize, design, and develop custom automation equipment, tooling, and fixtures.

Utilize CAD software (SolidWorks, CATIA, AutoCAD, etc.) to create detailed mechanical designs

Contribute to product DFA to improve overall manufacturing cost and quality

Conduct stress analysis, thermal analysis, and tolerance stack-ups to ensure robustness

Design equipment for manufacturability (DFM), assembly (DFA), and reliability (DFR).

Develop mechanical systems incorporating servo motors, actuators, pneumatics, hydraulics, and robotics

Work with controls and electrical engineers to integrate PLC, HMI, sensors, and vision systems.

Optimize design of equipment for repeatability, precision, availability, and cycle time

Lead prototyping efforts, including vendor coordination, in-house fabrication, and testing

Conduct design validation (DV) and process validation (PV) for new equipment

Perform root cause analysis and troubleshooting of mechanical failures

Develop assembly line automation solutions, including robotic cells and material handling systems

Act as the technical lead for large-scale equipment design and procurement

Coordinate with controls, electrical, and software teams to develop fully integrated systems

Manage vendors and suppliers for custom mechanical components and automation systems

Lead design reviews, FMEA (Failure Mode & Effects Analysis), and risk assessments

Identify opportunities for equipment optimization, efficiency improvements, and cost reduction

Implement Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma principles to enhance equipment reliability

Develop standardized design guidelines to improve future equipment scalability

Ensure mechanical designs meet OSHA, CE, UL, ISO regulations

Implement safety interlocks, fail-safes, and ergonomic considerations in equipment designs.

Work with EH&S teams to ensure regulatory compliance and risk mitigation.

Qualifications:

BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related field.

5+ years of professional experience in Mechanical design, and 3+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering is desired.

Hands-on experience in fixture, tooling, and automation design for manufacturing.

Expert proficiency in CAD software (3DEXPERIENCE (3DX), CATIA, NX, SolidWorks, Creo etc.) for designing mechanical assemblies.

Experience with DFM/DFA (Design for Manufacturing/Assembly) methodologies.

Expert in FEA (Finite Element Analysis) and structural analysis for stress, structural, and vibration studies.

Experience leading large-scale capital equipment design projects.

Strong background in concept-to-production equipment development.

Ability to mentor junior engineers and lead design reviews.

Strong background in process development, optimization, and troubleshooting in a high-volume production environment.

Experience with precision machining, welding, sheet metal fabrication, injection molding, or additive manufacturing is often preferred.

Solid understanding of GD&T and its impact on manufacturability.

Experience with servo motors, pneumatics, hydraulics, linear actuators, and PLC-controlled systems.

Experience designing automated assembly lines, robotics integration, and custom mechanical solutions.

Knowledge of motion control, pneumatics, hydraulics, and sensors.

Experience working with electrical, software, and manufacturing teams to develop integrated solutions.

Ability to lead design reviews, FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis), and process validations.

Proven track record of driving cost reductions, yield improvements, and process efficiencies.

Willingness and ability to travel up to 20% including internationally

Excellent written and verbal communications in English

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience working in Agile development environments, including task management and sprint planning using Scrum methodologies and tools like Jira.

Strong background in structural, thermal, and vibration analysis using tools like Ansys Mechanical, Fluent, and Maxwell.

Familiarity with electronics packaging and PCB interface considerations.

Experience with medium- to high-voltage systems and insulation coordination (creepage, clearance, potting, sealing).

Basic knowledge of digital and analog electronics.

Power Electronics Assembly experience is highly valued from energy, automotive, aerospace, semiconductor, or consumer electronics manufacturing.

Reno Pay Range

$155,000 — $185,000 USD

Candidate Confidentiality & Information Protection

As part of our commitment to protecting confidential and proprietary information, candidates should not disclose or provide Amperesand with any confidential, proprietary, or trade secret information belonging to a current or former employer or any other third party during the application or intervie