Staff Mechanical Engineer - Structures Design

Company Overview

Mainspring Energy is revolutionizing power generation with the world’s most flexible and adaptable local power generation technology, the Mainspring Linear Generator. Commercial, industrial, and utility leaders are choosing Mainspring over traditional options like engines, turbines, and fuel cells to quickly and reliably deliver local power for EV charging, commercial facilities, data centers, and grid-scale operations. The Mainspring Linear Generator is fuel flexible, ramps up and down to meet demand, and utilizes a flameless reaction with near-zero NOx emissions.

Backed by top-tier investors including Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, American Electric Power, Lightrock, and General Catalyst Mainspring designs, manufactures and delivers its products to customers across the U.S. today, and we’re quickly scaling for international expansion.

Inspired by our vision of the affordable, reliable, net-zero carbon grid, Mainspring is rapidly expanding within the $816B global electricity equipment market, and we’re hiring the best talent to meet growing customer demand around the globe. We welcome a broad range of backgrounds, experiences, and talents to bring fresh perspectives and ongoing innovation to our customers.

We are looking to build relationships with people who share our values:

Pragmatic Optimism.

Building a new category of world-class power generation requires the optimism of ambition and creativity, balanced with practicality to solve problems efficiently. The challenges that arise are opportunities for growth.

Excellence without Ego.

We bring expertise and commitment to creating the best customer experience, from sales to deployment and service, just as we apply deep technical rigor to building and delivering world-class products. We strive for excellence and behave as leaders with the humility to acknowledge our challenges, both collectively and as individual contributors.

Proactive Collaboration.

The integration and cross-disciplinary nature of Mainspring’s business requires intentionally seeking out others who bring different skills, perspectives, and priorities. Our culture of inclusion and respect extends beyond our team to interactions with our partners and customers.

More information can be found at

www.mainspringenergy.com

Job Overview

Mainspring Energy is seeking a talented Staff Mechanical Engineer to join the team responsible for the structural design and alignment of critical components in our innovative Linear Generator technology. This is a highly impactful position requiring strong design and analysis skills, creativity, and cross-functional collaboration. The engineer will work on structural systems, bolted joints, and alignment-critical features to maintain precision and durability over the linear generator's lifespan. This challenging role requires creativity and a broad range of skills to make a significant impact on our clean energy solution for a part that is critical to the success of the company.

Responsibilities

- Lead essential development efforts to align and maintain alignment of major components, including design, 3D CAD modeling (Solidworks), engineering analysis (FEA tools like ANSYS), testing, root cause investigation and comprehensive documentation

- Collaborate with cross-functional teams (Electrical Engineering, Controls, Manufacturing, Suppliers) to ensure seamless subsystem integration, performance, and new product introduction (DFM/DFA, work instructions, tooling/fixtures)

- Plan and execute rigorous verification and validation testing to ensure designs meet all requirements (functional, durability, safety, reliability)

- Provide technical guidance to junior engineers and technicians, and contribute to the continuous improvement of engineering processes, tools, standards, and best practices

- Stay current on advancements in mechanical engineering relevant to power generation, and identify opportunities to reduce cost, improve performance, and increase reliability as Mainspring scales its technology

- Uphold and further Mainspring's mission to create clean, affordable, and reliable power generators that accelerate the world's transition to a sustainable energy future

Qualifications

- Degree in Mechanical Engineering or a similar engineering field from an accredited institution.  Experience and degree will determine level, but minimum requirements are: BS + 10 years experience or MS + 9 years experience - Delivered products as a technical lead through 3+ full design lifecycles from concept to manufacturing support, preferably with product in high vibration environments with large cyclic loading

- Expertise in bolted joints, thermal impact on structures, design and analysis for severe vibration environments a big plus

- Fluent in SolidWorks or comparable CAD package.  Experience with using PDM or a similar CAD version control system is preferred

- Hands-on mechanical prototyping, assembly, testing skills, and experience with mechanical engineering analysis tools (FEA, CFD, thermal analysis, tolerance stack-ups)

- Deep understanding and knowledge of mechanical design principles, materials, manufacturing processes (sheet metal, welding, casting), and ability to identify and resolve design for manufacturability issues

- Excellent problem-solving, creative thinking, communication, and collaboration skills for effective cross-functional teamwork

- Ability to work independently, manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment, and demonstrate leadership and mentoring abilities

- Passion for clean energy and commitment to creating a more sustainable world

Does your experience not meet all of our posted requirements? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to positions unless they meet every listed requirement. At Mainspring, we are committed to building a diverse, inclusive, flexible, and collaborative environment, so if you want to help us transition the world to clean and affordable electricity, and don’t meet all posted requirements for a particular role, we’d still love to hear from you. Mainspring can sometimes be flexible enough to shift responsibilities for the right person, or otherwise identify open or upcoming roles that may better fit your professional background.

In more traditional words, Mainspring Energy, Inc is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

This compensation and benefits information is based on Mainspring Energy's estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future. We generally do not negotiate on salary once we have made an offer. The level of pay within the range will depend on a variety of job-related factors that may include location, relevant prior experience and/or education, or particular skills and expertise. New hires joining the company tend to be paid within the starting base pay range noted above, with opportunities to increase pay over time based on development of additional skills, competencies, and company-specific knowledge.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

This position is 

onsite

at our Menlo Park HQ. The salary will be adjusted to reflect local market conditions based on employee location as well as the experience of the employee. Along with the base salary, Mainspring offers pre-IPO stock options + benefits.