Mechanical Engineer- LA

Kela Technologies is hiring a Mechanical Engineer to own the mechanical development of safety-critical, field-deployed products. The role covers concept development, CAD, prototyping, qualification testing, production transfer, and collaboration with hardware and software engineers.

Responsibilities:

• Design and own mechanical assemblies end-to-end: housing, structure, actuation mechanisms, and integration architecture
• Define the mechanical safety architecture in collaboration with HW and SW leads — interlocks, fail-safe geometry, retention features, and impact behavior
• Spec materials, tolerances, finishes, and fasteners for operating environments involving temperature, vibration, humidity, and drop loads
• Build and iterate prototypes in-house (3D print, CNC); hand off polished DFM packages to external machinists and mold vendors
• Plan and execute mechanical qualification: drop, shock, vibration, environmental, mass-properties, and integration testing
• Own the BOM, weight budget, and CG budget — track them as the safety-critical numbers they are
• Collaborate directly with HW and SW engineers on PCB envelope, connector placement, harnessing, and mechanism actuation

Requirements:

• 7+ years designing mechanical assemblies that go into the field — UAV payloads, defense, automotive, aerospace, or similar rugged/regulated domains
• Fluency in a parametric CAD tool (SolidWorks, Fusion 360, Onshape, Creo, or NX)
• Ability to produce manufacturing-ready drawings: GD&T, tolerance stacks, surface finishes, and fits
• Hands-on with prototyping: FDM/SLA printers, basic machining (mill, lathe), and in-lab build-and-break cycles
• Strong failure-mode intuition — you've broken things on purpose and know which question to ask next
• Working English, written and verbal
• Experience with energetics, safety-critical arming or actuation mechanisms in defense, aerospace, or industrial applications
• Familiarity with MIL-STD-810 (environmental), MIL-STD-331, or equivalent civilian qualification standards
• FEA / structural simulation (Ansys, SolidWorks Simulation, Onshape FEA)
• Injection-mold and metal-casting DFM experience
• UAV or payload integration experience, including mass/CG sensitivity