Director, Mechanical Engineering

nEye.ai•Santa Clara, CA

About The Position

nEye.ai is a well-funded optical switch startup developing MEMS-based silicon photonics optical circuit switches for data centers. The company’s SuperSwitch is designed to enable direct optical connections among GPUs and memory units, with low power consumption, high radix, and a compact chip-scale form factor. The Director of Mechanical Engineering will own and drive the mechanical aspects of product development, serving as the primary technical authority for mechanical design, simulation, and manufacturing and as the central interface between mechanical engineering and other teams. The role combines hands-on technical contribution with leadership of a small engineering team. The director will build and organize the team and lead mechanical work across the product lifecycle, from concept and vendor development through prototyping, validation, production, first article inspection, and engineering change control. The role also works closely with packaging specialists and other engineers.

Requirements

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field.
At least 7 years of hands-on experience in mechanical design and analysis.
At least 3 years in a lead or management role.
Demonstrated leadership qualities, particularly in hiring and efficient design.
Experience designing mechanical systems for the telecom or data center industry.
Expert-level proficiency with 3D CAD software such as SolidWorks, Creo, or Inventor.
Expert-level proficiency with finite element simulation software such as Ansys, SolidWorks Simulation, or COMSOL.
Demonstrated expertise in thermal management and simulation for electronic systems.
Proven experience in analytical mechanical design, including design for low-stress mounting, shock, and vibration.
Strong understanding of manufacturing processes including precision machining, extrusion, sheet metal, and molding technologies.
Direct experience managing vendors and performing first article inspections.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of industry standards for shock, vibration, and thermal testing, such as Telcordia.
Experience with advanced materials and adhesives for specialized applications.
Excellent communication and technical documentation skills, including the ability to present designs and simulation results to cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

Own mechanical design and analysis for precision components and assemblies supporting MEMS and silicon photonic devices.
Develop enclosures, mounting structures, fiber management solutions, and thermal hardware for high-performance optical systems.
Drive mechanical designs from concept through prototype, validation, and production.
Build and organize the Mechanical team to support multiple products and projects.
Select and develop third-party outsourcing resources and work closely with them to supplement internal capabilities.
Refine and run the nEye New Product Development (NPD) process used by the Mechanical team.
Identify critical mechanical, thermal, and dynamic simulation needs.
Lead structural, thermal, and vibration simulations using finite element analysis tools.
Analyze assembly stress, strain, thermal performance, and reliability.
Optimize designs for manufacturability, robustness, and long-term reliability.
Lead design tradeoff studies through simulation and experimentation.
Define and manage the building, assembly, and evaluation of engineering prototypes.
Work with engineers and manufacturing partners to debug mechanical issues.
Conduct root cause analysis on prototype and field failures.
Iterate designs based on test data and engineering feedback.
Collaborate with vendors on precision-machined, sheet-metal, molded, and fabricated parts.
Own first article reviews, part approvals, and manufacturing documentation.
Support engineering change orders (ECOs).
Help transition designs from prototype into production.