Lead Mechanical Engineer

Salamander Solutions Inc.•Houston, TX

11d•Onsite

About The Position

Salamander is seeking a Lead Mechanical Engineer to provide technical leadership, governance, and oversight for mechanical engineering activities across the business. The role supports product development and manufacturing systems, with a focus on roll-reduction mill operations and thermal-mechanical forming processes used to produce advanced downhole heater systems. The position works with operations, quality, and engineering teams across Houston and Deeside and requires on-site presence. The Lead Mechanical Engineer serves as the technical authority for mechanical engineering, overseeing engineering standards, design reviews, project execution, technical resources, and risk management. The role also leads the design, operation, optimization, and continuous improvement of manufacturing equipment and processes, including tooling and forming systems. Responsibilities include supporting production, investigating equipment and product issues, contributing to capital equipment projects, and improving safety, quality, productivity, and manufacturing efficiency.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, materials engineering, or a related discipline.
10 or more years of mechanical engineering experience, including significant experience leading or technically directing engineering work, teams, or multiple concurrent projects.
Experience in energy, oilfield, or heavy manufacturing environments.
Strong project and technical risk management skills, with the ability to prioritize competing demands across multiple projects.
Ability to communicate technical issues clearly to executive leadership, vendors, and cross-functional teams.
Hands-on experience supporting industrial mechanical equipment, including troubleshooting, setup, and operational optimization.
Strong understanding of metallurgy, especially heat-affected behavior during mechanical forming of alloys used in high-temperature or downhole applications.
Demonstrated experience designing tooling, rolls, or forming dies in CAD.
Proficiency in generating mechanical drawings, tooling schematics, Bills of Materials, and work instructions.
Familiarity with Manufacturing Quality Systems, SPC, tolerance stack-ups, and dimensional control methods.
Strong mechanical analysis skills, including stress, strain, thermal effects, and mechanical loading.
Excellent collaboration and communication abilities across production, maintenance, engineering, and quality groups.
High attention to detail and strong documentation discipline.

Nice To Haves

Experience with metal forming, roll-reduction mills, rotary reducers, tube forming, or hot-work processes.

Responsibilities

Provide technical leadership, guidance, and oversight for mechanical engineering activities involving product development, manufacturing equipment, and facility-related projects.
Review and approve mechanical designs, calculations, specifications, drawings, and engineering changes as the technical authority.
Establish, maintain, and enforce mechanical engineering standards, design practices, CAD conventions, and change-control processes.
Ensure projects are appropriately scoped, resourced, reviewed, and executed in alignment with business objectives, schedules, and budgets.
Assess engineering resource needs across concurrent projects and recommend staffing, contractor, or consultant support.
Mentor and provide technical direction to engineers, designers, and technicians across projects and locations.
Monitor engineering priorities, technical risks, and project interdependencies, and communicate progress and recommendations to leadership.
Promote collaboration and standardization between the Houston and Deeside facilities.
Lead the design, operation, optimization, and continuous improvement of manufacturing equipment and processes, including roll-reduction mill operations and thermal-mechanical forming systems.
Design and develop tooling, fixtures, guides, dies, and related equipment to support manufacturing efficiency, product quality, and process capability.
Perform mechanical and thermal engineering analyses to assess equipment performance, process parameters, and manufacturing improvements.
Develop and maintain manufacturing documentation, including process specifications, work instructions, quality checkpoints, Bills of Materials, and engineering records.
Provide technical support for production operations, including troubleshooting, equipment optimization, maintenance activities, and process improvements.
Lead root-cause investigations and corrective actions related to equipment failures, manufacturing issues, and product non-conformances.
Partner with Operations, Quality, and Product Engineering to ensure products meet mechanical, dimensional, metallurgical, and customer requirements.
Support capital equipment projects through specification, procurement, installation, commissioning, and validation.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on safety, quality, productivity, tooling performance, waste reduction, and manufacturing efficiency.
Evaluate emerging technologies and industry best practices to enhance manufacturing capabilities and support business growth.