Mechanical Design Engineer

AtmosZero•Loveland, CO

23d•$110,000 - $180,000•Onsite

About The Position

AtmosZero is hiring one Mechanical Design Engineer at the Engineer III or Senior Engineer I level, based on the scope, independence, and judgment demonstrated during interviews. The role supports the development of Boiler 2.0, a modular industrial heat pump that produces steam at up to 185°C. The engineering focus is to convert proven system architecture and first-of-a-kind hardware into compact, serviceable, supplier-ready designs that can be manufactured repeatedly at lower cost. The position is based onsite in Loveland, Colorado, and reports to the VP Engineering. Occasional travel to customer and supplier sites is expected. At Engineer III level, the engineer independently executes significant mechanical design work packages with limited supervision, coordinates defined interfaces, and carries work from requirements through release and build support. At Senior Engineer I level, the engineer leads complex mechanical design initiatives through ambiguity, owns work end to end, coordinates suppliers and external design resources, mentors teammates, and influences design decisions beyond their immediate area. The role owns mechanical design and packaging, production-ready CAD and documentation, cost and manufacturability improvements, piping and structural design, supplier coordination, and product maturation. It includes supporting design reviews, analysis, fabrication, assembly, commissioning, and field issue resolution, and turning lessons from builds and operation into controlled design improvements. Success includes releasing supplier-ready packages and leading mechanical changes that are validated in hardware and improve cost, assembly effort, footprint, lead time, or service burden. The position offers a base salary range of $110,000–$165,000 for Engineer III or $125,000–$180,000 for Senior Engineer I, depending on experience, demonstrated capability, and interview performance. Compensation also includes a stock option grant. Benefits include medical, dental, and vision coverage; a retirement plan; paid time off and holidays; and parental leave.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering or a related discipline, and relevant experience at the level being applied for.
Strong command of mechanical design fundamentals, including machine design, materials, tolerances, fits, fasteners, welded structures, piping, and load paths.
Demonstrated experience creating complex 3D assemblies and production-quality drawings in SolidWorks or a comparable parametric CAD and PDM environment.
Experience taking mechanical hardware from requirements and layout through detailed design, supplier release, fabrication, assembly, and troubleshooting.
Ability to perform and review first-principles calculations for loads, pressure, thermal expansion, stress, deflection, tolerance stack-up, and component sizing.
Experience producing mechanical engineering documentation, including specifications, drawings, BOMs, interface definitions, calculations, ECOs, and design-review records.
Ability to work directly with fabricators and equipment suppliers, resolve incomplete information, and convert supplier feedback into controlled design decisions.
Comfort with the ambiguity and pace of a startup building physical hardware.

Nice To Haves

Deep SolidWorks experience with large assemblies, configurations, drawings, weldments, routing, BOMs, and PDM-controlled release.
Experience designing packaged industrial equipment with piping, pressure equipment, heat exchangers, rotating equipment, structural frames, and service-access constraints.
Working knowledge of ASME B31 piping requirements, pressure-boundary interfaces, welding and fabrication practices, and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing.
Experience with structural, piping-stress, thermal-expansion, or mechanical FEA tools and the judgment to interpret their results.
Experience with industrial heat pumps, refrigeration, steam systems, process skids, HVAC equipment, turbomachinery packages, or comparable engineered-to-order equipment.
Experience leading DFMA, value engineering, cost reduction, supplier qualification, and competitive sourcing for complex hardware.
Experience coordinating external engineering consultants and reviewing third-party calculations, models, and drawings.
Experience supporting prototype builds, commissioning, certification, or field troubleshooting of industrial equipment.
A graduate degree, professional engineering license, or patents the candidate helped develop.

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain integrated 3D CAD layouts for modular industrial heat-pump systems, including equipment placement, piping, frames, enclosures, service access, lifting, shipping, and installation interfaces.
Translate system and component requirements into production-ready parts, assemblies, fabrication and installation drawings, bills of material, and controlled design releases.
Own mechanical interfaces among heat exchangers, compressors, valves, pumps, piping, electrical equipment, controls hardware, skids, and enclosures.
Run packaging and configuration studies balancing footprint, serviceability, reliability, manufacturability, lead time, and cost.
Turn cost-down concepts into mechanical designs, supplier-ready technical packages, and executable engineering changes.
Lead DFMA and value-engineering work to reduce part count, simplify fabrication and assembly, standardize components, and reduce avoidable cost without compromising safety or performance.
Work with manufacturing and supply-chain teams to incorporate build feedback, supplier capability, competitive bids, and should-cost insights into designs.
Support ECO execution, drawing release, configuration control, and closure of design-review actions as the product advances toward repeatable production.
Design piping, frames, supports, equipment mounts, and mechanical interfaces using appropriate engineering calculations and applicable codes and standards.
Perform or coordinate stress, thermal-expansion, load, tolerance, and structural analyses, selecting an appropriate level of analysis or specialist support.
Define fabrication and assembly requirements, including materials, welds, connections, tolerances, inspection needs, and supplier-executable drawing notes.
Partner with thermal-systems engineers to convert process conditions and component selections into practical mechanical geometry and interfaces.
Prepare RFQ and design packages that enable suppliers to quote, design, fabricate, and verify engineered equipment with minimal ambiguity.
Coordinate external design consultants, fabricators, and component suppliers; review their models, drawings, calculations, and proposals for technical fit and completeness.
Support supplier visits, design reviews, build troubleshooting, commissioning, and field issue resolution; travel occasionally to customer and supplier sites.
Lead mechanical design reviews, DFMEA, technical risk reduction, and action closure through release and validation.
Capture lessons from fabrication, assembly, testing, and field operation and turn them into controlled design improvements.
Identify patentable inventions and help prepare invention disclosures and filings.