Mechanical Engineer, Staff

Qualcomm • San Diego, CA

9d • $141,300 - $211,900 • Onsite

About The Position

Qualcomm Technologies is expanding its silicon expertise into complete, rack-scale AI infrastructure. The Staff Mechanical Engineer will help develop robust rack systems that customers and manufacturing partners can build, deploy, cool, service, and scale. This hands-on staff-level technical role shapes mechanical architecture from package and board interfaces through server trays, rack structures, cabling, coolant plumbing, and service interfaces. It combines advanced CAD, tolerance analysis, mechanical design, prototype builds, validation, and supplier execution to guide critical product decisions.

The position owns mechanical design workstreams across data-center rack systems and partners across engineering, supply chain, and manufacturing to resolve platform constraints. It leads technical trade studies, validation, design reviews, and supplier engagements, while developing reusable methods and mentoring engineers. The role is onsite in San Diego and requires periodic travel to supplier or manufacturing locations.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or a closely related engineering discipline.
• 8+ years of industry experience designing complex electro-mechanical hardware, with hands-on responsibility for detailed design, release, prototype build, validation, and production support.
• 8+ years of advanced 3D CAD experience using Creo, NX, SolidWorks, or equivalent, including top-down assemblies, skeleton models, multiple configurations, and 2D drawings.
• Demonstrated experience designing server, rack, chassis, or other high-density electronic hardware using sheet metal, CNC-machined components, plastics, heatsinks, fasteners, and structural supports.
• Strong command of mechanical engineering fundamentals, materials, fastener design, structural load paths, design for assembly, tolerance stack analysis, GD&T, and design for manufacturability.
• Experience defining PCB mechanical constraints and exchanging ECAD/MCAD data using IDX, IDF/EMN, or equivalent workflows.
• Experience designing or integrating high-density electro-mechanical systems using sheet metal, machined components, fans, manifolds, fasteners, and structural supports.
• Experience creating 2D part and assembly drawings, BOMs, interface-control documents, tolerance analyses, and design-review packages for complex assemblies.
• Experience working directly with ODM/OEM partners and suppliers through concept, DFM, prototype, design verification, and issue resolution.
• Ability to lead complex, ambiguous, cross-functional mechanical problems with minimal supervision and communicate clearly in design reviews, written requirements, reports, and executive presentations.
• Ability to work onsite in San Diego and travel periodically to supplier or manufacturing locations.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in mechanical engineering or a related field.
• 10+ years of relevant mechanical product-development experience, including project leadership at the server, rack, or data-center system level.
• Experience integrating AI accelerators, GPUs, CPUs, memory, advanced packages, and large substrates into boards and thermally efficient rack tray solutions.
• Experience designing OCP rack and server architectures, including Open Rack v3 / Open Rack Wide, rack-level coolant distribution, forced convection solutions, busbars, and cables.
• Experience with liquid cooling, including cold plates, plumbing, manifolds, blind-mate or serviceable quick disconnects, leak detection, hose routing, minimum bend radius, and serviceability.
• Experience with high-speed electromechanical interconnects, including OSFP-class pluggables, board-to-board or compression connectors, cable design, mating requirements, and advanced tolerance challenges.
• Experience with structural FEA using Ansys Mechanical, Abaqus, Nastran, Creo Simulate, or equivalent, including static load, shock, vibration, preload, warpage, fatigue, or shipping risk.
• Experience with package and cold-plate loading frames, bond-line control, spring and fastener preload, large-board flatness, connector co-planarity, warpage, and tolerance-driven interface design.
• Proficiency with Creo 3D, Python, MATLAB, VBA, or similar methods for CAD/data automation and engineering workflow improvement.
• Familiarity with PLM/PDM, requirements, and configuration-management systems used to control CAD, drawings, BOMs, specifications, and engineering changes.
• Industrial design experience.
• Advanced heat sink design experience, including vapor chambers, heat pipes, and advanced fin geometry.
• Experience designing antennas, shields, and mechanical RF solutions.
• Demonstrated record of invention, patents, technical publications, or development of advanced thermal/mechanical architectures.

Responsibilities

• Own mechanical design workstreams for data-center rack systems, spanning package, board, server tray, rack, pod, and data-center interfaces.
• Create and maintain system-level 3D CAD layouts for silicon packages, carrier boards, server trays, rack structures, connectors, cables, manifolds, and assembly interfaces.
• Integrate direct-to-chip cooling hardware, including cold plates, heat sinks, heat pipes, rack manifolds, fans, and vapor chambers, in collaboration with thermal engineers and suppliers.
• Design and integrate server trays and rack assemblies, including CAD, interface control, tolerance analysis, mounting and assembly strategy, serviceability, structural integrity, and manufacturing drawings.
• Translate electrical, thermal, RF, EMI, package, board, and service requirements into functional, cost-competitive, robust mechanical platforms.
• Plan and execute mechanical validation, including thermal testing, tolerance verification, assembly trials, shock and vibration testing, serviceability, connector mating, and liquid-loop integration testing.
• Lead technical trade studies balancing performance, reliability, manufacturability, schedule, cost, serviceability, facility requirements, and total cost of ownership.
• Partner with silicon packaging, PCB layout, power delivery, signal integrity, hardware, reliability, regulatory, supply chain, and manufacturing teams to resolve platform constraints early.
• Lead design reviews and partner engagements with ODMs, OEMs, cooling suppliers, connector suppliers, and manufacturing partners; define deliverables, review analyses, and drive issues to closure.
• Develop reusable methods, templates, automation, and design guidance for end-to-end mechanical design and validation.
• Mentor engineers and provide clear technical recommendations to program leaders and executive stakeholders while remaining a strong individual contributor.

Benefits

• Competitive annual discretionary bonus program.
• Opportunity for annual RSU grants (employees on sales-incentive plans are not eligible for the annual bonus).
• Competitive benefits package designed to support employees at work, at home, and at play.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior