Mechanical Forward Deployed Engineer - Cincinnati

CoLab Software•Cincinnati, OH

8d•Remote

About The Position

CoLab is hiring a Mechanical Forward Deployed Engineer to help define how it delivers technical value to strategic customers in Aerospace and Defence. The role partners with customers to understand and improve engineering workflows, feedback, data, and decision-making across design and PLM. It involves advising and coaching teams through changes in how they work, testing approaches that can become repeatable methods, and bringing customer insights to CoLab’s product teams. The position works alongside a Customer Success Manager and is not focused on selling or pitching. The role is fully remote, with regular on-site work expected at a local customer in Cincinnati. Travel is also part of the job, including quarterly team gatherings. If the local customer relationship ends, standard MFDE travel expectations are four customer on-sites per quarter, typically for two to three days each, primarily within North America. This is a full-time, permanent position with a competitive compensation package that includes stock options, unlimited paid vacation, extended health benefits, and 401(k) matching.

Requirements

Background in mechanical design engineering, ideally in a medium- to large-sized organization.
Strong understanding of PLM and ERP systems and enterprise engineering data architecture.
Demonstrated ability to lead technical projects and cross-functional collaborations.
Experience working directly with customers or internal stakeholders to solve technical problems.
Comfort working in fast-changing, ambiguous environments.
Strong written communication and documentation skills.
Working knowledge of high-level AI architecture, specifically LLMs.
Familiarity with APIs, data integrations, and enterprise architecture concepts.

Nice To Haves

Experience with internal tool development, scripting, or automation.
Exposure to AI/ML tools applied to engineering workflows.
Prior work in design consulting or product development at scale.

Responsibilities

Map customers’ current-state design review and engineering workflows and define target-state processes their teams will adopt.
Deploy and tune CoLab’s AI capabilities using customer standards, drawing checklists, and design guidelines, and diagnose their effectiveness.
Apply mechanical engineering expertise to validate AI-generated results and ensure engineering rigor.
Investigate and solve complex engineering data and integration challenges across PLM, ERP, QMS, and traditional design feedback tools.
Expand adoption into new teams, programs, and sites within customer accounts, partnering with the Customer Success Manager to identify opportunities.
Collaborate with product teams to identify feature gaps, improve capabilities, and refine AutoReview.