Senior to Principal Mechanical Engineer (Maritime)

Odin Dynamics, Inc•Los Angeles, CA

2d•$140,000 - $220,000

About The Position

Founded in 2025, Odin Dynamics is a defense technology company building autonomous underwater vehicles that will define the next era of undersea warfare. We are focused on delivering capable, resilient autonomous systems that strengthen the strategic advantage of the United States and its allied navies. We move fast, build real hardware, and operate with the urgency that the mission demands. We're looking for a Mechanical Engineer at the Senior to Principal level to drive the design and development of the mechanical and structural systems that make our autonomous underwater vehicles survive and perform at depth. This is a role we'll scope to your experience: a Senior engineer will own major subsystems end to end, while a Principal will set technical direction across the vehicle and mentor the team. Either way, you'll work on hard problems with real ownership, and you'll stay close enough to the hardware to be in the shop and on the dock when it counts. If you want your engineering decisions to shape a vehicle from the geometry up, this is that role.

Requirements

B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Ocean Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
6+ years of mechanical design and development experience for the Senior level; 10+ years with demonstrated technical leadership for the Principal level.
Deep expertise in structural design for pressure-loaded environments, including analysis methods, material selection, and seal design.
Strong CAD proficiency and experience managing complex assemblies across multi-disciplinary teams.
Experience with hydrodynamic or aerodynamic body design and an understanding of drag, stability, and flow interaction fundamentals.
Demonstrated ability to design for manufacturing: you know how parts get made and you design accordingly.
Hands-on experience with prototyping, assembly, and test: you're comfortable in a shop and on a dock.
Strong analytical skills across FEA, hand calculations, and the judgment to know which approach a problem needs.
Ability to lead technical trade studies and present recommendations to engineering and program leadership.
U.S. Citizenship and ability to obtain a security clearance.

Nice To Haves

Experience designing underwater vehicles, torpedoes, or other subsea systems.
Background in defense, aerospace, or marine robotics hardware development.
Familiarity with corrosion engineering and material compatibility in seawater environments.
Experience with composite structures or advanced manufacturing methods.
Exposure to environmental qualification testing, including shock, vibration, pressure cycling, and thermal extremes.
Active security clearance (Secret or above).

Responsibilities

Design and analyze pressure vessels and housings that protect vehicle electronics and payloads in deep ocean environments.
Drive hull and fairing design with attention to hydrodynamic performance, manufacturability, and system integration.
Design and develop mechanical mechanisms and actuators for vehicle control surfaces, payload deployment, and other dynamic subsystems.
Own thermal management strategies across the vehicle, ensuring electronics, batteries, and other heat-generating systems operate within limits across all mission profiles.
Champion design-for-manufacturing principles, working closely with machine shops, fabrication partners, and internal technicians to ensure designs translate cleanly from CAD to production.
Perform and guide structural, thermal, and fluid analyses to validate designs before they hit the water.
Define mechanical interfaces across the vehicle, coordinating with electrical, firmware, and software engineers to ensure clean cross-disciplinary integration.
Develop and execute test plans for mechanical subsystems, from bench-level validation through full-vehicle pressure testing and ocean trials.
At the Principal level, set mechanical design direction across the program, lead trade studies, and mentor engineers as the team grows.