Principal Mechanical Engineer
On-siteMenlo Park, California, United States
Job Summary
Lead company-critical technical direction in a mechanical engineering domain with high ambiguity and broad cross-functional impact. Define or strongly influence technical architecture, design principles, standards, methods, and long-term product direction affecting capability, reliability, cost, and business outcomes. Solve the organization's most difficult and unprecedented engineering problems where existing approaches are insufficient. Advise senior leadership on technical decisions with long-term product, customer, operational, financial, or business consequences. Create durable organizational leverage through technical frameworks, review practices, architecture decisions, standards, methods, or risk approaches that improve how teams execute engineering work.
Required Qualifications
- BS, MS, or PhD in Mechanical Engineering or a similar engineering field
- distinguished track record of solving high-consequence mechanical engineering problems in a company-critical domain
- Demonstrated ability to shape technical direction across major systems, platforms, product areas, or organizations
- Exceptional mechanical engineering judgment
- ability to balance product capability, reliability, cost, scalability, manufacturability, serviceability, safety, customer needs, and business priorities
- Proven ability to solve novel, ambiguous, cross-functional problems
- Deep experience using analysis, testing, modeling, field learning, production learning, and engineering judgment
- Strong executive-level communication and influence skills
- ability to align senior leaders and cross-functional stakeholders around technical strategy, risks, tradeoffs, and recommended direction
Desired Qualifications
- Experience serving as a company-level technical authority, principal engineer, architect, or equivalent senior technical leader in a critical hardware domain
- Experience developing hardware for energy systems, engines, generators, compressors, pumps, thermal systems, fluid systems, structures, high-cycle fatigue environments, precision alignment systems, electromechanical systems, or industrial equipment
- Experience defining architecture, design principles, validation strategies, technical standards, risk frameworks, or engineering methods that improved execution across multiple teams or product generations
- Experience influencing long-term product strategy, platform architecture, reliability strategy, production scalability, field performance, cost reduction, or serviceability at an organizational level
- Experience advising senior leadership on technical investments, product tradeoffs, risk posture, technical debt, or long-term engineering strategy
- Experience developing other senior technical leaders through design reviews, technical strategy work, decision frameworks, and high-quality engineering judgment
Hiring someone like this?
Get your role in front of qualified candidates on Sorce.