Staff Mechanical Engineer, Hayden AI

• We’re looking for someone who thrives in a fast-moving startup environment and brings deep technical capability, strong engineering judgment, and hands-on experience developing reliable hardware products for production
• Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering or related field
• 8+ years of experience designing and shipping complex hardware systems
• Strong hands-on experience with vehicle or automotive-grade mechanical design
• Deep expertise in structures, brackets, and sheet metal fabrication
• Proficiency in CAD (e.g., SolidWorks, Creo, NX)
• Strong understanding of GD&T, tolerance analysis, and stack-ups
• Experience in design, manufacturing technologies and DFM/DFA for low-to-medium volume production scaling
• Experience designing for harsh environments (vibration, ingress protection, thermal cycling)
• Proven track record of taking products from prototype to production
• Strong ownership mindset and ability to operate in a fast-paced startup
• Experience working with and managing JDM partners

Desirable

• As the Staff Mechanical Engineer, you will play a key role in building the rugged hardware systems that bring Hayden AI’s vision AI platform into real-world deployment
• You will own critical mechanical engineering efforts across product architecture, structural and thermal design, vehicle integration, prototyping, validation, and production launch for automotive-grade systems operating in challenging outdoor environments
• You will report into the Mechanical Engineering team and partner closely with Electrical, Embedded, Computer Vision, Manufacturing, Operations and Installation teams
• Lead end-to-end design of vehicle-mounted hardware systems, including enclosures, brackets, and structural components
• Own mechanical architecture for products operating in automotive environments (vibration, shock, thermal, weather exposure)
• Design and develop sheet metal and fabricated structures optimized for performance, cost, manufacturability, assembly and installation
• Drive product development from concept → prototype → validation → production → installation
• Perform and guide engineering analyses (FEA, vibration, fatigue, thermal, tolerance stack-ups)
• Partner cross-functionally with electrical, computer vision, manufacturing and installation team
• Work closely with suppliers and contract manufacturers on DFM/DFA, tooling, and scaling production
• Establish best practices for CAD, drawings, GD&T, and design reviews
• Mentor engineers and raise the bar for mechanical design quality and rigor
• Identify technical risks early and lead mitigation strategies
• Travel to customer sites (domestically and internationally) to support pilot hardware installations