Senior Mechanical Engineer

Job description

About Vital Lyfe Vital Lyfe is a tech company redefining water autonomy through innovation, creating a new category of personal water making technology built to scale where infrastructure can’t. The Mission Own and build the core mechanical systems behind our product; pumps, valves, pressure vessels, and fluid-handling assemblies & take them from early concepts to production at scale. This is a hands on, high-ownership role for someone who wants to design, test, break, fix, and ship hardware. What You’ll Do - Own major mechanical subsystems from concept through production ramp and launch. - Design, prototype, and validate pumps, valves, pressure vessels, and related mechanical components. - Drive system-level tradeoffs across performance, reliability, manufacturability, and cost. - Build and run test plans to validate performance across real-world environments and edge cases. - Work closely with electrical, firmware, industrial design, and manufacturing to turn ideas into shipped product. - Help design and improve manufacturing processes and production equipment, including fixtures, tooling, and automation concepts. - Iterate fast; identify problems, propose solutions, and implement changes without heavy process overhead. - Support supplier selection, part qualification, and production ramp. - Mentor junior engineers as the team grows (without becoming detached from hands-on work). What We’re Looking For - Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field. - 5+ years of experience designing and shipping mechanical or electromechanical hardware. - Strong CAD and FEA skills applied to real, production-intent designs. - Experience taking products from prototype to manufacturing. - Comfort working in ambiguity and making tradeoffs with incomplete information. - Bias toward action, ownership, and practical engineering solutions. Preferred Qualifications - Experience with consumer hardware or high-volume manufacturing. - Background in pumps, valves, pressure systems, or fluid mechanics. - Exposure to automation, manufacturing process development, or production equipment. - Startup or early-stage company experience. Physical Job Requirements - Essential Functions - Hands on work on development hardware. - Long periods of standing, crouching, walking. - Lifting up to 50 lbs. Why Join Vital Lyfe? - Work on high-impact problems with global relevance - Help scale breakthrough technology in water security and climate resilience - Early ownership in a high growth, engineering led startup - Join a tight knit, mission driven team in a fast-paced environment - Build long term career equity as we grow Location Requirement: Ability to work 100% onsite in Torrance, CA (remote or hybrid work will not be considered) Vital Lyfe is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Vital Lyfe is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.