Sr. Mechanical Design Engineer Location: Mount Prospect, IL (relocation available)
Employment Type: Full-Time
Compensation: $120,000 - $140,000
Benefits: Medical Insurance, Dental Insurance, Vision Insurance
Position Overview We are seeking an experienced Sr. Mechanical Design Engineer to lead the design and development of precision mechanical products, with a strong emphasis on gearbox design. This individual will be responsible for taking mechanical designs from concept through development and supporting their successful implementation.
The ideal candidate will have extensive hands-on experience designing gearboxes and related mechanical components, strong engineering fundamentals, and the ability to serve as a technical resource to other engineers. This role also involves regular interaction with customers, requiring the ability to communicate technical concepts clearly and confidently.
Key Responsibilities - Lead the design and development of gearboxes, drivetrain components, and precision mechanical assemblies from concept through production.
- Develop and modify mechanical designs to meet customer requirements, performance specifications, reliability, quality, and cost objectives.
- Perform engineering analysis including:
- Gear sizing and analysis
- Torque and load calculations
- Shaft and bearing selection
- Stress and mechanical performance analysis
- Tolerance analysis
- Create and maintain detailed 3D CAD models, engineering drawings, BOMs, and product documentation.
- Apply sound mechanical design principles, GD&T, tolerance stack-ups, material selection, and Design for Manufacturability (DFM).
- Collaborate with customers and internal teams to understand application requirements and develop practical technical solutions.
- Participate in customer-facing technical meetings approximately once per week, providing engineering expertise and answering technical questions.
- Support prototype development, testing, validation, troubleshooting, and design improvements.
- Investigate design and product issues, perform root-cause analysis, and implement effective corrective actions.
- Support engineering changes from design through implementation and validation.
- Serve as a senior technical resource and mentor other design engineers.
- Identify opportunities to improve product performance, reliability, quality, cost, and engineering processes.
Required Qualifications - Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related engineering discipline.
- 7+ years of professional mechanical engineering/design experience.
- 5+ years of hands-on gearbox design experience.
- Demonstrated experience designing and developing gearboxes and related mechanical components.
- Strong understanding of mechanical design principles, materials, tolerances, and GD&T.
- Experience with professional 3D CAD software. SolidWorks, Autodesk, or similar platforms are acceptable.
- Experience with gear design and analysis software, such as MITCalc, KISSsoft, MASTA, FVA Workbench, or similar.
- Ability to independently analyze complex mechanical problems and develop practical, reliable solutions.
- Strong technical communication skills and the ability to explain engineering concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Comfortable working directly with customers and participating in technical discussions.
- Ability to mentor and provide technical guidance to other engineers without requiring formal management responsibilities.
- Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple engineering priorities.
Preferred Qualifications - Experience designing planetary gearboxes.
- Experience designing right-angle gearboxes.
- Servo or precision gearbox experience.
- Experience with robotics, automation, motion control, power transmission, or related applications.
- Experience with FEA or other mechanical engineering analysis methods.
- Product testing and validation experience.
- AGMA gear training or related gear-design education/certification.
- Experience with PDM/PLM systems.
- Experience taking products through concept, design, validation, production release, and continuous improvement.
Leadership & Collaboration This is a senior individual-contributor position with no formal direct reports. The engineer will serve as a technical leader within the engineering team by:
- Mentoring other design engineers.
- Providing technical guidance and answering engineering questions.
- Helping resolve complex design challenges.
- Supporting collaboration between engineering, customers, and other functional teams.
- Sharing technical knowledge and best practices.
What You'll Bring The successful candidate will be a hands-on mechanical design engineer who enjoys solving challenging gearbox and mechanical design problems. You should be comfortable taking ownership of designs, working through technical details, communicating directly with customers, and helping other engineers develop their technical capabilities.
Experience in any specific industry is acceptable; strong gearbox design experience is the primary requirement.
If you have strong hands-on gearbox design experience and are looking for an opportunity where your technical expertise will make a direct impact, we encourage you to apply. Please reach out to Jacob Wortham, Recruiter - LaSalle Network at (312) 219-9577
LNESC
LaSalle Network is an Equal Opportunity Employer m/f/d/v. LaSalle Network is the leading provider of direct hire and temporary staffing services. For over two decades, LaSalle has helped organizations hire faster and connect top talent with opportunities, from entry-level positions to the C-suite. With units specializing in Accounting and Finance, Administrative, Engineering, Marketing, Technology, Supply Chain, Revenue Cycle, Call Center, Human Resources and Executive Search, LaSalle offers staffing and recruiting solutions to companies of all sizes and across all industries.
