Senior Mechanical Engineer
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 31, 2026. First seen by Alion on Sep 11, 2026. CYVL scores B on the Alion truth index.
ABOUT CYVL
The best infrastructure is invisible. You only notice it when it fails. For decades, the people responsible for our roads, bridges and sidewalks have been asked to manage the physical world with tools that can't see it.
Cyvl is the Physical AI company changing that. We build purpose-built sensors, computer vision and AI that turn every drive into current data: what exists, where it is and what condition it's in. 500+ cities and towns use our Infrastructure Intelligence Platform to direct the work and fix problems before they fail. 1 in 30 Americans drive on roads managed with Cyvl data.
The proof isn't a dashboard. It's a smoother commute, a safer walk to school and public dollars going where they matter most. We're a fast-moving team in Boston building hardware, software and AI for the real world. If you believe technology's highest calling is public good, come build with us.
THE ROLE
Our sensor mounts to the roof of a customer's vehicle and stays there through winters, potholes, and the occasional car wash. The people installing it are usually DPW crews, not engineers, and it still has to come back with clean data. As our Senior Mechanical Engineer, you'll own the enclosure, chassis, thermal path, sealing, and mounting system, plus the drawings and documentation that let someone else build it correctly a thousand times. This is a hands-on design role with real ownership as we scale into production.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
Take the sensor from concept to production with our electrical, firmware, and perception engineers, including a mounting system a non-specialist can install on a wide range of vehicles without damaging them.
Prove the design survives real life: structural and thermal simulation, vibration and shock, ingress, and environmental testing.
Produce the drawings, GD&T, models, and BOMs that let someone who has never met you build it correctly, and own the lifecycle process that keeps the released design and the built unit in agreement.
Lead the move from machined parts and in-house builds to tooling and contract manufacturing: DFM with molders and CMs, assembly documentation, fixtures, tolerance strategy, and FAI.
Troubleshoot mechanical issues across design, build, and field, raise unit reliability, and hold the line on safety, quality, and cost as we scale.
WHAT YOU BRING
BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering or a related field, with 3-7 years of experience, ideally in robotics, automation, automotive, or ruggedized electronics
Cradle-to-grave design experience with precision-machined and molded parts (SolidWorks preferred; OnShape, Creo, or similar is fine)
Experience designing for CNC machining, molded plastics, and 3D printing, and comfort picking up sheet metal or weldments when a part calls for it
Parts taken to tooling and shipped, designed for the mold rather than just in plastic: draft, parting lines and gates, shrink and warp, ejection, and resin choice for years of sun and road grime
Direct work with molders and tool shops through DFM review, tool kickoff, first shots, and tuning
Comfort building, testing, and iterating on functional prototypes by hand
Experience with tolerance stackups, FAI review, and DFMEAs, and following designs through engineering builds, production builds, and the field
Revision control, change orders, and deviations managed in a PLM system or a disciplined equivalent
Thermal management of electronics inside sealed enclosures, and sealing to a real IP rating
Strong judgment on design, performance, and logistical tradeoffs, and clear technical documentation
NICE TO HAVE
Enclosures for a standard autonomy stack: cameras, GNSS, LiDAR, IMUs, and edge compute
Vehicle-mounted or automotive accessory hardware, including roof-rack, rail, and magnetic mounts
Optical window design, sealing, and keeping glass clean in a road environment
An eye for beautiful, well-designed components, with finish, texture, parting lines, and fit that read as premium
Taking hardware from low-volume in-house assembly to contract-manufactured production
Hardware deployed into government, public-sector, or other regulated environments
A portfolio or photos of hardware you've designed; we'd rather see the parts than read about them
WHY CYVL
Hard tech. Real streets. Your name on it.
Hard problems in the real world. You build end-to-end: our own hardware, software and AI, with work that shows up on the street in the real world.
Ownership that compounds. You own outcomes, not tasks. You work directly with customers and across our team, and you'll own more, sooner, than almost anywhere else.
Intense, with heart. We're building a category, so it's not a place to coast. We also take care of each other, have genuine fun together, and believe in what we are doing.
WHAT WE ASK
Cross lanes. "Not my job" doesn't exist here.
Own without a playbook. The plan is still being written, often by you.
Try, miss, try again. We make big bets. Some won't land, and we learn fast.
Be in the room. We're on-site in Somerville about 90% of the time.
We're a startup building a category. If that sounds like the draw, not the risk, we'd love to talk.
BENEFITS
Equity. You'll own a piece of what you're building.
Health, dental, and vision. Cyvl covers most of the premium for you and your family.
401k with a real match, vested day one. Your money is yours from the start.
Generous PTO & Paid Parental leave. Doing hard work well includes stepping away from it.
Learning stipend. Spend it on whatever makes you sharper.
Paid to live close. A monthly bonus for living near our Boston office.
Team events. Time together in Boston with a team you’ll love working with.
OUR VALUES
Real: Authentic and transparent. Focused on solving real problems with simple, effective solutions.
All Out: Bold, driven, and committed to delivering results that matter.
Accelerating: Always learning, growing, and moving with intention.
Reliable: We follow through and deliver at a consistently high bar.
Empowering: We lift each other up and help governments build infrastructure they can be proud of.
SEE OUR WORK
We build for every community, so we hire from all of them. The best people for this work come from different backgrounds, paths, and places, and many of them don't check every box. If this role excites you, apply anyway. If you need an adjustment to our interview process, tell us and we'll make it work.