{"id":3427556,"url":"https://alion.io/job/red-cat-holdings-principal-mechanical-engineer","title":"Principal Mechanical Engineer","company":{"id":176597,"name":"Red Cat Holdings","domain":"redcat.red","url":"https://alion.io/company/red-cat-holdings","size_band":"201-500","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Paycom","truth_index":null},"role":"Industrial Engineering","role_family":"Industrial Engineering","seniority":"lead","employment_type":null,"work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Torrance, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":181240,"max":283245,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":283245},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":10,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"AutoCAD","optional":false},{"name":"FMEA","optional":false},{"name":"SolidWorks","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-28T23:04:19Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-28","last_verified_at":"2026-10-30T05:47:19Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":1,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":1},"description":"RedCat Aerial, a subsidiary of Red Cat Holdings, is looking to fill a Mechanical Engineer position. We are a dynamic and growing drone technology company focused on the manufacturing of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS drones) for use in defense, public safety, and other government security organizations.\nIn this role, you will be responsible for designing, prototyping, fabricating, testing, and integrating a range of mechanical systems into flight hardware and ground control systems. The ideal candidate will have a background in mechanical design of drones and/or multi-axis camera gimbals in high volume production applications.\nEssential Duties and Responsibilities\nEssential functions of a job that are crucial to its purpose and must be performed regularly. They are the fundamental tasks that an employee must be able to carry out, with or without reasonable accommodation, and are central to defining the role's purpose.\nBe the technical authority for mechanical and system level changes.\nLead mechanical heavy projects, and consult the business on new ideas and products to keep a competitive edge.\nDesign electro-mechanical systems for UAS systems in SolidWorks with expert precision.\nPrototype, validate, and prepare designs for scalable manufacturing through DFMEA, NPI and Sustaining processes.\nDevelop and build tools, fixtures, and automation jigs for manufacturing.\nIdentify and qualify new vendors and manufacturing partners.\nDraft assembly procedures, inspection and test procedures, test reports, and product requirements documents.\nGet hands on with the NPI process, including building hardware systems yourself.\nFly, design, and build incredible drones.\nRequired Qualifications - The following qualifications are required for any position:\nEducation: Minimum education (e.g., Bachelor’s degree in Business or related field).\nExperience: Required years of relevant experience (e.g., 5+ yrs project management or sales).\nSkills: Key skills for success: Proficiency with tools. Strong communication and teamwork.\nCertifications: Any certifications needed or preferred (e.g., PMP, Lean Six Sigma).\nBachelor’s degree (B.S.) in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related field.\n10+ years of industry experience in a design-focused engineering role.\nDemonstrate experience in leading a team or project from cradle to grave.\nDemonstrated teamwork and collaboration abilities with clear communication strategy.\nDemonstrated excellence in problem-solving, with strong written and verbal communication skills.\n10+ years of hands-on experience with SolidWorks or comparable CAD platforms (e.g., NX, Creo, AutoCAD).\nProven ability to drive system-level architecture decisions and support full lifecycle product development through strong systems engineering principles.\nProven ability to perform FEA analysis, including modal, thermal and aerodynamic analysis.\nProven experience designing for high-rate production, including rapid prototyping and new product development.\nAdditional Desired Qualifications - The requirements below are desired knowledge, skills and/or abilities we desire but not required.\nExperience with BLDC motor system design and integration.\nBackground in flexible PCB and cable routing design for high-reliability motion systems.\nExperience in robotics, UAVs/drones, or related industries.\nFamiliarity with camera systems and other optical components.\nExperience supporting PCBA layout and production from a mechanical engineering perspective.\nExperience with microcontroller programming for test fixtures, production systems, or related hardware.\nKnowledge of structural composite design (e.g., fiberglass, carbon fiber) and composite mold design.\nPhysical Requirements and Working Conditions- The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.\nBe able to lift 15 lb\nWork on your feet for 5+ hours each day\nBackground Check\nThis position will require successfully completing a post-offer background check. Qualified candidates with a criminal history will be considered and are not automatically disqualified, consistent with federal and state law.\nEEO and ITAR/EAR Work Authorization Disclosure\nRed Cat Holdings provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This position requires direct or indirect access to hardware, software, technology or technical data controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). Successful candidates for positions subject to ITAR/EAR restrictions must provide proof of U.S. Citizenship or Permanent Residence and must not require sponsorship for export-restricted work authorization.\nE-Verify\nThe company participates E-Verify ensure eligibility for employment and compliance with Right to Work rules.\nCompensation: Salary Range $181,240 - $283,245 plus equity and potential bonuses","description_format":"text","description_chars":5273,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":10,"management_years_min":5,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":true,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Equity"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Military","Robotics","Drones & UAVs","Military Drones"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-28T23:04:19Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":86,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.86,"p_room":1,"age_days":1,"expected_fill_days":10,"reasons":["conf:0","win:early"],"computed_at":"2026-10-30T05:48:23Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":283245,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/red-cat-holdings-principal-mechanical-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/red-cat-holdings-principal-mechanical-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-30T07:02:35Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":10012,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-31T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":176597},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=176597"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fred-cat-holdings-principal-mechanical-engineer"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fred-cat-holdings-principal-mechanical-engineer"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fred-cat-holdings-principal-mechanical-engineer"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/red-cat-holdings-principal-mechanical-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fred-cat-holdings-principal-mechanical-engineer"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":3427556}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"redcat.red","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":3427556},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. 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