Senior Mechanical Engineer
SPAN
Our Mission
SPAN is enabling electrification for all
We are a mission-driven company designing, building, and deploying products that electrify the built environment, reduce carbon emissions, and slow the effects of climate change.
Decarbonization is the process to reduce or remove greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide, from entering our atmosphere.
Electrification is the process of replacing fossil fuel appliances that run on gas or oil with all-electric upgrades for a cleaner way to power our lives.
At SPAN, we believe in:
Enabling homes and vehicles powered by clean energy
Making electrification upgrades possible
Building more resilient homes with reliable backup
Designing a flexible and distributed electrical grid
The Role
We are seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to join our Mechanical team in San Francisco. The role combines hands-on technical mechanical design work - 3D CAD modeling and 2D drafting against ASME Y14.5-2018 standards - with ownership of the systems and workflows that allow our globally distributed mechanical engineering organization to operate as a single, cohesive team.
SPAN's mechanical engineering capability spans San Francisco and India, with senior engineering talent across both locations contributing to a shared product portfolio. In this role, you will own the SF-side prioritization, intake, and shared-tooling workstreams that connect the two offices - architecting the templates, conventions, workflows, and collaboration infrastructure that allow engineers in both locations to operate from a common foundation. Your work directly enables the productivity of a broader engineering bench, including multiple senior and senior staff engineers in India whose effectiveness depends on a strong, well-organized partnership across time zones.
You will also work directly with our manufacturing partners across China and Southeast Asia, driving DFM reviews, resolving tooling and assembly questions, and shepherding pilot builds. As an experienced practitioner, you will serve as a technical resource within the broader mechanical engineering function and contribute to the development of less experienced engineers across the team.
Responsibilities
Create detailed 3D CAD models and 2D drawings, ensuring compliance with ASME Y14.5-2018 standards.
Own the prioritization, intake, and sequencing of CAD work flowing between the San Francisco and India offices, serving as the SF-side point of contact for cross-office coordination.
Architect and maintain the shared tools, templates, file management conventions, and collaboration workflows that allow our distributed mechanical engineering team to function as a single team across time zones.
Drive DFM/DFA reviews with manufacturing vendors in China and Southeast Asia, resolve tooling and assembly issues, and protect design intent through production.
Perform tolerance analysis and contribute substantively to Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA) processes.
Document design specifications and decisions clearly to maintain transparency across distributed teams.
Apply product life cycle management tools and processes to manage revisions and maintain design integrity.
Lead resolution of design issues, driving modifications that improve product performance.
Define product performance requirements and test criteria for verification and validation.
Drive product modules and components from concept to production volume while improving cost and quality.
Serve as a technical resource and mentor for less experienced engineers, sharing standards, best practices, and operational knowledge across the team.
Potential Projects
Designing components for energy-efficient electrical ecosystems.
Designing new product concepts based on team inputs.
Driving engineering change requests and design updates.
Architecting an improved international 2D CAD collaboration workflow - file structure, drawing templates, intake process, status tracking - in partnership with engineering leadership across both offices.
Leading tooling reviews and pilot builds with international manufacturing partners.
About You
Required Qualifications
You'd be a great fit for this role if you:
Hold a BS in Mechanical Engineering or a related field; advanced degree a plus.
Have a track record of identifying systemic issues and executing on resolutions to drive structural fixes that balanced competing inputs (design intent, manufacturability, cost, schedule) and outlasted any single project.
Have 5+ years of experience in mechanical design with substantial application of ASME Y14.5-2018, or a Master's degree with 2+ years of equivalent experience.
Demonstrate strong proficiency in SolidWorks; deep familiarity with other parametric modeling tools is a viable substitute.
Have proven experience performing tolerance analysis and contributing to FMEA processes.
Have hands-on experience using product life cycle management (PLM) tools to manage engineering projects through their lifecycle.
Are proficient with the Google Workspace suite of tools (Sheets, Slides, Docs, Drive) for documentation, tracking, and cross-office collaboration.
Have experience owning prioritization and sequencing of work across competing requests - a meaningful portion of this role is deciding what work goes where, and when.
Communicate clearly and patiently in writing - much of the cross-office and vendor collaboration happens asynchronously over email, chat, and drawing markups.
Are comfortable with occasional early-morning or evening calls to overlap with teams in India, China, and Southeast Asia.
Have a track record of creating Standard Operating Procedures for product manufacturing or test execution.
Have prior experience mentoring or serving as a technical resource for less experienced engineers.
Have prior experience working with international design teams or offshore CAD/drafting resources.
Have experience collaborating with contract manufacturers or tooling vendors in China, India, or Southeast Asia.
Bonus Qualifications
We'd love it if you also have:
A process- or tooling-improvement mindset - you've built templates, conventions, scripts, macros, or workflows that helped a team run more smoothly.
Experience automating JIRA workflows - custom dashboards, automation rules, intake forms, or integrations that reduced manual coordination overhead.
Familiarity with electrical systems and mechanical design integration.
Experience demonstrating product performance through Engineering and Design Verification Test phases.
Knowledge of industry standards and practices in manufacturing and product design.
Cross-cultural communication experience or fluency in a second language relevant to our partner regions.
Life at SPAN
Headquartered in San Francisco’s vibrant SoMa neighborhood, we are an eclectic group of creative thinkers who value open communication, teamwork, and a ‘make it happen’ approach to addressing complex challenges.
SPAN embraces diversity and equal opportunity in a serious way. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills.
We’re hiring talented individuals who are driven by success and are passionate about shaping the future of renewable energy. If that sounds like you, we’d love for you to consider joining the rapidly growing team at SPAN.
The Perks:
Competitive compensation + equity grants at a well-funded, venture-backed company
Comprehensive benefits: 100% employee premiums for base plans on medical, dental, vision with options for additional coverage. Parental leave up to twenty four (24) weeks depending on eligibility
Comfortable, sunny office space located near BART and Caltrain public transit
Strong focus on team building and company culture: Employee Resource Groups, monthly social events, SPANcakes recognition breakfast, lunch, and learns
Flexible hours, one holiday per month, and flexible time off
Interested in joining our team? Apply today and we’ll be in touch with the next steps!