Junior Mechanical Engineer

About the Role

Protingent is seeking an early-career Mechanical Engineer for a direct hire position in Carson City, NV. You will assist in the design, build, and testing of key components for power plants. You will work with senior engineers on real hardware from the start.

Key Responsibilities

• Concept Engineering and First-Principles Design:
• Translate design challenges into functional requirements.
• Create early concept designs using order-of-magnitude estimates.
• Apply first-principles tools like free body diagrams, energy balances, and pressure/flow estimates.
• Collaborate with vendors and the team to validate ideas.
• CAD and Subsystem Design:
• Produce 3D CAD models for layouts, interfaces, and clash checks.
• Define subsystem specifications and mechanical, electrical, and flow interfaces.
• Detailed Design and Analysis:
• Develop higher-fidelity CAD models under senior engineer guidance.
• Analyze designs for mechanical stresses, vibration, fatigue, contact loads, tolerance stack-ups, thermal growth, and fluids under pressure and temperature.
• Document analysis, design decisions, and reasoning clearly.
• Build and Test:
• Facilitate the rapid building and testing of hardware.
• Provide detailed drawings to fabrication partners and track parts through delivery.
• Assist in developing test setups, including structures, sensors, and schedules.
• Conduct early and frequent testing to identify and iterate on problems quickly.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• You are comfortable with CAD.
• You have a strong grasp of core mechanical engineering fundamentals.
• You are excited to own problems, ask for help when needed, and move fast.

Qualifications

• A degree (or nearing completion) in Mechanical Engineering or a related field.
• Hands-on hardware experience from a lab, capstone, internship, competition team, or personal project.
• Demonstrated ability to take a project from concept through design to a built and tested result.
• Experience with turbomachinery, engines, or rotating equipment is a plus.
• Experience with high temperature, pressure, or speed conditions is a plus.
• Exposure to systems such as gearboxes, couplings, generators, lubrication systems, or exhaust/environmental systems is a plus.
• Experience in a startup, lab, or small-team environment with significant ownership is a plus.

Job Details

• Job Type: Direct Hire
• Location: Carson City, NV (Onsite)