Lead Mechanical Engineer

 

About the Company

The open ocean is Earth’s largest and most power-dense renewable energy resource. Panthalassa is harnessing that resource to generate the cheapest energy on the planet. Our mission is to provide abundant and affordable clean energy for everyone.

Founded in 2016 and based in the Pacific Northwest, our team comes from diverse backgrounds in aerospace, naval architecture, marine operations, hardware, software, and research

About the Job

Our core technology is the node, a device that produces energy in the ocean’s harshest conditions for years at a time without human maintenance or intervention.

As we scale, we’re looking for an outstanding mechanical engineering leader to complement, enable, and enhance an already outstanding engineering team.  You will be responsible for technical, people, and project leadership of core parts of our nodes throughout their lifecycle, from concept through production and deployments in the ocean.  Leadership here is not a status symbol; it is enormously hard work that can really only be done by someone who is simultaneously deeply technical, hyper organized, and extraordinarily passionate about empowering and developing others.  We are also an organization where leaders are excited to pitch in to act as individual contributors if the need arises.

Our staff have worked at organizations such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing, Tesla, Apple, Virgin Orbit, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, New Relic, Bridgewater, Raytheon, Disney Imagineering, and the US Army and Air Force, as well as research universities, startups, and small companies across a range of industries. We are organized as a public benefit corporation and are backed by leading venture capital firms, private investors, philanthropic investors, and endowments.

We strive to be the best engineering team on the planet and we compensate our team members accordingly.

Responsibilities:

• Rapidly develop and deploy reliable mechanical systems for long-term, at-sea operation.
• Lead a team of mechanical engineers in designing, developing, and owning critical structures and systems from concept to deployment.
• Foster a high-energy, hardware-focused team culture with a sense of urgency to scale renewable ocean energy.
• Hire, mentor, and support growth for team members, including individual contributors and leaders.
• Create and maintain the right amount of structure to enable clarity, focus, and decision-making aligned with broader goals.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to improve system efficiency, manufacturability, and reliability while challenging assumptions.
• Drive system trades, requirements capture, component selection, analysis, schematic capture, prototyping, documentation, manufacturing, and test.
• Conduct and lead design reviews, interface with external vendors, and oversee detailed project documentation with strong GD&T knowledge.
• Utilize advanced CAD (NX) and PDM (Teamcenter) tools for design and engineering drawings.
• Work closely with technicians to prototype, test, fabricate, and develop operational and maintenance procedures.
• Make well-reasoned, high-impact decisions under imperfect information and consistently meet schedule targets.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree or higher in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years of experience developing complex systems.
• 3+ years of experience managing engineering teams.
• Breadth of experience across various mechanical technical fields including static and dynamic mechanical system design, welded structures, rotating machinery, and fluids.
• Excellent communication skills (both written and verbal) and ability to succinctly present recommendations to other engineers, stakeholders, management, and executive staff.
• Significant experience leading cross-functional teams and working with external customers and partners.

Desired Qualifications:

• Passion for accelerating the transition to renewable energy.
• Experience in NX.
• Solid understanding and application of geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T).
• Demonstrated understanding of structural analysis and failure modes of complex mechanical systems.
• Experience designing rotating machinery, turbines, bearings, turbomachinery, or fluid systems.
• Experience at a nimble engineering organization or in a highly technical position that required a scrappy, autonomously driven, entrepreneurial manner to accomplish tasks with tight time or budget constraints.
• Demonstrated ability to motivate others and steadfastly lead them through difficult or stressful situations.
• Experience moving back and forth between individual contributor roles and leadership roles.
• Comfort with broad scope definition and to-be-defined requirements.
• Experience creating, maintaining, and communicating scope, resource plans, and schedules.
• Attention to detail with strong record-keeping and organizational skills.

The above qualifications are desired, not required. We encourage you to apply if you are a strong candidate with only some of the desired skills and experience listed.

Compensation and Benefits:

If hired for this full-time role, you will receive:

• Cash compensation of $200,000 – $300,000
• Equity in the company. We’re all owners and if we’re successful, this equity should be far and away the most valuable component of your compensation.
• A benefits package that helps you take care of yourself and your family, including:
• Flexible paid time off
• Health insurance (the company pays 100% of gold level PPO plan for full time employees, their partners, and dependents)
• Dental insurance (the company pays 33% for full time employees and 100% for their partners and dependents)
• Vision insurance (the company pays 100% for full time employees, their partners, and dependents)
• Disability insurance (the company pays 100% for a policy to provide long term financial support if you become disabled)
• Ability to contribute to tax-advantaged accounts, including 401(k), health FSA, and dependent care FSA
• Relocation assistance to facilitate your move to Portland (if needed).

Location:

This is an on-site position. Our offices, lab, and shop are located in Portland, Oregon.