Mechanical Engineer

THE COMPANY

At PAX, we’re on a mission to enhance people’s lives through exceptional consumer experiences—honoring the plant through pioneering innovation, science-backed quality, and award-winning design. For nearly two decades, PAX has delivered high performance products crafted for precision, purity, and consistency that are trusted by millions worldwide.

Our culture is built on putting people at the center of everything we do, making an impact together, and having fun along the way. We believe exceptional products, a thriving employee experience, and strong operational rhythms go hand-in-hand. PAX has been recognized for its brand, culture and products by The New York Times’ Wirecutter, TIME, Fast Company, GQ, Gear Patrol, mg Magazine, High Times, and many more. PAX is certified Plastic Negative across all product lines by rePurpose Global, ensuring that twice as much plastic is removed from nature as is used in its products.

ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES

Reporting to the Director of Mechanical Engineering, the mechanical engineer is responsible for designing parts and subassemblies of new products that are innovative, cost efficient, reliable, and ship on time. You will troubleshoot and make improvements to existing products, design new products, and work closely with other members of the engineering staff to create and validate solutions to difficult structural, thermal, illumination, and usability problems. You should be comfortable sketching and prototyping new ideas, have a working knowledge of mechanical engineering fundamentals, product development best practices, and design documentation procedures. 

Our products are hailed for their beautiful design language, high quality and reliability, and we lead the industry with product and technology innovations. Our mechanical engineers are responsible for the architecture and detailed design of all of our products, working closely with the rest of the Hardware team to achieve the product vision. This role is critical to the development of future PAX products.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Participate in the design and development of the mechanical product architectures, assemblies/modules, parts, and accessories
• Contribute to the decision-making process associated with the creation of mechanical product architectures, assemblies, modules, parts, and accessories
• Perform structural, tolerance, thermal, and fluid analyses to inform design geometry
• Create 3D and 2D drawings including specifications that fully define components and subassemblies and capture design intent
• Work with industrial designers to assess product details for manufacturability and make recommendations for feature changes to optimize for quality at scale
• Collaborate with Product Management team members to assess prototype designs for intuitiveness and usability
• Own internal and oversee external prototyping work to ensure design reflects plan-of-record thinking and tricky areas are de-risked
• Conduct rapid feasibility studies to design for mechanical robustness, schedule, and cost.
• Solicit feedback on design work from team leads and in formal cross-functional design reviews
• Work closely with Reliability and Failure Analysis team members to root cause and resolve issues
• Work closely with the Product Management and Product Integrity teams to ensure product requirements are accurately translated to engineering requirements and have appropriate validation test coverage 
• Work directly with suppliers on DFM, tooling construction, and part qualification (FAI, Cpk)
• Collaborate with internal and overseas engineering teams to develop and validate prototype and production fixtures and test jigs for final assembly
• Work directly with CM and JDM partners to support final assembly build activities (Proto, EVT, DVT, PVT)

PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS:

• 5+ years in consumer/medical/automotive products and/or other product development
• Proficiency in Solidworks with experience in master-modeling and surfacing
• Experience in designing consumer oriented products using a broad range of processes and materials, with an emphasis on cosmetic plastic molding and metal parts (sheet metal, CNC, extrusion, etc.).
• Excellent organizational, communication, and presentation skills
• Be a creative problem solver and make data-driven decisions.
• Willingness to travel internationally for key supplier meetings and final assembly build work

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE WILL HAVE:

Been involved in all project phases (ideation, definition, proto, pre-production, sustaining)Been part of a team that shipped hardware in high volume (>1M units/year)Used empirical data sets in draw insights and drive the decision-making process

• Experience in designing consumer products that are optimized for aesthetics and a premium look
• Experience with the development and integration of electro-mechanical components, such as flex circuits, batteries, and antennas
• Strong cross-functional collaboration and communication skills
• A keen sense for risk management and design strategies to avoid painting yourself in a corner
• A proactive and self-starting attitude, able to take initiative and work independently with minimal guidance while contributing effectively to team projects.
• Experience working with Asian manufacturing and supply chains including onsite work
• Experience using thermal simulation as a design tool to iterate and solve complex heating, cooling, or thermal isolation (insulating) challenges
• Have one or more of the following additional skillsets: strong simulation/FEA skills, CFD simulation, heat transfer, Fluidics/Micro-Fluidics experience, strong data analytics skills, root cause analysis

EDUCATION:

• BSME and/or MS in a design-related discipline strongly preferred. In lieu of a degree, a candidate must instead have deep on-the-job mechanical engineering experience, clearly demonstrate strong design problem-solving skills, and have a command of relevant engineering theories and technologies.

PAX LABS PERKS & BENEFITS:

• A place to grow your career. We will help you set big goals and exceed them.
• Fully funded comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
• 401K plan
• Generous PTO policy
• Paid Parental Leave
• Monthly wellness reimbursement
• Cell Phone reimbursement
• Employee Purchase Program for discounted PAX devices
• Weekly catered lunch, endless snacks and beverages
• Dog Friendly HQ in the Mission District of San Francisco
• Employee Assistance Program including access to online legal support

COMPENSATION

In addition to the benefits above, the salary for this role is $90K-$130K + equity. This represents what we believe, in good faith, this role will pay. The final pay will depend on many factors, including years and depth of experience, level, and location of the employee. We only expect to pay the top of the range in rare and exceptional circumstances, for candidates that far exceed the requirements and expectations of the position.

PAX VALUES

Put Consumers First - We are here to enhance their lives. We put their needs first in everything we do. We work together to deliver unique solutions for their benefit.

Build a Community - We are active and beneficial builders of a global community. We collaborate together to support sustainability, well-being and social equity efforts—both internally and externally—to establish cannabis as a force for good.

Innovate with Passion - We are passionate about enhancing the cannabis experience by making it positive, accessible and intuitive. We set the standards, innovate for consumers and find the yes as a team. 

Be the Solution and Collaborate - We work as a team to achieve winning outcomes, knowing we each individually are the solution, but can only succeed together.

Lead with Humility and Transparency - We stay open and humble in everything we do. We value learning from each other, and cultivate transparency in our culture and products.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.