Principal Engineer - Mechanical Design

Product Engineering Central Texas (Greater Austin region) Full-time

The Principal Engineer - Mechanical Design will report to the Head of Product Engineering (“HoPE”) and own mechanical design and proposal engineering for Terminus’ transformer product line. Working closely with Electrical Design and the software team, this role will build our internal parametric CAD platform: the common design architecture all Terminus transformers will follow. This is a hands-on role translating customer requirements into configurable, validated designs, with close integration across Manufacturing and Supply Chain from proposal through production.

• Mechanical Design:
  Own tank, cover, core-and-coil support, clamping, cooling layout, bushing interfaces, and transport provisions; validate structural, thermal, vacuum, and handling requirements.
• Parametric CAD Platform:
  Develop reusable assemblies, component libraries, design rules, and automated drawings and bills of materials; connect mechanical geometry to electrical design inputs within one controlled architecture.
• Proposal Engineering:
  Review customer specifications and prepare preliminary layouts, dimensions, weights, material estimates, and technical exceptions; support Sales with cost, feasibility, and delivery inputs.
• Electrical Integration:
  Partner with Electrical Design on winding envelopes, insulation clearances, lead routing, cooling, and short-circuit forces; resolve interfaces through joint design reviews.
• Design for Manufacturability:
  Work with Manufacturing to simplify fabrication and assembly, define tolerances and inspection requirements, and adapt designs for automation and repeatable production.
• Supply Chain
  
  Collaboration:
  
  Develop component specifications with Supply Chain, evaluate supplier drawings and alternatives, and standardize parts to improve availability, cost, and quality.
• Design Validation & Release:
  Apply relevant standards and customer requirements; own mechanical calculations, drawings, and revision control, incorporating production and test feedback into platform improvements.

• 10+ years of mechanical design experience in power transformers (over 115 kV), including responsibility for designs released to production.
• Deep knowledge of transformer mechanical construction, structural analysis, thermal management, tolerances, fabrication, assembly, and shipping requirements.
• Experience designing tanks and containers under moderate pressure.
• Experience with tank stress simulation.
• Experience with electrical machines.
• Seismic design experience preferred.
• Proficiency in parametric 3D CAD and FEA; experience building configurable models, design automation, and reusable libraries. CAD API or scripting experience preferred.
• Experience translating customer specifications into technical proposals, layouts, material estimates, and design exceptions; strong collaboration with Manufacturing and Supply Chain.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s in Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline; demonstrated ability to build engineering processes and solve problems in a fast-moving team.
• U.S. citizenship or permanent residency (due to defense-grade program requirements).