Mechanical Design Engineer

Mechanical Design Engineer

This Mechanical Design Engineer role focuses on refrigeration and HVAC-related product design for commercial ice machines and associated equipment. You will apply mechanical engineering principles to develop, modify, and sustain electromechanical and appliance-style products while closely supporting manufacturing, testing, and validation activities. The position offers a highly hands-on environment with a balanced mix of lab work and design tasks, providing direct impact on product performance and production and strong opportunities to grow in refrigeration product design.

Responsibilities

• Design and modify commercial ice machine products, with an emphasis on sustaining engineering and incremental design changes across existing product variations.
• Support manufacturing and production issues, including build challenges, design-related concerns, testing feedback, and vendor-related issues.
• Participate in lab testing and validation activities, spending approximately half of the time in the lab and half at the desk, to verify product performance and reliability.
• Apply mechanical design skills using CAD tools (platform agnostic) to create, update, and maintain product documentation and models.
• Contribute to product development and sustaining engineering efforts, ensuring products remain robust, efficient, and aligned with performance and quality requirements.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with lab personnel, manufacturing floor teams, and other engineering disciplines to resolve issues and improve products.
• Engage in stage-gate and design review processes as part of a team, presenting design changes, discussing trade-offs, and incorporating feedback into final solutions.
• Provide manufacturing support and troubleshooting on the production floor, helping to diagnose root causes and implement corrective actions.
• Interact with vendors as needed to address component issues, clarify requirements, and support smooth integration of supplied parts into the product.
• Apply knowledge of refrigeration and HVAC systems to support design decisions and performance improvements, without needing to serve as the sole expert-level owner.
• Utilize awareness of DFMEA and FEA methodologies to inform design robustness and risk mitigation, even when not responsible for full ownership of these analyses.

Essential Skills

• Degree in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related discipline, or equivalent practical experience in mechanical design.
• Refrigeration or HVAC experience, with required exposure to refrigeration or HVAC systems; depth of expertise is flexible but foundational knowledge is necessary.
• Mechanical design experience using CAD software, with the ability to work in a tool-agnostic environment; familiarity with Solid Works is preferred but not required.
• Demonstrated experience supporting manufacturing and production, including troubleshooting issues on the shop floor and collaborating with production teams.
• Product design experience in electromechanical or appliance-type products, with an understanding of how mechanical, electrical, and controls components interact.
• Hands-on engineering approach, comfortable splitting time between lab testing, validation, and desk-based design work.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills, including effective communication with lab staff, manufacturing personnel, and other engineers.
• Ability to participate in structured stage-gate and design review processes, contributing technical input and incorporating feedback into designs.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience working with appliance or refrigeration products, particularly commercial ice machines or similar equipment.
• Background in sustaining engineering, focusing on incremental improvements, reliability enhancements, and cost-effective design updates.
• Exposure to DFMEA (Design Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) and FEA (Finite Element Analysis); conceptual knowledge is required, though full ownership of these tools is not necessary.
• Vendor interaction experience, including collaborating with suppliers to resolve component issues and align on specifications.
• Interest in growing expertise in refrigeration product design and in contributing to continuous improvement of product performance and manufacturing processes.
• Ability to thrive in a collaborative, family-oriented culture that values open communication, long-term relationships, and collective problem solving.
• Comfort working in a high-volume, repetitive manufacturing environment where efficiency and consistency are critical.

Work Environment

This role is fully onsite in Denver and involves no travel, aside from occasional vendor interaction through onsite visits or virtual meetings. The position is highly hands-on, with approximately 50% of time spent in the lab on testing and validation and 50% on design work at the desk. You will have regular exposure to the manufacturing floor, working closely with production teams in a high-volume, repetitive manufacturing environment…