Mechanical Engineer II

Join Axon and be a Force for Good

At Axon, we’re on a mission to Protect Life. We explore society’s most critical safety and justice issues with an ecosystem of devices and cloud software. We bring people together in a collaborative, inclusive environment that values diverse perspectives from customers, communities, and each other.

As a Mechanical Engineer II on the New Ventures team, you will design, build, and iterate mechanical systems that support early‑stage exploration and small‑batch hardware products. You’ll apply strong mechanical engineering fundamentals and practical design‑for‑manufacturability judgment to prototype, test, and learn—helping the team evaluate feasibility, production risk, and real‑world behavior of new concepts. This role is ideal for an engineer who enjoys hands‑on work, thrives in ambiguity, and balances prototype speed with manufacturable design choices as a concept moves toward small‑batch production.

Location: The role may be based at one of Axon’s hub offices in Scottsdale, AZ, or Seattle, WA, and follows a hybrid schedule. We rely on in‑person collaboration and ask team members to work onsite Tuesday through Friday, with flexibility to work remotely on Mondays, unless an approved workplace accommodation is in place.

Reports to: Senior Director of New Ventures

Direct Reports: None

• Independently design and develop mechanical components, assemblies, fixtures, mechanisms, and enclosures for exploratory prototypes and small‑batch hardware products.
• Create CAD models, drawings, prototype files, and mechanical documentation that support rapid iteration and clear handoff to fabrication or manufacturing partners.
• Select materials, manufacturing methods, finishes, fastening strategies, and assembly approaches that balance speed, cost, durability, manufacturability, and learning goals.
• Apply design‑for‑manufacturability and design‑for‑assembly principles early, especially for concepts that may transition from prototype to low‑volume or small‑batch production.
• Build, assemble, test, and troubleshoot physical prototypes using hands‑on fabrication methods and external prototype vendors when appropriate.
• Collaborate with manufacturing, DFM, supply chain, electrical, software, industrial design, product, and applied research partners to identify production risks and practical design tradeoffs.
• Identify and resolve mechanical design challenges at the component, subsystem, and assembly level with minimal supervision.
• Support rapid Build‑Measure‑Learn cycles by prioritizing speed, learning, and clarity while avoiding design choices that create unnecessary manufacturing or assembly risk.
• Contribute mechanical engineering input to feasibility assessments, early risk identification, cost and manufacturability tradeoffs, and potential transition paths into New Ventures Edge or other product teams.
• Document design decisions, tolerance assumptions, material choices, supplier/vendor inputs, test results, prototype learnings, and open manufacturing risks to support decision‑making and future iterations.

• A bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 3+ years of relevant experience in mechanical engineering, product design, prototyping, hardware development, or low‑volume manufacturing.
• Proficiency with CAD tools and experience creating parts, assemblies, drawings, tolerance‑critical features, and prototype‑ or manufacturing‑ready files.
• Hands‑on experience building, assembling, testing, and iterating mechanical prototypes.
• Practical understanding of mechanical design fundamentals such as tolerances, material selection, fastening methods, mechanisms, structural considerations, thermal considerations, sealing, ruggedization, and assembly design.
• Experience applying design‑for‑manufacturability and design‑for‑assembly principles to real hardware, ideally including parts or assemblies that moved from prototype toward low‑volume or production manufacturing.
• Familiarity with common manufacturing and prototyping processes such as 3D printing, CNC machining, sheet metal, casting, injection molding, elastomers,…