Senior Principal Mechanical Engineer

Senior Principal Mechanical Engineer

This role has been designed as 'Hybrid' with an expectation that you will work on average 2 days per week from an HPE office.

Reporting to the Head of Mechanical Engineering, the Senior Principal Mechanical Engineer must be a self-motivated technical leader capable of working in a fast-paced environment with aggressive product development schedules. This individual will be responsible for the mechanical architecture, design, development, and qualification of complex networking systems from concept through production and field deployment.

The ideal candidate is a highly experienced, hands-on engineer who combines strong technical leadership with a willingness to engage directly in product development activities, including system design, laboratory debugging, prototype evaluation, root-cause analysis, and customer issue resolution.

Responsibilities include:

• Lead the mechanical development of complex networking systems and chassis platforms from concept through production release and field support.
• Provide technical leadership across multiple programs and serve as a subject matter expert for mechanical architecture, packaging, manufacturability, reliability, and serviceability.
• Evaluate and integrate new technologies in cooling, liquid cooling, interconnects, materials, and manufacturing processes to support future product roadmaps.
• Drive system-level technical decisions, balancing performance, cost, schedule, reliability, manufacturability, compliance, and customer requirements.
• Remain actively engaged in hands-on engineering activities, including CAD reviews, tolerance analysis, prototype evaluation, laboratory testing, failure analysis, and root-cause investigations.
• Lead cross-functional design reviews and collaborate closely with Electrical, Thermal, Signal Integrity, Reliability, Manufacturing, Operations, and Supply Chain teams.
• Drive technical content of system specifications, design guidelines, validation plans, and engineering standards.
• Develop and maintain mechanical design standards, best practices, and engineering methodologies across the organization.
• Identify technical risks and drive mitigation plans throughout the product development lifecycle.
• Support customer escalations, manufacturing issues, and field failures through hands-on troubleshooting and corrective action development.
• Lead supplier engagements involving design reviews, manufacturing readiness, tooling strategies, and technical issue resolution.
• Provide project scoping, resource estimates, schedule input, and technical guidance for new product development efforts.
• Mentor and develop engineers through technical coaching, design reviews, and day-to-day engineering leadership.
• Contribute to long-term technology planning and future platform development initiatives.

Education

• Required:
  
  BS in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent.
• 12+ years of experience in electromechanical product development.
• Preferred: MS in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent.
• Experience developing networking, server, storage, telecommunications, or high-performance computing systems.
• Extensive experience with chassis development, system packaging, and high-density electronic assemblies.
• Experience with advanced cooling technologies, including liquid cooling solutions.
• Demonstrated leadership of complex cross-functional development programs.

Expected Competencies

• Expert-level proficiency with 3D solid modeling tools;
  Solid Works experience preferred. Working knowledge of EPDM or equivalent PLM systems is a plus.
• Extensive experience developing complex chassis and system-level mechanical designs for networking, server, storage, or telecommunications products.
• Strong hands-on experience with tolerance analysis, GD&T, stack-up analysis, and structural analysis techniques.
• Working knowledge of FEA and interpretation of simulation results.
• Experience with ECAD-MCAD integration and IDF workflows.
• Deep understanding of sheet metal design, machining, castings, extrusions, plastics, and associated manufacturing processes.
• Strong understanding of tooling requirements and manufacturing considerations for volume production.
• Working knowledge…