Sr. Mechanical Engineer - Technical Project Lead

Company Description

Boston Engineering is a technology-driven consulting firm that provides innovative engineering solutions to commercial and government clients. Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, Boston Engineering specializes in product development, systems engineering, and technology commercialization, leveraging deep expertise in robotics, digital solutions, medical devices, diagnostic equipment, defense systems, and industrial automation.
The company integrates advanced technologies with practical engineering execution, delivering end-to-end services from concept through commercialization. Boston Engineering combines technical rigor, cross-disciplinary teams, and proven processes to accelerate product development and to solve complex challenges. The company is ISO-certified and CMMC-certified, with a commitment to operational excellence, innovation, and measurable client outcomes. Its mission is to improve the way people work and live through innovative product development and novel engineering.

Job Description

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced, hands-on mechanical engineer to work from our Houston, Texas office alongside a rapid prototyping and product development team. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys practical engineering, building and testing hardware, solving real-world technical problems, and helping teams move quickly while improving engineering rigor over time.

This position combines mechanical design, prototyping, testing, technical project execution, and customer-facing communication. You will help introduce practical engineering structure through day-to-day work, including design reviews, documentation, test planning, risk tracking, and requirements discipline in a way that supports the pace and flexibility of rapid prototype development.

This role will work closely with the R&D Systems Engineering Director, the Department Director, project teams, customers, and other key stakeholders across the product development space. The ideal candidate can bridge business and technical conversations, support day-to-day execution, and help turn early-stage concepts into reliable, manufacturable solutions.

Role Intent

This role is intended to strengthen the connection between rapid prototyping, practical mechanical engineering, and disciplined product development execution. The successful candidate will help the team improve engineering structure through day-to-day project work, technical leadership, and example-setting rather than through heavy process changes.

The goal is to maintain the flexibility, creativity, and speed of a rapid prototype environment while improving repeatability, technical documentation, risk awareness, and execution discipline as projects mature.

Primary Responsibilities

Engineering Leadership

• Lead the mechanical design of innovative products from concept through prototype, validation, and transition toward production
• Perform engineering analysis, CAD design, prototyping, testing, and design verification
• Provide practical, hands-on mechanical engineering support in rapid prototyping, laboratory, shop, and test environments
• Work closely with electrical, software, manufacturing, systems engineering, and test teams
• Balance rapid iteration with sound engineering judgment, product reliability, manufacturability, schedule, cost, and risk
• Help transition prototype concepts into more mature, repeatable, and manufacturable designs
• Mentor junior engineers and provide technical leadership across projects

Project Leadership

• Support day-to-day project execution, task planning, issue resolution, and coordination across technical contributors
• Develop and maintain practical project schedules, estimates, resource plans, action lists, and decision records
• Identify technical and program risks and drive mitigation strategies with the appropriate project stakeholders
• Work closely with the R&D Systems Engineering Director, Department Director, and key product development stakeholders to align technical execution with business and customer needs
• Contribute and help drive design reviews, documentation, test planning, verification activities, and requirements discipline without slowing the pace of development
• Coordinate multidisciplinary engineering teams to deliver high-quality work on schedule

Client & Business Development

• Develop trusted relationships with current and potential customers through clear communication and understanding of the solution space
• Contribute as a technical bridge between customers, business stakeholders, and internal engineering teams
• Support proposal development, technical scoping, project estimating, and early opportunity shaping
• Identify follow-on opportunities within existing customers and projects and contribute to the growth of our engineering practice

Qualifications

Required

• BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering
• 8+ years of product development, mechanical design, or applied hardware engineering experience
• Strong CAD proficiency, such as SolidWorks, Creo, or equivalent
• Experience designing electromechanical products, mechanical systems, assemblies, fixtures, or test hardware
• Hands-on prototyping, laboratory testing, troubleshooting, and design verification experience.
• Knowledge of manufacturing processes, DFM/DFA, materials, tolerance considerations, and practical build constraints
• Strong practical mechanical aptitude and comfort working directly with hardware, tools, prototypes, and test setups
• Ability to lead technical work, coordinate contributors, and influence outcomes without relying solely on formal authority
• Comfortable engaging directly with customers and translating between technical and business needs
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Nice to Have:

• Rapid prototyping or applied R&D environments
• Technical project leadership or product development execution
• Client-facing engineering, customer demonstrations, or technical presentations
• Proposal development, project estimating, and technical scoping
• Product maturation from prototype to production
• Requirements development, design reviews, technical documentation, and test planning
• Systems engineering or cross-functional product development
• Robotics, automation, motion control, defense products, industrial equipment, or complex electromechanical systems

Experience in these areas is helpful, but not essential:

• Project management and technical execution leadership
• Business development and client relationship management
• Technical sales support and opportunity shaping
• Mentoring engineers and helping develop practical engineering standards
• Establishing lightweight development practices that support repeatable, high-quality execution

Additional Information

Your First-Year Impact Will Include:

• Becoming a trusted hands-on engineering leader within the Houston product development and rapid prototyping team
• Leading multiple product development efforts from concept through prototype validation and design maturation
• Supporting the transition of prototype efforts into more structured development paths when appropriate
• Being a primary technical resource for local clients and customer-facing efforts in related field and solution space
• Successfully manage project scope, schedule, technical execution, and risk in partnership with senior staff and key stakeholders
• Helping improve project execution discipline without disrupting the team's speed, flexibility, or prototype-focused culture
• Assisting with technical proposals, project estimates, design review materials, and customer-facing technical content
• Mentoring junior engineers and supporting the team to make better technical decisions through practical engineering judgment, clear documentation, and risk-based thinking

Location: Office-based role in Houston, Texas

Reports to: Mechanical Engineering Manager

Relocation: Relocation assistance is not provided for this role

This role is restricted to US persons (i.e., US citizens, permanent residents, and other protected individuals under the Immigration and Naturalization Act, 8 USC 1324b(a)(3)) due to access to export-controlled technology. Boston Engineering will require proof of status prior to employment.

Your application will not be considered complete without a submitted writing sample.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.