Drop Forge Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

We're looking for an experienced mechanical design engineer ready to take the next step in their career and contribute to an employee-owned company whose mission is to help save lives. This is a unique opportunity for someone with demonstrated mechanical design experience, who is passionate about continuous improvement and excited to lead a high-performing team. If you're ready to grow with a company that values initiative, collaboration, and operational excellence, we’d love to hear from you.

About Us:

CMC is an employee-owned company based in Goleta, California, with a mission to help save lives by equipping professionals with the tools and training they need to perform their jobs with the highest levels of safety and efficiency. We are a passionate and purpose-driven team, proud to serve the rescue and rope access communities with the world’s most trusted life safety equipment for over 40 years. At CMC, our commitment to innovation, quality, and service is rooted in a shared dedication to those who risk their lives to protect and save others.

About the Job:

Under the direction of the Engineering Manager, the Mechanical Design Engineer will create, refine, and validate mechanical designs for rope rescue hardware, devices, and related systems. The ideal candidate has extensive experience with SolidWorks, a demonstrated ability to design complex mechanical mechanisms, and a proven track record of taking products from concept through production.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, model, and document components, assemblies, and complex mechanisms using SolidWorks.
• Design equipment such as pulleys, cams, sheaves, levers, linkages, handles, ratchets, carabiners, rigging plates, D‑rings, buckles, and similar assemblies.
• Lead product development cycles from concept creation through prototyping, testing, and release to manufacturing.
• Produce detailed engineering drawings, tolerances, and specifications suitable for production and quality assurance.
• Collaborate closely with manufacturing, testing, and quality teams to ensure designs are manufacturable, safe, durable, and compliant with relevant performance standards.
• Conduct engineering analyses (FEA, tolerance stack‑ups, material selection, etc.) to ensure the reliability and safety of life-safety equipment.
• Develop and evaluate prototypes through hands‑on testing and iterative design improvements.
• Manage design documentation, revision control, and project data in PDM systems.
• Frequently report out to the broader team through design reviews and technical reports.
• Support continuous improvement efforts for existing products, ensuring ongoing compliance, performance, and manufacturability.
• Conduct testing and evaluation of rope and rope‑rescue equipment using sound data acquisition and laboratory practices.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering (BSME).
• 5–7 years of professional mechanical design experience, preferably involving hardware, mechanisms, tools, or similar product categories.
• Demonstrated proficiency in SolidWorks, including:
  • Complex assemblies
  • Advanced surfacing
  • Simulation tools
• Proven ability to design complex mechanical assemblies in CAD and transition designs to physical prototypes via 3D printing and other methods.
• A professional portfolio or historical work examples demonstrating concept‑to‑production product development.
• Ability to produce high‑quality, detailed design drawings that result in robust, manufacturable assemblies.
• Experience with or knowledge of materials and processes common to rope rescue hardware or mechanical devices (e.g., aluminum alloys, stainless steel, machining, forging, stamping, injection molding).
• Strong understanding of DFM principles.
• Excellent problem‑solving skills and hands‑on engineering capability.
• Comfortable using hand tools, small power tools, and light machining equipment such as lathes, mills, and bandsaws.
• Comfortable working in an industrial laboratory environment using high‑load tensile testers and drop towers.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and in a team environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with life‑safety equipment, climbing gear, industrial safety tools, or mechanical devices subject to rigorous standards.
• Familiarity with standards such as NFPA, EN, CE, or related product safety certifications.
• Experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience with engineering change processes.

What We Offer

• The opportunity to design products that directly impact safety and help save lives.
• A collaborative environment within a small, high‑performing engineering team.

Competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Working conditions are in a normal office and manufacturing floor environment. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to walk, sit and stand, using the hands to handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls. Occasionally, the employee must crouch or kneel. The employee must occasionally exert or lift up to 40 pounds. Successful performance requires good eyesight with or without corrective lens. Requires long periods of time working at a computer. Some travel is required.

CMC’s budgeted salary range for this role is $85,091.00 to $106,364.00 annually. Final offers are based on candidate qualifications, experience, budget, and CMC’s commitment to fair and consistent compensation practices. The full salary range for this position is $85,091.00 to $127,637.00 annually.