Factory Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

A Mechanical Engineer II on the Factory Automation team will design and develop mechanical components and subsystems that form the foundation of Divergent's Adaptive Production System (DAPS). These systems will enable Divergent factories to rapidly reconfigure for simultaneous production of automotive, aerospace, and defense structures—eliminating the traditional tooling bottlenecks that constrain flexible manufacturing.  

This is a hands-on role where you will take ownership of defined mechanical design efforts form concept through detailed design, build, testing, and integration. You will translate system requirements into practical mechanical designs, evaluate design tradeoffs across performance, cost, reliability, manufacturability, and schedule, and work closely with senior engineers and cross-functional teams to develop and deploy automation hardware. The ideal candidate has experience designing, building, and testing mechanical systems, with a strong foundation in machine design, manufacturing methods, mechanisms, motion systems, and structures. 

You will work on bleeding-edge industrial automation systems and help develop technologies that have few existing precedents. By combining advanced automation, software, and factory data, you will contribute to a new model for flexible, sustainable manufacturing. Divergent is pushing the boundaries of what a factory can be, and we are looking for an engineer who is eager to learn, take on increasing technical ownership, and turn ambitious concepts into deployed hardware.  

• Own mechanical design and development of defined automation components and subsystems, from concept development through detailed design, release, build, integration, testing and deployment.  
• Translate system requirements and operational needs into clear mechanical component requirements, interfaces, constraints, and acceptance criteria, working closely with mechanical, electrical, controls, software, manufacturing, and operations teams.  
• Develop practical solutions to challenging factory automation problems, balancing technical requirements with constraints around cost, schedule, manufacturability, reliability, and deployment.  
• Develop mechanical designs for automation systems using CAD, drawings, GD&T, tolerance analysis, engineering calculations component selection, and bills of material, ensuring designs meet system-level requirements and establish design standards.  
• Apply mechanical engineering fundamentals across structures, mechanisms, precision motion systems, fluids, thermal systems, sealing, enclosures, and machine integration to develop robust and manufacturable designs.  
• Evaluate design alternatives and make sound engineering tradeoffs across performance, reliability, safety, manufacturability, serviceability, cost, schedule, and technical risk, seeking guidance when tradeoffs extend beyond the scope of the assigned system.  
• Identify technical and integration risks and support analysis, prototyping, assembly, testing, troubleshooting, and design iteration to resolve them 
• Troubleshoot and resolve technical issues within owned components and subsystems, incorporating lessons learned into design improvements and future development. 
• Collaborate with engineering, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, suppliers, and other stakeholders to execute designs effectively; communicate technical decisions, status, risk, and required support clearly.  
• Apply engineering standards, design practices, system interfaces, reuseable designs to improve the speed, quality, and reliability of automation development and deployment. 
• Support the technical readiness of owned components and subsystems through release, procurement, manufacturing, planning, validation, deployment, and operational ramp, identifying and closing technical gaps along the way. 
• Participate in machine integration and fleet investigations, helping troubleshoot failures and convert findings into design improvements. 
• Participate in design reviews and provide technical input to other engineers while actively seeking feedback and mentorship to expand technical breadth and judgement. 
• Contribute to the architecture, modularization, and standardization of automation systems, as well as supplier and contract-manufacturing readiness.  
• Identify opportunities to simplify and improve the development and deployment of automation hardware, contributing to efforts that increase the scalability and effectiveness of DAPS.  

• Ability to lawfully access information and technology that is subject to US export controls.
• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline.
• Demonstrated experience designing and developing mechanical components and subsystems from concept through detailed design, build, test, and release.  
• Strong proficiency in 3D CAD, engineering drawings, GD&T, tolerance analysis, component selection, and design for manufacturability and assembly. 
• Strong foundation in mechanical engineering fundamentals and the ability to apply them to a range of mechanical design problems 
• Ability to translate defined technical and operational needs into practical mechanical designs and make sound engineering decisions within established requirements and constraints.  
• Hands-on experience building prototypes and supporting integration, testing, troubleshooting, and iteration of mechanical equipment.  
• Ability to collaborate effectively across mechanical, electrical, controls, software, manufacturing, and operations teams and communicate technical decisions, risk and status clearly.  
• Ability to work independently on defined engineering efforts while seeking appropriate guidance and feedback on complex or unfamiliar problems.  
• Ability to perform hands-on work around industrial equipment and occasionally lift or carry up to 25lb. 

• Experience in Siemens NX and Teamcenter 
• Experience with Jira, Confluence 
• Experience with Microsoft tools – Teams, Sharepoint, PowerBI 
• Experience with Oracle 
• Experience with Capital Equipment: Industrial Automation, Industrial Robotics, Chemical conversion / electrodeposition / plating / dip coatings, Adhesives / Bonding, Welding Systems, Mahine Tools, Laser powder bed fusion, Additive manufacturing 
• Experience designing: Precision mechanisms, Motion systems, Fluid systems, Thermal systems, Vacuum systems, Structural assemblies, Machine enclosures 
• Experience mentoring engineers and providing technical leadership across multidisciplinary teams 
• Experience with: Engineering change control, Configuration management, Supplier collaboration, Contract manufacturing, Qualifying & releasing production hardware   

• This is an on-site role performed across office, laboratory, prototype, build, and production-floor environments. 
• Work involves regular interaction with industrial equipment and may include moving machinery, elevated noise, metal powers, inert gas systems, lasers, chemicals, adhesives, ovens, robotic systems, and high power electrical equipment. Required PPE and EHS controls apply. 
• Occasional travel and schedule flexibility may be required during critical design, build, integration, testing, or commissioning activities.   

At Divergent, our pay range is based on the level of the job. For this role, we will consider candidates at levels Engineer I - Engineer II as evaluated through our interview process. 

• Engineer I / E03: $96,350 - $132,480
• Engineer II / E04: $111,300 - $153,040