Director of Mechanical Engineering

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced mechanical engineering leader who builds and scales a high-performing team while maintaining the technical credibility to guide hard decisions. As Director of Mechanical Engineering at Torus, you will own the technical direction and day-to-day execution of our mechanical engineering team, building a culture of engineering excellence, mentorship, and disciplined design practice across rotating machinery, structural systems, thermal management, and electromechanical integration.

This is a leadership role for someone who leads through technical judgment, not volume of individual output. You will stay close enough to the work to make sound calls and earn your engineers’ respect, but your primary output is the team’s capability, the quality bar, and engineering decisions that set that direction. You will also build and scale the team, set expectations, develop talent, and hold the bar on design quality across our flywheel and hybrid battery-flywheel energy storage systems. 

Product requirements and roadmap priorities are set in partnership with product management. Within that direction, you own the mechanical engineering strategy: the technical and architecture direction for our mechanical systems, the team’s capability roadmap, build-vs-buy decisions, and where we invest in deeper engineering expertise (such as rotor dynamics, structural analysis, or thermal management) as we scale. You translate product direction into a clear technical path, and you build the team, the structure, and the leaders to execute it.

You will report to the Head of Hardware Products and work cross-functionally with product management, manufacturing engineering, electrical engineering, and other key stakeholders to translate product direction into outstanding engineering outcomes and build the mechanical engineering capability Torus needs.

Who You Are

• A builder of engineers, not just products. Your most important output is the capability and confidence of the team around you. You invest in people the way you invest in designs: with rigor, attention, and a long view.
• Technically Credible. You stay close enough to the work to make sound calls and earn respect, but you lead through judgment and through people, not through personal output. Your engineers deserve a leader who understands what they are facing and can guide them without taking the work from them.
• A decisive, accountable leader. You make the call when the team needs one made, you are clear about who owns which decisions, and you do not let important decisions drift or default. 
• An org-builder. As the team grows, you design the structure, level roles, and develop leads who can own subsystems independently. You scale the team, not just staff it. 
• Mechanically intuitive. You can look at a rotor assembly, a thermal management layout, or a structural frame and immediately form a view on where the risk is. Your judgment is calibrated by real experience, not just titles.
• Calm under pressure. When a field failure comes in or a design review surfaces a serious problem, you are the steadying force in the room. You help the team think clearly, not react.
• Collaborative by default. You build trust with manufacturing, electrical, and firmware teams rather than optimizing in isolation. The best mechanical design is the one that works well for everyone who touches it.
• Direct and constructive. You give feedback clearly and privately. You hold the bar without making engineers feel small. You make the work better and the people stronger at the same time.
• Strategic when it counts, hands-on when it matters. You can zoom out to assess system-level risk and zoom back in to solve a hard mechanical problem alongside your team.

Responsibilities

People Leadership and Organizational Development (35%)

• The mechanical engineering team is growing and needs someone who invests in them daily with guidance, feedback, and genuine attention to their development
• Build a hiring plan tied to the product and capability roadmap, and partner with People Ops on leveling, compensation alignment, and workforce planning
• Develop managers and leads beneath you, not only individual contributors, building the bench that lets the organization scale beyond your direct reach
• Mentor engineers on mechanical design principles, analysis methods, manufacturing considerations, and engineering judgment through direct, daily engagement, not periodic check-ins
• Build and develop a high-performing mechanical engineering team across design, analysis, testing, and prototyping
• Hire mechanical talent spanning design, structural analysis, rotating machinery, battery systems integration, and manufacturing-focused design
• Conduct performance reviews, set clear expectations, provide honest feedback, and hold the team accountable in a way that makes them better rather than smaller
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, rigorous analysis, design excellence, and collaborative problem-solving
• Develop mechanical design leaders who can own subsystems independently and grow into greater responsibility over time. 

Technical Leadership and Design Quality(30%)

• Set and hold the bar on design quality, leading and raising the standard of design reviews, guiding analysis, and staying close enough to the technical work to make sound calls without becoming a primary individual contributor. 
• Own mechanical design quality across energy storage systems, including rotating machinery (FESS rotor, tub, motor, sensors, encasement), structural systems, thermal management integration, and electromechanical assembly
• Make critical design decisions on materials, manufacturing processes, structural approaches, and integration strategies, balancing performance, cost, schedule, and risk
• Guide the team through rigorous mechanical problem-solving across the full range of challenges: rotating machinery dynamics, bearing systems, vibration isolation, thermal management, structural fatigue, battery sled and module integration, and precision alignment
• Lead design reviews with first-principles thinking and experience-based judgment, holding the bar on design quality without creating process burden
• Ensure design for high-volume manufacturing by partnering closely with manufacturing engineering on assembly processes, tooling, and cost optimization at GigaOne scale
• Ensure rapid resolution of mechanical field issues across rotating machinery, thermal systems, structural systems and assembly

Engineering Strategy and Decision-Making (20%)

• Own the mechanical engineering technical strategy: architecture direction, technology selection, and the capability roadmap that supports Torus’s product and manufacturing scale-up
• Make and own high-leverage decisions: build-vs-buy, make-vs-source, materials and platform direction, and where to invest in deeper analysis capability (e.g., rotor dynamics, structural, thermal)
• Own the mechanical validation and reliability strategy (e.g., structural, vibration and dynamics, thermal, and environmental qualification) balancing quality with speed at the portfolio level
• Own the mechanical risk posture for safety-critical systems (high-speed rotating machinery, battery integration); identify and resolve systemic mechanical issues, not just point failures
• Allocate engineering resources across projects against priorities, and report mechanical progress, risks, and team needs to leadership clearly and without sugar-coating

Cross-Functional Leadership(15%)

• Work closely with product management to translate product requirements and architecture decisions into executable mechanical engineering direction
• Partner with the electrical engineering team on electromechanical interfaces and thermal management integration
• Partner with the embedded controls team to ensure mechanical sensor integration, motor interfaces, and vacuum system requirements are well-defined and achievable
• Engage with field operations and quality to bring real-world failure modes and serviceability requirements into the design process
• Partner with product management and manufacturing engineering on the engineering change process, ensuring design intent is preserved through manufacturing execution

Required Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering (Master's preferred in dynamics, structures, or thermal systems)
• 8+ years of mechanical engineering experience with 3+ years leading and growing engineering teams, including developing other managers and leads
• Deep mechanical expertise in at least two of: rotating machinery, structural design, thermal management, battery systems integration, precision mechanical systems, high-volume manufacturing, or electromechanical integration
• Product development experience from concept through production ramp
• Demonstrated leadership through technical judgment: able to set direction, make and own hard calls, hold the design-quality bar, and build team capability without being the team’s primary individual contributor
• Manufacturing mindset: design for high-volume production, optimize assembly processes, drive cost reduction at scale
• CAD proficiency (SolidWorks, Creo) and FEA experience (structural, thermal)
• Cross-functional credibility: ability to influence without authority across mechanical, electrical, firmware, and manufacturing disciplines
• Strong communicator: able to explain mechanical design rationale to non-mechanical audiences and give direct, useful feedback to engineers at all levels

Preferred Experience

• Rotating machinery experience: high-speed rotors, flywheels, motors, or turbomachinery
• Vibration and dynamics expertise: modal analysis, rotor dynamics, vibration isolation
• Precision mechanical systems: tight tolerances, alignment, bearing selection
• Thermal management for power electronics or battery systems
• Environmental qualification: outdoor installations, seismic loads, temperature extremes
• Cost engineering: should-cost modeling, value engineering, design-to-cost
• Experience building a mechanical engineering team from an early stage and scaling it through a period of rapid growth
• Experience in aerospace, defense, robotics, or industrial systems

Additional Details

Background Check All candidates are subject to a background check.

Location + Travel The role is hybrid remote based in Salt Lake City at our GigaOne Warehouse (air-conditioned) and some remote work. May require occasional onsite work in South Salt Lake and Springville R&D warehouses (air-conditioned and non air-conditioned). Occasional travel is required.
Schedule Full-Time, Salaried

Compensation $160,000 - 190,000 (Note: We have the flexibility to hire at different levels, which may impact the  corresponding pay range.)

Work Authorization Applicants must already have the legal authorization to work in the US without requiring any employer sponsorship.

Physical Requirements 

• Must have the ability to safely lift and move objects weighing up to 50 lbs. 
• Must be capable of standing, bending, and executing repetitive tasks for prolonged periods of time.
• Ability to read, identify, observe and recognize details, color-coding and fine print at close range on associated engineering drawings.
• Ability to don personal protective equipment to include, but not limited to, respiratory protective equipment with proper seal, coveralls, ear protection, gloves, eye protection & safety helmet. 
• Ability to observe, detect and respond to audible and visual machine malfunction warnings.
• Ability to communicate information so others can understand. Must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations.
• Must report to work reliably and with the ability to use full and unimpaired skills and judgment to safely execute your job.
• Proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking English required.

Our Perks & Benefits

Benefits eligibility is based on employment status.

Financial

• Employee Rewards Package including equity
• 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan
• Torus paid life and AD&D Insurance with options to purchase additional coverage
• Voluntary short- and long-term disability insurance

Health & Wellness

• Health Benefits Package: Choice between traditional PPO or HSA-eligible medical plans with Torus covering 50% of medical premiums; Dental insurance; and Vision insurance
• Plan participants have access to telehealth services, mental health support and coaching, and exclusive discounts on brands, dining, entertainment, and more.

Time Off

• Unlimited discretionary PTO
• 10 paid company holidays
• Waiting period-free 100% paid parental leave

Culture & Community

• Regular company-wide offsites to showcase our progress and learnings. A time to step back, think strategically, and work on the business together.
• Team members receive Torus branded gear
• Peer Recognition Program
• Fully stocked break rooms with free snacks and drinks. Because great work deserves great fuel.

Torus is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status.

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