Principal Mechanical Engineer

The mandate: Architect mechanical design from the ground up. This person leads the push on every structure the company builds and becomes a key leader who eventually builds out the mechanical team. Ben called it "a very key role."

What they own:

• Surge Hub structures. The shipping container package: the structure around the power system.
• SurgePort marine structures. Anchoring systems that drill and pile into rocky, sandy, or muddy seabed. Large mechanical structures that deploy and survive in the ocean.
• The deployable dock. The origami fold-up port and its rapid-deploy mechanisms, sized to roll off a C-130 on an all-terrain forklift.
• Maritime loads and corrosion. Marinizing steel structures and galvanization.

Level: Senior or principal; either works. Ben's calibration: a senior engineer with five years at SpaceX is probably a principal anywhere else. Titling up is a lever we can pull to land the right person.

Must have: Senior mechanical engineering background. Structures strongly preferred.

Plus-plus:

• Designing systems that must survive 20, 30, or 40 year lifespans in harsh marine environments.
• Hands-on knowledge of the different types of galvanization.
• Experience manufacturing steel structures in the US.

Leadership: Prior tech-lead or management experience is not required. A strong senior engineer can grow into it here. The team already has junior mechanical engineers who would immediately fall under this person, so they must be comfortable mentoring. Ben saw great SpaceX ICs forced into management who failed at it. Select for genuine aptitude and interest in leading, and don't push it on someone who wants to stay an IC.

Reporting: Directly to Ben or John. [Confirm which.]

Oil and gas: Don't exclude it, but Ben has interviewed several and found them bimodal: either a slam dunk or a clear no. The good ones open with what they dislike about oil and gas and what they want next: more speed, less red tape, real ownership. Most senior oil and gas engineers don't want 60 to 70 hour startup weeks. Dane agreed from his own time at ExxonMobil.

Title: Ben posted it as "Mechanical Engineer, Maritime Structures & Mechanisms" and it hasn't worked. He's open to retargeting it as a general Senior / Principal Mechanical Engineer. [Retitle on Ashby.]

Sourcing notes: Small TAM, so the search is surgical and below the usual 350 reachouts. Screen questions to open with: What structure did you own end to end? What did it have to survive, and for how long? Have you led junior engineers, and did you want to?

Mechanical Engineer (Maritime Structures & Mechanisms)

The Role

• Own the deployable dock from architecture to deployed hardware: container-packaged structure, load paths, and rapid-deploy mechanisms.
• Size and analyze structures for maritime loads, sea states, and handling, and design against corrosion and fatigue.
• Design the mechanisms that turn a container into a working dock: hinges, latches, actuation, and the deployment sequence.
• Drive fabrication with vendors and in-house, and be there when it deploys.
• Trade weight, cost, and schedule to hit a delivery date without flinching.

What You'll Do

• Design, build, and see mechanical hardware work, the way it goes in maritime, marine, offshore, or naval structures.
• Apply structures and mechanisms fundamentals: FEA, fatigue, weldments, and mechanism design.
• Work in steel and aluminum, weldments, and marine-grade materials and coatings.
• Get hands-on with fabrication and own the vendor relationships.

What We're Looking For

• Experience with deployable, foldable, or transportable structures.
• A background in hydraulics, winches, or actuation.
• Exposure to naval architecture, ABS or class rules, or offshore experience.

Compensation

$100,000–$250,000 base + founding-team equity sized for the role + benefits. If you're an outlier, we'll pay like it.

ITAR requirement

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations (ITAR/EAR), applicants must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3). Candidates must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance; active clearance not required.