Mainspring Energy is revolutionizing power generation with the world’s most flexible and adaptable local power generation technology, the Mainspring Linear Generator. Commercial, industrial, and utility leaders are choosing Mainspring over traditional options like engines, turbines, and fuel cells to quickly and reliably deliver local power for EV charging, commercial facilities, data centers, and grid-scale operations. The Mainspring Linear Generator is fuel flexible, ramps up and down to meet demand, and utilizes a flameless reaction with near-zero NOx emissions.

Backed by top-tier investors including Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, American Electric Power, Lightrock, and General Cayalyst Mainspring designs, manufactures and delivers its products to customers across the U.S. today, and we’re quickly scaling for international expansion.

Inspired by our vision of the affordable, reliable, net-zero carbon grid, Mainspring is rapidly expanding within the $816B global electricity equipment market, and we’re hiring the best talent to meet growing customer demand around the globe. We welcome a broad range of backgrounds, experiences, and talents to bring fresh perspectives and ongoing innovation to our customers.

We are looking to build relationships with people who share our values:

Pragmatic Optimism. Building a new category of world-class power generation requires the optimism of ambition and creativity, balanced with practicality to solve problems efficiently. The challenges that arise are opportunities for growth.

Excellence without Ego. We bring expertise and commitment to creating the best customer experience, from sales to deployment and service, just as we apply deep technical rigor to building and delivering world-class products. We strive for excellence and behave as leaders with the humility to acknowledge our challenges, both collectively and as individual contributors.

Proactive Collaboration. The integration and cross-disciplinary nature of Mainspring’s business requires intentionally seeking out others who bring different skills, perspectives, and priorities. Our culture of inclusion and respect extends beyond our team to interactions with our partners and customers.

More information can be found at www.mainspringenergy.com

The Challenge

The Rings team is responsible for the design, analysis, and optimization of the sealing ring and piston assemblies. These assemblies must contain pressures far in excess of 100 bar and withstand gas temperatures up to 1500C, all while traversing a half-meter stroke 10 times per second. To achieve oil-free, low-emissions operation, we make our rings out of graphite – a brittle material that can oxidize at high temperature, and wears out over time. All interfacing metal components are made from high-temperature superalloys. Increasing the interval between ring services is critical to Mainspring’s success as a company, with top executives contributing directly to the program. As a Staff Mechanical Engineer on this team, you will help to drive one of the most important development programs at the company.

Responsibilities

Lead R&D Projects: Drive ring development projects from initial concept through to production. This includes setting project requirements, developing novel designs, and creating production plans.
Design & Analysis: Design complex moving parts for the piston and ring system. This involves using CAD and structural FEA to optimize designs that can operate in a multiphysical environment with high pressure and temperature.
Root Cause Investigations: Assess and troubleshoot failure modes that are driven by complex thermal, structural, materials, and fluid interactions. Understand surrounding subsystems and their impact on ring performance.
Testing and Validation: Design and run effective test campaigns using both benchtop rigs and in-generator experiments to validate designs and accelerate learning.
Collaboration: Work closely with a talented cross-functional engineering team in a fast-paced, iterative environment.

Qualifications

Masters in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent with at least ten years experience or PhD in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent with at least seven years experience
Self-starter who thrives in an iterative, fast-paced dynamic environment and can lead projects and optimize solutions across different teams.
Design experience with high performance parts that have been released into the market. Relevant industries include Energy, Aerospace (especially turbomachinery and propulsion), and Oil & Gas
Expert in SolidWorks or comparable CAD package, including structural FEA
Excellent physical understanding of structural mechanics and heat transfer; strength in the following fields is a plus: tribology, fluids, materials
Ability to generate 2D drawings for manufacturing, experience utilizing GD&T is preferred
A proactive and collaborative work style suited for a dynamic R&D environment where priorities can evolve as you learn.

Does your experience not meet all of our posted requirements? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to positions unless they meet every listed requirement. At Mainspring, we are committed to building a diverse, inclusive, flexible, and collaborative environment, so if you want to help us transition the world to clean and affordable electricity, and don’t meet all posted requirements for a particular role, we’d still love to hear from you. Mainspring can sometimes be flexible enough to shift responsibilities for the right person, or otherwise identify open or upcoming roles that may better fit your professional background.

In more traditional words, Mainspring Energy, Inc is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

This compensation and benefits information is based on Mainspring Energy's estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future. We generally do not negotiate on salary once we have made an offer. The level of pay within the range will depend on a variety of job-related factors that may include location, relevant prior experience and/or education, or particular skills and expertise. New hires joining the company tend to be paid within the starting base pay range noted above, with opportunities to increase pay over time based on development of additional skills, competencies, and company-specific knowledge.

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