Principal Mechanical Design Specialist

Job summary

Provide senior technical guidance on complex mechanical design challenges, architecture decisions, and early feasibility and risk discussions. Improve design consistency and technical practices, mentor developing designers, and contribute mechanical expertise to cross-functional, customer-facing, and lifecycle engineering work.

Job details

As the Principal Mechanical Design Specialist, you are a senior technical authority and internal consultant who helps solve complex mechanical challenges, improves consistency across designs, and strengthens early concept, feasibility, and risk discussions with Applications. What You’ll Be Doing This role combines three core expectations: advanced technical guidance, consistent design practices, and mentorship of developing mechanical designers. Advanced Technical Leadership Solve the hardest mechanical design problems and guide major architecture decisions on complex or high-risk systems Help teams make better technical decisions by applying practical judgment, system-level thinking, and long-term design experience Design Standardization & Technical Excellence Improve reuse, engineering robustness, and common design practices across the Mechanical Design function Review critical designs for safety, manufacturability, performance, quality, and long-term reliability Collaboration with Applications Engineering Support proposal and concept development by contributing senior mechanical judgment to feasibility, architecture, and risk discussions Help ensure proposed solutions are practical, buildable, and ready for execution Mentorship & Technical Development Mentor junior designers, developing team members, and co-op students through practical, hands-on design guidance Build stronger engineering judgment across the team by sharing practical knowledge and reinforcing sound design practices Customer & Cross-Functional Support Support customer-facing, build, integration, and issue-resolution work with credible senior mechanical input Help Sales, Applications, Operations, Manufacturing, and customer teams align around practical technical solutions Systems Engineering & Lifecycle Support Contribute mechanical input on requirements, specifications, FMEAs, interfaces, verification, testing, and acceptance criteria Strengthen execution readiness and lessons learned without taking ownership away from the assigned project or design execution leads Working Relationship This role partners with the Mechanical Design Manager and Team Leads to raise technical quality, support sound decision-making on complex work, and mentor others through technical influence rather than direct people management. Principal Mechanical Design Specialist: guides complex technical decisions, strengthens common practices, develops technical capability, and reduces early design risk Team Lead, Mechanical Design: leads daily execution, coaches designers, manages workload visibility, and supports delivery quality Mechanical Design Manager: sets priorities, manages people decisions, handles final escalations, and oversees department administration Where This Role Adds the Most Value Complex or high-risk projects New platform or product architecture development Cross-project technical problems requiring deeper expertise Common design practices and technical improvement initiatives Early concept decisions where experienced judgment can reduce downstream risk Technical growth of less experienced designers Key Requirements Degree or Diploma in Mechanical, Mechatronic, Systems Design, Engineering Physics, Engineering Science, or related discipline Extensive experience in industrial automation, custom machine design, and complex system development Strong expertise in concept development, technical risk identification, machine architecture, and system integration Experience mentoring junior engineers and developing technical capability in others Strong proficiency in SolidWorks, PDM, AutoCAD, and related engineering tools Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex technical ideas clearly across teams Ability to travel to customers, other sites, or business units as needed The base pay range for this position is $49.85/hour - $68.54/hour (CAD). The posted range reflects the expected base hourly rate for this position. Actual base pay will be determined based on factors such as geographic location, skills, education, and experience, as well as internal equity considerations. Offers are typically made within the range and not at the top of the range to support growth and progression. This position is eligible to participate in a short-term incentive plan. Incentive awards, if any, are based on business and individual performance and are not guaranteed. #LI-CR1 SAMST At Samuel, we believe every team member brings unique and valuable skills, experiences and knowledge to our thriving business – enabling us to build on over 170 years of success in the metals industry. We offer countless opportunities for our team members to develop and grow in their careers, empower them to make decisions on the job and be a part of driving positive change – within our organization and in the communities where we live and work. If you’re seeking a dynamic, supportive and welcoming workplace to make your mark and grow your career, we have the programs, culture and opportunities to make it happen. We’re stronger together. At Samuel we believe in a culture of equality. Respect and integrity are at our core. We are committed to building and creating an environment that is open and welcoming for everyone. This job posting is for an existing vacancy within the organization Samuel is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In the United States, we utilize E-Verify. Samuel Automation specializes in seamlessly integrating modern automation solutions into existing manufacturing environments, developing systems for new production needs and enhancing workflows with autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). We’ve helped improve safety, increase efficiency and reduce costs in a range of industries, including medical, automotive, manufacturing, consumer products and food and beverage, and we’re adding more every day.

What you’ll do

Provide senior technical guidance on complex mechanical design challenges, architecture decisions, and early feasibility and risk discussions. Improve design consistency and technical practices, mentor developing designers, and contribute mechanical expertise to cross-functional, customer-facing, and lifecycle engineering work.

Requirements

Requires a degree or diploma in mechanical, mechatronic, systems design, engineering physics, engineering science, or a related discipline, along with extensive experience in industrial automation, custom machine design, and complex system development. Candidates should have strong expertise in concept development, risk identification, machine architecture, and system integration; mentoring experience; proficiency with SolidWorks, PDM, and AutoCAD; and strong communication skills.

Listed skills

• Mentorship · Preferred
• SolidWorks · Preferred
• AutoCAD · Preferred

Other relevant skills

Identified from the job description. Confirm important requirements above.

• Mechanical Design
• Industrial Automation
• Custom Machine Design
• Concept Development
• Technical Risk Identification
• Machine Architecture
• System Integration
• Design Standardization
• Design for Manufacturability
• Safety and Reliability Review
• Mentorship
• SolidWorks
• PDM
• AutoCAD
• Systems Engineering
• Technical Communication
• Influencing Skills
• Influencing Without Authority
• People Management
• Workflow Management
• Technical Leadership
• Automation
• Automotive Manufacturing
• Decision Making
• SolidWorks (CAD)
• Engineering Support
• Experience Design
• Sales
• Machinery Design
• Operations
• Product Data Management
• Physics
• Risk Analysis
• Systems Integration
• Team Leadership
• Technological Change
• Verbal Communication Skills
• Requirements Specifications

Job areas

• Engineering
• Manufacturing
• Management & Leadership
• Technology
• Consulting
• Mechanical Design Specialist
• Mechanical Design Engineer
• Mechanical Engineers

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