Mechanical Engineer / Project Manager

About the role

Acorn is seeking a hands‑on Mechanical Engineer who will also act as a Project Manager, serving as the single point of contact for clients on technical, budget, and schedule matters. The role is based in Milpitas, CA, and supports multidisciplinary product development across robotics, consumer, life‑science, and industrial domains.

Key responsibilities

• Mentor junior engineers and provide technical leadership across multiple projects.
• Develop and maintain accurate project plans, proposals, and budgets.
• Collaborate with ID/UX/UI and electrical engineering teams to refine product designs.
• Perform mechanical analyses (tolerance, FEA/CFD, fluidics, heat transfer, shock & vibration).
• Create detailed designs, documentation, and production release packages.
• Interface with vendors for prototyping, tooling, and production.
• Test and evaluate prototypes, tooling, and first‑article parts.
• Prepare project and technical reports for internal and client review.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering (MSME preferred).
• 3+ years of hands‑on engineering design and development experience.
• Proven success developing products in robotics, life sciences, consumer, networking, or automated hardware systems.
• Experience managing complex electromechanical products from concept to production.
• Strong client‑facing and communication skills.

Required skills

• SolidWorks (Creo a plus).
• Design of injection‑molded, sheet‑metal, and machined components.
• Tolerance analysis.
• Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and/or Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).
• Fluidics design.
• Heat‑transfer analysis.
• Shock and vibration analysis.

What we offer

• Competitive salary range $130k‑$175k per year.
• Comprehensive benefits: medical, dental, vision, life, disability, 401k, HSA/FSA.
• Paid time off and company events.
• Opportunities to work on cutting‑edge products for Fortune 100/500 companies and innovative start‑ups.