Senior Mechanical Designer - POP

Job Description

ROLE SUMMARY:

As a Mechanical Designer in the Proof of Principle Execution team, you will collaborate with a multi-disciplinary group to anticipate, identify, and mitigate technical and process risks. Your work will focus on understanding and defining requirements, and applying a systematic approach to problem-solving to ensure solutions meet customer performance specifications.

We’re looking for a creative thinker—someone who can approach challenges from fresh angles while staying grounded in practical engineering. You should be able to grasp the fundamentals of a problem quickly and develop effective, innovative solutions that are both functional and forward-thinking.

Duties include generating innovative concepts, designing and validating prototypes to meet performance and functional goals. While the primary focus of this role is Mechanical Design, successful solutions often require a multi-disciplinary approach that integrates mechanics, electronics, and software. The ideal candidate will demonstrate a strong blend of technical depth and creative problem-solving, with the ability to approach challenges from both practical and unconventional perspectives.

Responsibilities include:

• Generate concepts to solve new customer mechatronic problems/needs.
• Perform engineering calculations to validate new concepts.
• Generate detailed designs for prototypes ensuring all purchased and manufactured parts meet acceptable cost/performance/delivery.
• Attend assigned Project Kick-Off meetings (PKO), review scope of work, budget and schedule.
• Participate and lead in defining the requirements and concepts for Proof of Principle (POP) projects ensuring an “outside the box” approach, avoiding limitations normal in operations projects.
• Lead technical evaluations of technologies in their area of expertise.
• Sign-off on project designs, go/no-go and pivot decisions for POP execution.
• Perform rework efficiently to ensure minimal impact to budget and schedule.
• Be hands-on and support the team in building prototypes.
• Contribute to test plans for prototypes and either execute the test plan or support others that are performing the test plan.
• Support Applications and Operations during concept development and customer-facing interactions.
• Support creation of labour, material and execution plans for POP projects.
• Lead or participate in design reviews with internal/external customers, vendors, and internal design groups.
• Ensure that all business activities are performed with the highest ethical standards and in compliance with the ATS Code of Business Conduct.
• Maintain a 5S environment.
• Travel to support POP execution.
• These responsibilities are subject to change as assigned.

Qualifications

Skills include:

• Skilled at producing effective mechanical designs within accelerated development cycle.
• Able to deal with a high degree unknowns up front as challenges are often being solved for the first time.
• Adapt quickly to new learnings from prototypes and incorporate findings into design solutions.
• Strong ability to get to root cause of customer problems and deliver innovative solutions.
• Team player able to communicate effectively in status meetings, perform design reviews, and contribute to solving challenging problems.
• Strong communication skills and demonstrated ability to document and explain solutions
• Thorough knowledge of drafting principles, proficient in SolidWorks and AutoCAD.
• Strong ability to conceptualize and create solutions for complex design requirements.
• Working knowledge of common machine shop techniques.
• Demonstrate comfort in: materials, precision, GD&T, FEA and thermal.
• Familiarity in control systems, electrical designs, electronics and magnetics.
• A self-starter with the ability to work as part of a team in a fast-paced environment with minimal supervision.
• Continuous improvement mindset.

Education:

• A post-secondary engineering degree or diploma in Mechanical, Mechatronics, Systems Design or equivalent.

Experience:

• A minimum of 7+ years’ Mechanical Design experience.
• A minimum of 3+ years supporting or managing complex projects.