Weird Mechanical Engineer

Company: Convectivecapital
Location: Palo Alto
Posted on: March 3, 2025

Job Description:

WindBorne Systems is supercharging weather models with a unique proprietary data source: a global constellation of next-generation smart weather balloons targeting the most critical atmospheric data. We design, manufacture, and operate our own balloons, using the data they collect to generate otherwise unattainable weather intelligence.Our mission is to eliminate weather uncertainty, and in the process help humanity adapt to climate change, be that predicting hurricanes or speeding the adoption of renewables. We are building a future in which the planet is instrumented by thousands of our microballoons, eliminating gaps in our understanding of the planet and giving people and businesses the information they need to make critical decisions. The founding team of Stanford engineers was named Forbes 2019 30 under 30 and is backed by top investors including Khosla Ventures.WindBorne is looking for a Weird Mechanical Engineer. What type of role is that? Well - balloons are an unconventional vehicle and we are looking for an unconventional engineer to help us build them! Many of the problems we encounter are unique to balloon systems, and there aren't standard off-the-shelf solutions to solve them. Mass is extremely tight and temperature ranges exceed most component ratings - many common requirements and constraints simply do not apply in our system, and many uncommon ones do.This role is for someone who would be bored by designing standard things and likes to push the envelope (the balloon envelope?) by looking for unexpected solutions that work surprisingly well. If you're the type to design mechanical assemblies using PCB stencil origami or find yourself repurposing McMaster catalog items in ways their creators never imagined, you might be our kind of weird. Engineering is 70% advanced online shopping, and the trick is to know when not to overengineer - sometimes the best solution is to buy your way out of it or solve it in software. Fundamentally, this role is about solving mechanical problems, not necessarily providing mechanical solutions.While you'll be pushing technical boundaries, this role also demands someone ready to roll up their sleeves and grind through the details. You'll work closely with our CTO and R&D engineers to not just design parts, but to design the entire manufacturing process that brings them to life. We believe scaling hardware is one of engineering's greatest challenges - that's why we design and manufacture everything from our balloon envelopes to our actuators and sensors in-house. It's not just about building the machine; it's about building the machine that builds the machine, and we need someone who can hold that entire system in their head while collaborating across the team to make it happen.Responsibilities

• Own various parts of our balloon system, working on/redesigning them to improve their performance and manufacturability
• Come up with, design and run various experiments for ideas that might improve our systems
• Identify manufacturing issues and design and implement solutions
• Interface with technicians to teach new procedures and toolsSkills and QualificationsRequired
  • Exceptional mechanical (and electro-mechanical) design intuition.
  • Proficiency in mechanical CAD and 3D modeling (we use SolidWorks)
  • Experience with rapid prototyping tools like 3D printing, laser cutting
  • Experience working with sensors/actuators
  • Basic proficiency with the Linux operating systems
  • Being the type of person who enjoys coming up with out of the box solutions to problems with seemingly obvious (but suboptimal) answersNice to have
    • Bachelor's degree or higher in an Engineering field such as Mechanical Engineering
    • Experience working with code (Python / C++)
    • Experience in transitioning hardware from prototype to production
    • Experience working with outside manufacturers and suppliers
    • Familiarity with standard electronic test equipment, including multimeters, oscilloscopes, and power supplies.
    • Magic wizard fingersLocationWindBorne Systems is based in Palo Alto, Calif. Our technology is invented, designed, and manufactured in the USA.
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Keywords: Convectivecapital, Palo Alto , Weird Mechanical Engineer, Engineering , Palo Alto, California