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Salary: USD 115,000 - 210,000 / annual
Antora Energy is building thermal battery systems that convert low-cost electricity into always-on heat and power for industry, data centers, and the grid. The company's thermophotovoltaic (TPV) technology avoids supply-constrained critical minerals and long construction timelines.
You will own the mechanical design, sourcing, and manufacturing of structural and thermal hardware for Antora's TPV modules. Your role bridges R&D and production: you will design and prototype next-generation TPV assemblies (large extruded aluminum cold plates with removable TPV modules on direct bonded copper substrates), then carry each generation into reliable, low-cost production.
Key responsibilities include:
- Own mechanical design of TPV hardware from concept through production release
- Design, prototype, and test next-generation TPV assemblies including cold plates and reversible module attachments
- Frame thermal simulation requests and run first-order thermal models to screen design options
- Produce release-ready detailed drawings with GD&T and tolerance stack-ups
- Build and manage the supplier base (machine shops, extruders, fabricators): run RFQs, evaluate capability and cost, manage lead times, conduct first-article inspection
- Drive DFM/DFA and cost reduction: own the BOM and cost model, reduce part count and assembly steps
- Execute hands-on prototyping, assembly, and fixture design
- Plan and run thermal, pressure, leak, and reliability tests to qualify designs
- Carry hardware into production including sourcing, qualification, and continuous improvement
- Document designs, assembly procedures, and inspection criteria for repeatable manufacturing
- Use AI tools (Claude, ChatGPT, etc.) throughout: supplier packages, cost models, analysis scripts, thermal models
- Partner with architecture lead, thermal engineers, electrical engineers, and test team across R&D facility
This is an individual contributor role with significant technical ownership and cross-functional leadership, but no direct reports.
REQUIREMENTS:
- 5+ years of professional mechanical engineering experience, including hardware carried from prototype into production
- Deep, practical knowledge of manufacturing processes: CNC machining, extrusion, brazing, welding, sheet metal; understanding of cost, lead time, and yield drivers
- Extensive direct work with machine shops, fabricators, and contract manufacturers: RFQs, supplier selection, first-article inspection, quality issue resolution
- Expert-level proficiency in release-ready detailed drawings, GD&T, and tolerance stack-up analysis
- Proficiency in 3D CAD and PDM/PLM release workflows
- Hands-on builder: comfortable assembling, fixturing, and testing prototypes
- Experience designing liquid-cooled or thermally loaded hardware (cold plates, heat exchangers, seals, fluid fittings, thermal interface materials)
- Experience working with thermal analysts: framing questions, specifying inputs and boundary conditions, critically interpreting simulation results
- Clear written and verbal communication; experience leading design reviews across mechanical, thermal, electrical, and test disciplines
- Fluent with Claude, ChatGPT, or similar AI tools in day-to-day engineering work
- BS, MS, or Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering or related field
- Ability to work onsite
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Power electronics or semiconductor module packaging (DBC/AMB substrates, baseplates, direct-cooled modules, EV traction inverters)
- Vacuum or controlled-atmosphere hardware experience
- Reliability and qualification testing (thermal cycling, pressure/leak testing, failure analysis)
- Structural FEA for design checks (clamping, flatness, thermal stress)
- Cost-down and production ramp experience at startup or scaling manufacturer
- Background in photovoltaics, energy conversion, or energy hardware
