Job Description
Adaptive Innovations Corp. is an electro-mechanical engineering firm and system integrator located in Lakewood, CO. We design and build custom automation, robotics, tooling, test equipment, and other one-of-a-kind engineered systems for customers across a variety of industries.
We are seeking a Mechanical Engineer II to join our engineering team and take ownership of the design and implementation of mechanical systems and subsystems used in custom automation equipment.
This is not a position where you will spend your entire day designing behind a computer. Our engineers are involved throughout the life of a project—from concept development and detailed design through procurement, assembly, integration, debugging, Factory Acceptance Testing, and installation at the customer's facility.
If you enjoy designing machines, solving problems, working directly with hardware, and seeing something you designed become a working piece of equipment, this may be a great fit.
What You'll Work On
Projects at Adaptive change constantly and may include:
- Custom automated machinery and assembly systems
- Industrial robotics and robotic end-of-arm tooling
- Automated material and product handling
- Automated test equipment
- Custom mechanisms and motion systems
- Pneumatic and servo-driven equipment
- Precision fixtures and tooling
- HALT/HASS and ESS fixturing
- Prototype and proof-of-concept equipment
- Electro-mechanical systems for aerospace, medical device, automotive, consumer, and general industrial applications
Because most of our equipment is custom, you will regularly encounter problems that don't already have an established solution.
That's part of the job—and part of what makes it interesting.
Responsibilities
As a Mechanical Engineer II, you will have meaningful ownership of your assigned designs while working with senior engineers and the broader project team as needed.
Typical responsibilities include:
- Own the mechanical design of moderate-complexity mechanisms, assemblies, and machine subsystems.
- Develop concepts and convert them into functional, manufacturable mechanical designs.
- Create production-ready 3D models, drawings, and engineering documentation using SolidWorks.
- Apply appropriate fits, tolerances, materials, manufacturing processes, and mechanical design practices.
- Perform engineering calculations and analysis necessary to support design decisions.
- Select mechanical components based on performance, cost, availability, reliability, and project requirements.
- Generate and maintain bills of materials.
- Work with vendors and support quoting, sourcing, and procurement of custom and off-the-shelf components.
- Review drawing and design packages for completeness, accuracy, and manufacturability.
- Participate actively in peer design reviews and provide constructive technical feedback.
- Identify design risks, integration challenges, and potential failure modes early in the design process.
- Coordinate mechanical designs with Controls, Electrical, Manufacturing, Assembly, and Project Management.
- Work directly with technicians and assemblers during equipment fabrication and integration.
- Support machine assembly, fit-up, modification, and mechanical integration.
- Troubleshoot mechanical problems involving motion, alignment, tolerances, vibration, component failure, and system performance.
- Participate in equipment debugging, testing, and Factory Acceptance Testing.
- Participate in customer design and technical review meetings.
- Travel to customer facilities for equipment installation, commissioning, troubleshooting, and occasional project meetings.
- Document design changes and incorporate lessons learned into future equipment.
What We're Looking For
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related engineering field.
- Typically 5–10 years of relevant mechanical engineering experience.
- MUST BE A U.S. CITIZEN.
- Proficiency with SolidWorks.
- Demonstrated experience designing mechanical components, mechanisms, or assemblies.
- Ability to independently produce accurate, production-ready engineering drawings.
- Understanding of manufacturing processes, fits, tolerances, materials, and mechanical hardware.
- Ability to translate functional requirements into practical mechanical designs.
- Strong mechanical problem-solving and troubleshooting ability.
- Comfortable working both at a computer and directly with equipment on the shop floor.
- Ability to communicate effectively with engineers, technicians, vendors, customers, and other project stakeholders.
- Ability and willingness to travel as required for customer meetings, installation, and commissioning. Travel is generally less than 20% and typically no more than approximately 10 weeks per year.
Experience We'd Particularly Value
Experience in one or more of the following is beneficial:
- Custom machinery or automation
- Industrial robotics
- Machine design
- Pneumatics
- Servo and motion systems
- Robot end-of-arm tooling
- Automated assembly equipment
- Fixtures and tooling
- Equipment integration and commissioning
- Design for machining, sheet metal, weldments, and fabricated assemblies
- Mechanical troubleshooting and root-cause analysis
You do not need experience in every one of these areas. We're more interested in engineers with strong fundamentals, good mechanical judgment, and the ability and desire to learn.
How We Define a Mechanical Engineer II
At Adaptive, engineering advancement isn't based simply on years of service or how busy someone is. It comes from demonstrating increasing technical capability, judgment, ownership, and influence.
A successful Mechanical Engineer II is someone who can:
- Independently own complete mechanisms and assemblies.
- Produce robust and manufacturable designs with limited supervision.
- Recognize common design and integration risks before they become problems.
- Make sound engineering decisions within their area of responsibility.
- Troubleshoot mechanical problems systematically.
- Take responsibility for the quality of their designs.
- Collaborate effectively across engineering, manufacturing, and assembly.
- Ask for technical guidance when appropriate without requiring day-to-day direction.
The natural next step from this position is Senior Mechanical Engineer, where engineers begin owning larger systems, handling increasingly ambiguous problems, leading technical decisions, and mentoring other engineers.
What Adaptive Innovations Offers
- Salary Range: $75,000–$90,000 per year, depending on experience, skills, and demonstrated capability.
- 9/80 Work Schedule: Work nine-hour days Monday through Thursday, an eight-hour Friday, and enjoy every other Friday off.
- Flexible Scheduling: Flexibility in start and end times around our core working hours of 9:00 AM–4:00 PM.
- Vacation and personal leave.
- Paid holidays.
- Health and dental benefits.
- Life and AD&D insurance.
- A creative, hands-on engineering environment where you can see your designs become real equipment.
- Exposure to a wide variety of industries, technologies, and engineering challenges.
- On-the-job engineering development and mentorship.
- Educational and technical training opportunities through internal and external training partners.
- Opportunities to work with robotics, automation, machine vision, sensors, motion systems, manufacturing technologies, and other advanced equipment.
- A defined engineering career path with opportunities for advancement into Senior, Staff, Lead, and Principal engineering roles.
Why Adaptive?
If you're looking for a job where you design the same product year after year, this probably isn't it.
Our work is custom. Every project brings a different application, different constraints, and usually a few problems nobody has solved yet.
You'll have the opportunity to take an idea from a blank screen in SolidWorks through fabrication, assembly, debugging, and ultimately to a working machine on a customer's production floor.
You'll also work directly with the people building and programming your designs. That feedback loop makes our engineers better engineers—and makes the equipment better.
Our company values describe the kind of team we're trying to build:
We make great equipment.
We like the challenge; we'll figure it out.
We have fun—best job ever.
We do it together.
We respect our customer and protect their interests.
If those ideas sound like the kind of engineering environment you're looking for, we'd like to hear from you.
To Apply
Please submit your resume and any relevant project or portfolio information to [email protected].
Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.
Pay: $75,000.00 - $90,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Flexible schedule
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
Work Location: In person
