Staff Mechanical Component Engineer - USA - CA - San Jose (Ridder), United States

Originally posted 6 October 2026 by the employer.

About the role

This role is responsible for the selection, qualification, approval, lifecycle management, and reliability oversight of mechanical components used in optical, telecom, datacom, and electronic products.

What you'll do

• Collaborate with Engineering and Supplier Quality to drive manufacturability into mechanical component design and selection.
• Own Component Engineering activities for mechanical components, including technical requirements, selection, qualification, lifecycle management, reliability, and engineering change assessment.
• Define and review component specifications, drawings, CTQs, tolerances, and acceptance criteria to ensure robust and manufacturable designs.
• Lead technical qualification of new and alternate mechanical components, including dimensional, material, functional, environmental, and reliability validation.
• Assess mechanical component performance, materials, manufacturing processes, tolerance stack-ups, and reliability risks throughout the product lifecycle.
• Lead technical problem-solving and failure analysis for component-related issues, partnering with Supplier Quality on supplier corrective actions.

What you'll need

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Five or more years of experience in mechanical component engineering, mechanical design, supplier quality, or manufacturing engineering.
• Strong knowledge of mechanical components, materials, and manufacturing processes used in precision electromechanical, electronic, or optical products.
• Experience interpreting mechanical drawings, specifications, material standards, and inspection reports.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes such as machining, stamping, molding, casting, extrusion, plating, surface finishing, and mechanical assembly.
• Working knowledge of tolerance analysis, dimensional control, metrology, and root-cause analysis.

Nice to have

• Experience with optical communication, telecom, datacom, photonics, electronics, aerospace, or medical products.
• Experience with precision mechanical components, tight-tolerance assemblies, and mechanical interfaces used in optical or electronic products.
• Experience with 3D CAD tools such as Creo, SolidWorks, or CATIA.
• Experience with GD&T standards such as ASME Y14.5.
• Experience with dimensional and mechanical characterization methods, including CMM, surface-finish measurement, and coating/thickness measurement.
• Experience with component lifecycle and engineering change management, including PCNs, EOLs, engineering changes, and alternate-component qualification.
• Familiarity with applicable mechanical, material, reliability, and industry standards.
• Experience with thermal management, thermal interface materials, and thermal-mechanical design.