The opportunity

Air-Vac Engineering designs and builds SMT rework and desoldering equipment used in real production environments—where reliability, repeatability, and thoughtful mechanical design matter.

We’re hiring a Senior Mechanical Engineer who wants to be hands-on and lead: someone who enjoys moving fast, taking smart risks, and helping build a fun, high-accountability engineering culture.

What you’ll doPhase 1: Deliver + learn the product line (first ~6 months)

● Own mechanical design work across active machines and customer application projects (from concept through release).

● Get fully fluent in our current SMT rework/desoldering platforms: assemblies, serviceability, thermal considerations, fixturing, and manufacturability.

● Improve existing designs for repeatable performance, ease of assembly, and field service.

● Create/maintain clear SolidWorks models, drawings, and BOMs that manufacturing can build from confidently.

Phase 2: Architect the next generation (after ramp)

● Lead the mechanical architecture of a new modular series of machines

● Define mechanical standards and best practices (part libraries, drawing standards, tolerance strategy, design reviews).

● Prototype, test, iterate, and drive designs to production.

● Help build the team over time: mentor, support hiring, and raise the bar for engineering execution.

● Join customer conversations as needed to clarify requirements and translate specific applications into robust designs.

What success looks like

● Projects move from design to build to release with visible momentum and strong quality.

● Manufacturing and service teams have clean documentation and stable designs to work with.

● A clear modular platform roadmap exists—and the first next-gen modules are in development.

● You’ve become a technical leader others trust for decisions, standards, and coaching.

Requirements

● Mechanical engineering experience designing machines or equipment that must be reliable, serviceable, and production-ready.

● Proficiency in SolidWorks (models, assemblies, drawings, BOMs; comfortable managing revisions).

● Strong ownership mindset: you can take an ambiguous problem and turn it into a shipped solution.

● Clear communicator who can collaborate across engineering, manufacturing, and occasional customer-facing discussions.

Nice to have

● Experience with automation-adjacent systems (fixtures, sensors, pneumatics, motion components).

● Experience designing modular product platforms.

● Exposure to machine vision integration (mechanical integration considerations).

● Experience in SMT, electronics manufacturing, or rework processes.

The culture we’re building

● Fun and energized — we like working hard with people we enjoy

● Hands-on and curious — we test, learn, and iterate

● Bold but thoughtful — we take smart risks and own outcomes

● High trust, high accountability — we do what we say we’ll do

Benefits

● 401(k) plan

● Health insurance

● Paid time off (PTO)

How to apply

Send your resume and a short note covering the following to Terri.Popp@air-vac-eng.com:

● A machine or product you designed that you’re proud of (what you owned, what shipped)

● A time you took a calculated risk that improved the outcome

● What you’d want to build if you had the runway and authority to design a new platform

Pay: $95,000.00 - $125,000.00 per year

Benefits:

401(k)
Health insurance
Paid time off

Experience:

machine design engineering: 5 years (Required)

Ability to Commute:

Seymour, CT 06483 (Required)

Work Location: In person

Air-Vac Engineering Co.

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Senior Mechanical Engineer (SMT Rework & Desoldering Machines)