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
