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Job Description

Overview

My client is an early-stage defense technology startup in Hawthorne, CA, focused on developing a scalable directed energy system to defend against drone attacks. The company values urgency and hands-on engineering, providing engineers with real ownership of hardware.

Responsibilities

  • Spend time in CAD designing sheet metal and CNC-machined parts.
  • Design mechanical housings and structures for high-power RF components within the first 60 days.
  • Build an electromechanical robotic gimbal system for the directed energy system.
  • Work on-site in a lab with power electronics and RF equipment, collaborating with RF and electrical engineers.
  • Own designs from concept through fabrication as one of the company's first mechanical engineers.

Requirements

  • 2 - 7 years of experience as a mechanical engineer.
  • Hands-on experience with RF components and systems.
  • Experience working on robotic electromechanical systems, preferably gimbal systems.
  • Demonstrated hands-on experience with sheet metal and CNC machined parts.
  • CAD design experience with sheet metal and CNC machined components.
  • US citizenship or permanent residency (Green Card) for ITAR compliance, with no visa sponsorship.
  • Background in embedded systems.
  • Degree in mechanical engineering.
  • Experience with hydraulics and thermals.
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How this job compares in Hawthorne, CA

Pay in context

At roughly $106/hr, this posting sits about 202% above the $35/hr median for welding jobs in Hawthorne, CA — toward the top of a $31–$60/hr middle band drawn from 43 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 100% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. Pay that far above local median usually comes attached to something: a harder cert requirement, travel, night shift, or overtime that isn't really optional. Worth establishing which before you accept.

The local market in Hawthorne, CA

We're tracking 44 other active welding openings in Hawthorne, CA right now, from 6 different employers. 21 of them were added in the last week. Across California as a whole we're tracking 586 other active welding openings from 266 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Hawthorne, or widen the search to California.

The most active employers in California at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are SpaceX (37), Relativity Space (22), and Welding Shop in Los Angeles, CA (18). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within California, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Redondo Beach at $65/hr, Pasadena at $61/hr, and Santa Ana at $48/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

Similar openings near Hawthorne, CA

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Mechanical Design Engineer figures were last recalculated when this page was built.