Temporary Mechanical Engineer

unspun is a robotics and digital apparel company building custom jeans for each consumer, on demand. Our mission is to reduce global carbon emissions by 1% through automated, localized, and intentional manufacturing.
We are looking for a passionate Mechanical Engineer Intern to join our team for a 3-4 month contract starting early May. In this role, you will design, build, and test a complex electro-mechanical unweaving system. We’re looking for someone with experience and interest in mechanical and robotic systems and someone who is excited about joining a Series-A startup.
What We’re Building:
We’ve developed a proprietary and patent-pending technology at the crossroads of 3D printing and automated textile manufacturing. By skipping the flat 2D fabric stage, we can additively build custom apparel products from the ground up- straight from yarn to final product. If 3D printing, industrial automation, and synchronized systems of thousands of actuators gets you excited, we’d love to talk!
About you:
You enjoy working on fast-paced and early-stage mechanical design. You have experience in designing and evaluating mechanical systems. You thrive on the lack of clear answers at the outset of ambitious projects, and look forward to finding clarity and articulating it to others. You are energized by working on hard problems within an evolving R&D environment.

You Will:
• Develop a first of its kind electro-mechanical yarn recovery system to be a critical stage in the life cycle of unspun’s proprietary woven outputs
• Work cross-functionally with a team of engineers and product leads to understand system requirements
• Design mechanical parts in Onshape and fabricate them using onsite 3D printers and external vendors
• Optimize system performance through rapid prototyping, testing, and iteration
• Conduct experiments to assess machine capabilities and limitations
• Generate a list of next step recommendations to bring the design closer to a production-grade system
• Write and maintain documentation for internal communication and record keeping
Requirements
You Have:
• BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering
• Experience with mechatronics, motor controllers, actuators, or sensors
• CAD experience (Onshape preferred)
• Familiarity with various testing methodologies and running hands-on experiments
• Hands-on experience working with machinery or mechanical devices
• Experience operating experimental measurement equipment and instrumentation
• Experience using basic physics and mechanical engineering analysis for part and system design
• Experience in the areas of design for manufacturing (e.g. sheet metal, injection molding, die casting, extrusions)
• English verbal and written communication skills
• Good attention to detail
• US citizenship or ability to work as a W2 employee (Visa sponsorship not available)

Bonus Points:
• Experience working with microcontrollers (e.g. Arduinos)
• Experience working with textiles, weaving yarn, thread
• Experience working on fast-paced early stage R&D projects
• Experience working with vendors
Benefits
Pay: $65/hour
Tentative schedule: May - August