Product Design Engineer (Early Career)

San Mateo · USD 132,000-175,000 / year · 0-3 years experience · Full-time · Hybrid · Posted Oct 15, 2026

At a glance

Skydio's mechanical systems are the backbone of reliable autonomous flight, requiring world-class engineering and attention to detail.
You will help architect, develop, and refine the structures, mechanisms, and solutions that bring autonomous flight to a broad audience in a highly collaborative environment.

Design mechanical parts and assemblies for our aircraft, ground stations, and accessories, working alongside senior engineers on new architectures and taking ownership of components as you grow.
Partner with electrical engineers to integrate custom PCBAs, flex circuits, antennas, and cable harnesses into mechanical designs.
Work with vendors on technical questions and part reviews, in collaboration with our operations and supply chain teams.
Plan and run engineering tests, and use analysis to evaluate design trade-offs and verify that your parts perform as intended.
Follow your designs through the full development cycle, from early prototypes to pre-production and mass production, and help our manufacturing teams with assembly processes and quality and inspection criteria.
Investigate and debug failures, digging into the details to find root causes.

Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering or a related field (or graduating soon).
0-3 years of hands-on product or hardware experience through internships, co-ops, student design teams (e.g., Formula SAE, robotics, rocketry), research, or personal projects.
Strong engineering fundamentals and the ability to use them to solve open-ended design problems.
Proficiency in 3D CAD (CATIA, SolidWorks, NX, Creo, or similar), including building multi-part assemblies.
Familiarity with common manufacturing processes such as injection molding, CNC machining, casting, or sheet metal, and how they affect design decisions.
Ability to create clear mechanical drawings, or eagerness to build this skill with mentorship.
Curiosity, attention to detail, and a love of well-designed hardware.
A collaborative mindset and comfort working in a fast-paced environment where priorities shift.

Experience with CATIA specifically.
Exposure to GD&T, tolerance analysis, or FEA.
Experience with composites or electromechanical systems (drones, consumer electronics, robotics, etc.).
Experience rapidly prototyping with 3D printing, machine shop tools, or similar.

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