We are seeking a Mechanical Engineer to join our rapidly growing team developing revolutionary hydrogen fuel cell products and infrastructure. You will play a key role in the integration of new technologies including hydrogen fuel cells and high-voltage, MW-scale electric motors for commercial aviation. You will be working within a tight-knit and multidisciplinary team to advance hydrogen infrastructure and hydrogen fuel cell power systems. 

About the Role

• Create CAD parts, assemblies, and drawings for our hydrogen fuel cell electric powertrain and its associated subsystems.
• Design jigs and fixtures to support ground and flight tests and support their manufacturing. 
• Engage with partners and suppliers on a regular basis to integrate their products into our digital mockups. 
• Participate in system and hardware design and safety reviews.

About You

• Passionate about sustainability and mitigating the impacts of climate change
• Demonstrated expertise with CAD software (Catia V5 preferred).
• Working knowledge of mechanical design principles and analysis (FEA).
• A focus on Design for Execution. 
• Experience prototyping and manufacturing components (e.g. you're comfortable holding a wrench) is a must.
• Ability to work in multidisciplinary teams and convey detailed technical concepts in a clear and concise manner.
• Flexibility and responsiveness in a fast-paced, dynamic, small team environment.

About Us

At Universal Hydrogen, our mission is to fuel carbon-free flight and reduce the climate impact of air travel. We are stitching together the end-to-end hydrogen value chain for aviation, both for hydrogen fuel and hydrogen-powered airplanes. We are building a transport and logistics network that moves hydrogen from production facilities to airports over the existing freight infrastructure, eliminating the need for costly new pipelines and storage facilities. Our system utilizes specialized capsules that safely store hydrogen during transit and also act as modular fuel tanks that load directly onto aircraft. We are also developing powertrain conversion kits to retrofit existing airplanes and enable new airplanes to fly on hydrogen. Founded by former executives from Airbus, United Technologies, Google, and DARPA, and backed by investors such as Playground Global, JetBlue, Toyota, and Airbus, we are convinced that hydrogen is the best and only scalable solution to truly decarbonize aviation, and we want to bring it to market decades sooner—by 2025.

We strive for a culture that is empowered, collaborative, open, and human-centered. We are driven by a sense of urgency to address climate change through the near-term decarbonization of commercial aviation. We recognize that people have a diverse set of preferences for work conditions and hours that optimize for their overall productivity and wellness, and both our cloud-based IT setup and flexible work policy reflects this. However, because we are building physical products, most roles will require working at our facility at Hawthorne Airport in Los Angeles most of the time.

Our compensation and benefits package promotes transparency, equitability, and long-term employee well-being, while rewarding individual and team performance. This includes cash bonuses and significant equity participation for all salaried employees, employer-paid health insurance coverage, generous parental leave, a pet-friendly headquarters located at Hawthorne Airport in Los Angeles, and generous paid time off. As a young company, we are actively working to expand the benefits we provide—including childcare, retirement, parental, and mental health benefits—and we’re always open to feedback on what’s most important to you. 

We know that no two candidates are the same, and we want to give you the opportunity to present yourself in the best way possible. Don’t hesitate to let us know how we can support a great recruitment process for you—whether that includes off-hours interview scheduling, captioning/transcription services, or other accommodations. We value diversity in all its forms, and encourage people from all backgrounds to apply, especially if you share in our mission to decarbonize air travel. 

 Please note that for the health and safety of our employees, we require all employees to provide proof of up-to-date COVID-19 vaccinations as recommended by the CDC (or a valid exemption).