Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering or related field
5+ years in rotordynamics or bearing/seal design for high-speed machinery
Hands-on experience with rotordynamics software (e.g., ANSYS, MADYN)
Strong fundamentals in vibrations, structural dynamics, and tribology
Proficient in CAD software (e.g., SolidWorks, NX)
Experience from analysis through to hardware testing and balancing
Ability to interpret vibration test data and update models accordingly
Responsibilities
Conduct rotordynamic analysis of high-speed turbomachinery
Build and refine rotor-bearing-seal models using test data
Design and size bearing systems, predicting stiffness and load capacity
Create detailed CAD models and drawings of rotor components
Collaborate with aerodynamic engineers on rotor packaging
Define rotor balancing requirements and assembly procedures
Specify vibration instrumentation and set alarm limits
Support various testing phases and diagnose vibration issues
Work with suppliers on component fabrication and inspection
Establish rotordynamics design standards and review practices
Benefits
Own a critical subsystem impacting machine performance
Engage in hands-on work across analysis, CAD, and testing
Collaborate directly with founding team and experienced engineers
Join at a pivotal stage of hardware development
Receive meaningful equity ownership
Enjoy company-sponsored medical, dental, and vision insurance
Access a fully stocked kitchen with snacks and meals
Full Job Description
Rotordynamics Engineer - Own the Rotor, Bearing, and Seal System Behind Next-Generation Power Hardware
El Segundo, California | On-site
Opportunity Summary
Join a well-funded, seed-stage energy hardware company building compact, megawatt-scale power systems for fast-growing industrial and compute infrastructure. Hardware is being assembled and tested in a new El Segundo facility, and the team is moving toward full-scale system demonstration. As Rotordynamics Engineer, you will own how the high-speed rotating machinery behaves dynamically, and you will carry that work into the mechanical design of the bearings, seals, and shafts that make the rotor work. This is not an analysis-only seat. You will build the models, put the design in CAD, help build and balance the rotor, and correlate your predictions to test data on real hardware.
Job Duties
Own rotordynamic analysis of high-speed turbomachinery, including lateral and torsional critical speeds, Campbell diagrams, mode shapes, unbalance response, and stability margins across startup, steady-state, transient, and shutdown conditions
Build, maintain, and refine rotor-bearing-seal models, and update them using test data
Select, size, and design bearing systems, including gas foil, hydrodynamic, tilting-pad, rolling-element, or magnetic bearings as the architecture requires, and predict their stiffness, damping, and load capacity
Design shaft seals and quantify leakage and seal-induced forces that affect rotor stability
Create detailed CAD models and drawings of rotors, shafts, couplings, bearing housings, seal hardware, and thrust-management features, including fits, tolerance stack-ups, and GD&T
Partner with aerodynamic and turbomachinery engineers on wheel and impeller attachment, axial thrust balance, and rotor packaging
Define balancing requirements, runout specifications, and assembly procedures for rotor builds
Specify vibration instrumentation (proximity probes, accelerometers, speed and phase references, bearing temperatures), and work with controls engineers to set alarm and trip limits
Support spin testing, rig testing, and full-system testing, and use orbit, waterfall, and Bode data to diagnose and fix vibration issues
Work with suppliers on fabrication, inspection, and balancing of bearings, seals, and rotor components
Establish rotordynamics design standards, analysis methods, and design review practices as the company grows
Contribute to broader turbomachinery mechanical design, assembly, and test work as program needs change
Qualifications
Bachelor's degree or higher in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field
5+ years of experience in rotordynamics and/or bearing and seal design for high-speed rotating machinery such as gas turbines, compressors, turbopumps, turboexpanders, turbochargers, microturbines, or high-speed motors and generators
Hands-on experience with rotordynamics software such as XLTRC², DyRoBeS, ARMD, MADYN, ANSYS, or similar
Strong fundamentals in vibrations, structural dynamics, tribology, and fluid-film or gas lubrication
Ability to build detailed CAD models and drawings yourself in Onshape, NX, Creo, SolidWorks, CATIA, or similar
Experience taking rotating hardware from analysis through build, balance, and test
Experience reading vibration test data and updating models to match it
Strong technical communication and comfort working with a lot of ownership on a small, hands-on team
Preferred Experience
Gas foil bearings or other oil-free bearing systems
Supercritical CO₂, real-gas, or high-pressure dense-fluid turbomachinery
Labyrinth, brush, or dry gas seals, including seal rotordynamic coefficients
High-speed integrated permanent-magnet motor or generator rotors
Familiarity with API 617 and API 684 rotordynamic practices
Rotor assembly, balance machine, or spin pit experience
Graduate research in rotordynamics, tribology, or turbomachinery
FEA of rotating components, including stress, fits, and thermal growth
Early-stage startup or rapid hardware development experience
Why Join Us
Own a technically critical subsystem that directly sets machine reliability, speed, and performance
Work across analysis, CAD, hardware, and test instead of working only as an analyst
Work directly with the founding team and experienced turbomachinery engineers
Join at the point where first-of-its-kind hardware is moving into larger systems and customer deployment
Meaningful equity ownership
Company-sponsored medical, dental, and vision insurance
Fully stocked kitchen with snacks, coffee, and lunch
