Mercor
Mechanical Engineer - Simulation Specialist
San Francisco, California, US
Role snapshot
Mercor is hiring a Mechanical Engineer - Simulation Specialist on a full-time basis. This is a role based in San Francisco, California, US.
- Company
- Mercor
- Location
- San Francisco, California, US
- Job type
- Full-time
- Experience
- 5+ years
- Posted
- Nov 7, 2026
Who this role suits
Practitioners with a few years behind them who can work independently, make trade-offs and help newer teammates.
How to prepare your application
- Prepare examples of decisions you drove, how you measured the result, and how you worked with other teams.
- Be ready to discuss trade-offs and scope, not only the tools you have used.
- Read what Mercor publishes about its product or team, so you can say clearly why this role and this company.
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About the role
About the job
Mercor connects elite creative and technical talent with leading AI research labs. Headquartered in San Francisco, our investors include Benchmark, General Catalyst, Peter Thiel, Adam D'Angelo, Larry Summers, and Jack Dorsey.
Position: Mechanical Engineering & Simulation Expert — Hephaestus
Type: Contract
Compensation: $70–$90/hour
Location: Remote
Role Responsibilities
- Create realistic engineering problems with native geometry, assemblies, materials, loads, boundary conditions, and design requirements.
- Build and debug analysis models in areas such as stress and deformation, thermal behavior, vibration, or fluid flow. Assess mesh quality, convergence, sensitivity, and physical consistency for simulation tasks.
- Produce reference solutions and reproducible CAD, FEA, or CFD workflows using tools like SolidWorks, FreeCAD, CATIA, ANSYS, CalculiX, OpenFOAM, or equivalents.
- Define checks for dimensions, assembly relationships, mass properties, manufacturability, stress, displacement, temperature, pressure drop, or other relevant outputs. Apply numerical checks, artifact inspection, and engineering judgment where appropriate.
- Package native files, solver settings, scripts, and results. Document assumptions and limitations for reproducibility.
- Validate reference outcomes and incorrect cases. Review AI-generated artifacts and diagnose failures from design, model setup, numerical method, or verification logic.
Qualifications
Must-Have
- 5+ years of professional mechanical engineering experience with direct ownership of product designs, engineering analysis, manufacturing processes, or validation.
- Recent hands-on depth in one or more relevant CAD, FEA, CFD, or thermal-analysis workflows.
- Ability to automate analysis or inspect results using Python, MATLAB, shell scripts, or comparable tools.
- Strong judgment about model fidelity, material behavior, boundary conditions, numerical convergence, and physical plausibility.
- Clear technical communication and a disciplined approach to reproducible engineering work.
Preferred
- A professional engineering credential.
- Prior test automation, design documentation, or engineering-training experience.
Application Process (Takes 20–30 mins to complete)
- Upload resume
- AI interview based on your resume
- Submit form
Resources & Support
- For details about the interview process and platform information, please check: https://talent.docs.mercor.com/welcome
- For any help or support, reach out to: [email protected]
PS: Our team reviews applications daily. Please complete your AI interview and application steps to be considered for this opportunity.