Mechanical Engineer II

Job Description
BAE Systems is seeking for a Mechanical Engineer to support the design, integration, qualification, and sustainment of the AN/SPN-50 Shipboard Air Traffic Control (ATC) Radar System. This role will contribute to a mission-critical shipboard radar capability used to support aircraft sequencing and separation, airspace identification, safety alerts, weather processing, and landing guidance for naval aviation operations.
The ideal candidate will apply mechanical engineering principles across thermal management, liquid cooling, environmental and structural dynamics, shipboard structural integration, high-precision kinematics, drive mechanisms, and multi-disciplinary digital engineering workflows. The engineer will work closely with systems, electrical, RF, software, manufacturing, test, and naval integration teams to deliver rugged, reliable, maintainable hardware for demanding maritime environments.
This position includes a mix of office-based engineering, laboratory integration, supplier coordination, production support, environmental testing, and occasional shipboard or customer-site activities. The role requires work in controlled test environments and participation in technical reviews with government, prime contractor, supplier, and cross-functional engineering teams.
The successful candidate is a detail-oriented mechanical engineer who can move efficiently between design, analysis, integration, and test. They are comfortable solving problems at the intersection of thermal performance, structural durability, shipboard constraints, precision motion, maintainability, and digital engineering rigor. They bring practical engineering judgment, a collaborative mindset, and a commitment to delivering reliable capabilities for naval aviation operations.
The work environment is a rapid development environment as part of a multi-disciplinary team of engineers who designs, develops, evaluates, verifies, and provides in-service engineering support for the Navy's Aircraft Launch and Recovery system. This position may require travel in support of system product installation, system operation verification and testing, and certification.
Key Responsibilities

• Develop mechanical designs for radar system assemblies, enclosures, support structures, cooling interfaces, precision mechanisms, drive assemblies, installation hardware, and shipboard integration features.
• Design and evaluate advanced thermal management and liquid cooling solutions, including cold plates, manifolds, heat exchangers, seals, fittings, thermal interfaces, serviceable cooling components, fluid routing, pressure drop, flow balancing, and leak mitigation.
• Perform and interpret thermal, structural, vibration, shock, modal, fatigue, and environmental analyses to support design trades, qualification planning, risk reduction, and design verification.
• Support shipboard structural integration by assessing topside mounting concepts, ship interface loads, weight and center-of-gravity impacts, access envelopes, maintenance clearances, corrosion considerations, cable routing, fluid routing, and installation constraints.
• Design and evaluate precision kinematic systems, bearings, gear trains, motors, actuators, encoders, alignment features, lubrication approaches, backlash controls, and drive mechanics for radar positioning, motion control, and stabilization functions.
• Apply digital engineering tools to create, manage, and validate mechanical models, drawings, requirements traceability, simulation results, interface data, configuration information, and product lifecycle artifacts.
• Lead or contribute to mechanical trade studies that balance thermal performance, structural durability, topside constraints, packaging, manufacturability, maintainability, reliability, cost, and schedule.
• Prepare and review engineering documentation, including CAD models, production drawings, interface control documents, bills of material, analysis reports, test procedures, change packages, and technical review materials.
• Support design reviews, risk assessments, root cause investigations, production readiness activities, integration events, environmental qualification tests, and verification and validation efforts.
• Coordinate with suppliers, manufacturing teams, quality teams, test organizations, and customer stakeholders to transition designs from concept through production, installation, and field support.

This position is located in scenic and historic Southern Maryland in the St. Mary's County Technology Corridor adjacent to the Patuxent River Naval Air Station.
There is no monetary relocation assistance budgeted for this position. Applicants must be currently residing in or state willingness to relocate self to St. Mary's County, Maryland or surrounding areas.
Required Education, Experience, & Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering
• 3 to 6 years of relevant mechanical engineering experience supporting defense, aerospace, maritime, radar, sensor, rotating machinery, precision mechatronics, or ruggedized electronics programs.
• Working knowledge of thermal management for electronics or RF systems, including conductive, convective, and liquid-cooled architectures.
• Experience designing mechanical hardware for vibration, shock, thermal cycling, corrosion, humidity, salt fog, ship motion, or other harsh environmental conditions.
• Familiarity with finite element analysis, computational thermal tools, tolerance analysis, mechanical interface definition, and design-for-manufacturing principles.
• Ability to develop production-quality CAD models (SolidWorks is a plus), drawings, assemblies, and mechanical documentation under configuration control (ASME Y14.5 is required).
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present technical issues, trade studies, risks, and recommendations to multidisciplinary stakeholders.
• Ability to obtain and maintain any required U.S. Government security clearance for the program.
• Excellent skills in Math and Physics.
• Excellent MS Office skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Outlook, etc.).
• Team player with a proactive attitude, the ability to be productive in a dynamic/collaborative environment (e.g., open seating arrangement).

Preferred Education, Experience, & Skills

• Experience with shipboard systems, topside equipment integration, naval radar systems, aircraft carrier or amphibious ship installations, or Navy qualification processes.
• Knowledge of MIL-STD environmental qualification practices, including vibration, shock, thermal, electromagnetic, corrosion, and shipboard survivability considerations.
• Experience with liquid cooling design for high-power electronics, including pressure drop, flow balancing, leak prevention, maintainability, contamination control, and fluid compatibility.
• Hands-on experience supporting integration, laboratory testing, environmental testing, ship checks, installation planning, or field troubleshooting.
• Familiarity with precision rotary systems, servo-driven mechanisms, alignment methods, balancing, backlash control, bearing selection, lubrication, and encoder integration.
• Experience with model-based systems engineering, product lifecycle management, requirements management, digital thread implementation, or multidisciplinary simulation workflows.
• 3D CAD and product definition tools such as SolidWorks, AutoCAD, or equivalent.
• Analysis tools such as ANSYS Mechanical, ANSYS Fluent, Icepak, FloTHERM, Nastran, Abaqus, MATLAB, Simulink, or equivalent.
• Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), requirements, and configuration tools such as DOORS, Cameo, Jira, or equivalent.
• Engineering methods including Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T), tolerance stack-up analysis, design verification planning, failure mode analysis, design-to-cost trade studies, interface control, and technical risk management.

Pay Information
Full-Time Salary Range: $79365 - $134921
Please note: This range is based on our market pay structures. However, individual salaries are determined by a variety of factors including, but not limited to: business considerations, local market conditions, and internal equity, as well as candidate qualifications, such as skills, education, and experience.
Employee Benefits: At BAE Systems, we support our employees in all aspects of their life, including their health and financial well-being. Regular employees scheduled to work 20+ hours per week are offered: health, dental, and vision insurance; health savings accounts; a 401(k) savings plan; disability coverage; and life and accident insurance. We also have an employee assistance program, a legal plan, and other perks including discounts on things like home, auto, and pet insurance. Our leave programs include paid time off, paid holidays, as well as other types of leave, including paid parental, military, bereavement, and any applicable federal and state sick leave. Employees may participate in the company recognition program to receive monetary or non-monetary recognition awards. Other incentives may be available based on position level and/or job specifics.
About BAE Systems Intelligence & Security
BAE Systems, Inc. is a defense, aerospace, and security company headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, with more than 40,000 employees worldwide. We serve, supply, and protect those who protect us. As one of the most geographically diverse international defense companies, we deliver a full range of products and services spanning air, land, maritime, space, and cyber, including advanced electronics, intelligence solutions, and dedicated customer support.
Our culture is performance-driven and values-led, built on curiosity, creativity, and collaboration. Purpose isn't a tagline here. It's what drives us. We're developing breakthrough technologies that defend national security and make a lasting impact on our communities and our planet. When you join BAE Systems, you're not just building a career. You're contributing to a mission that truly matters.
This position will be posted for at least 5 calendar days. The posting will remain active until the position is filled, or a qualified pool of candidates is identified.