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The Role
Designs and commissions custom mechanical test benches and laboratory equipment, structures experiments, analyzes mechanical failures, and correlates physical test data with engineering models. The role includes component sizing, CAD and manufacturing documentation, FEA, supplier coordination, hands-on testing, maintenance diagnostics, safety, and technical leadership. Collaboration with testing, hardware, firmware, product, and data science teams supports reliable data collection and AI model development.
Summary Generated by Built In
Data Science at Tractian
What you'll do
Responsibilities
Requirements
Bonus Points
Compensation & Benefits
The Data Science team at Tractian focuses on extracting valuable insights from vast amounts of industrial data. Using advanced statistical methods, algorithms, and data visualization techniques, this team transforms raw data into actionable intelligence that drives decision-making across engineering, product development, and operational strategies. The team constantly works on optimizing prediction models, identifying trends, and providing data-driven solutions that directly enhance the company’s operational efficiency and the quality of its products.
As a Senior Project Engineer, you will be responsible for designing custom test benches, structuring experiments, and analyzing mechanical failures in our Industrial Testing Laboratory. Your primary focus will be on the mechanical design of laboratory equipment, including the appropriate sizing and specification of industrial machines and components (such as motors, pumps, compressors, gearboxes, and bearings), the delimitation of test plans, and the technical analysis of results.
This position requires strong engineering judgment and strategic decision-making, balancing custom, high-complexity designs with practical, cost-effective standard solutions. We expect you to take full ownership of your projects—from initial scoping and timeline management to final physical assembly and commissioning—operating with high autonomy.
This hands-on role requires active participation in the daily execution and operation of physical tests, which is essential for you to gain real-world context and build a profound understanding of our mechanical systems and the phenomena we capture.
You will play a key role in supporting the continuous improvement of our highly advanced and robust laboratory structure, ensuring that our mechanical setups are continuously optimized to be safe, reliable, and innovative. You will collaborate closely with our testing and data science teams to ensure accurate data collection, which requires a highly collaborative mindset, clear technical communication, and the ability to seamlessly manage complex, multidisciplinary workflows.
Responsibilities
- Develop and execute mechanical projects for custom test benches and laboratory equipment, including the appropriate sizing and specification of industrial machines and components (e.g., motors, pumps, compressors, gearboxes, and bearings), overseeing their physical setup and commissioning.
- Act as a technical reference within the laboratory, providing guidance and mentorship to technicians and mid-level engineers and continuously raising the bar for the team's practical execution and engineering standards.
- Structure experiments and detailed test plans, defining innovative methodologies to research mechanical failures and capture reliable physical data.
- Translate field data into test requirements, partnering with field engineers and product teams to turn real-world mechanical failure data into actionable test plans and simulation inputs.
- Analyze mechanical systems and components, drawing technical conclusions from test results to directly support our data science team in AI model development.
- Actively execute and operate daily physical tests for mechanical failure simulations, building a hands-on understanding of the systems and phenomena being analyzed.
- Prepare technical packages for suppliers, ensuring alignment with external machine shops and vendors, and delivering clear documentation for the fabrication of custom test bench parts.
- Deliver clear reports and presentations, explaining assumptions, experimental setups, limitations, and technical implications of test results to multidisciplinary teams (Hardware, Firmware, and Data Science).
- Maintain CAD libraries and standards, creating internal templates and drawing standards to streamline the laboratory's engineering workflows.
- Ensure a safe and highly organized laboratory environment, acting as a champion for 5S methodologies and maintaining operational excellence during manual setups and teardowns.
- Maintain rigorous documentation of test protocols, project management boards (Jira), and experimental setups, ensuring all laboratory activities strictly comply with safety standards and Brazilian regulations.
- Perform inspection, maintenance, and diagnostics on industrial components, utilizing our platform to manage maintenance routines.
- Provide occasional support for data acquisition tasks, which may involve running basic scripts or assisting with broader lab instrumentation workflows.
Requirements
- Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, or a related field.
- Availability to work on-site at the AI Center in São Paulo.
- Minimum of 3 years of professional industry experience, with a proven track record in mechanical design, including the creation of manufacturing drawings with defined geometric tolerances (GD&T). Proficiency in SolidWorks (3D CAD) is mandatory.
- Experience with structural simulation (FEA) applied to mechanical design. While proficiency in HyperMesh is a strong plus, experience with other standard industry tools (such as Ansys) is fully acceptable.
- High level of autonomy and professional maturity, capable of managing complex project scopes with minimal supervision and aligning technically with multidisciplinary teams.
- Fundamental understanding of rotating equipment assemblies, including mounting bases, couplings, gearboxes, belt/pulley transmissions, and bearing application (selection and defining interference fits).
- Deep knowledge of manufacturing processes—including machining, welding, heat treatments, and general fabrication—to ensure all custom benches are highly manufacturable and cost-effective.
- Hands-on experience performing tolerance stack-up analysis for complex mechanical assemblies.
- Strong logical reasoning and risk mitigation mindset, ideally developed through past experience with Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) or similar structured methodologies.
- Ability to perform Model/Test Correlation, linking theoretical expectations and FEA models with actual experimental physical test data.
- A hands-on and collaborative approach, willing to execute physical tests, operate machinery, and design with ease of assembly in mind, valuing technical exchange and feedback from peers.
- Familiarity with PLM tools and best practices for CAD file governance and version control.
- Advanced English level, essential for reading technical documentation, software interfaces, and communicating with global teams.
- Advanced Portuguese.
- Basic knowledge of Python or MATLAB for data acquisition workflows and automation scripts, with a strong emphasis on leveraging AI tools (e.g., Claude, Kimi) to accelerate and support these developments.
Bonus Points
- Previous experience in the automotive, agricultural machinery, or heavy equipment industries (OEMs), working directly with R&D of complex mechanical systems.
- Knowledge of fatigue analysis and durability assessment applied to industrial machinery components.
- Background in System Simulation, dynamic modeling of mechanical systems (MATLAB, Simulink, etc.), or Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE).
- Familiarity with Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) methodologies applied to low-volume, highly customized equipment.
- Previous exposure to developing, structuring, or managing an experimental laboratory environment.
- Familiarity with predictive maintenance techniques and diagnostic tools (such as vibration analyzers, thermal cameras, and laser shaft aligners).
- Previous experience with technical leadership or coordinating multidisciplinary engineering teams.
- Active and standout participation in academic engineering competitions (such as Baja SAE or Formula SAE) focused on product development.
- Competitive Compensation
- 30 days of paid annual leave
- Education and courses stipend
- Earn a trip anywhere in the world every 4 years
- R$1.035/month for meals allowance
- Health plan with national coverage and without coparticipation
- Dental Insurance: we help you with dental treatment for a better quality of life.
- Wellhub Membership: Access a wide range of gyms and training programs.
Skills Required
- Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, or a related field
- Availability to work on-site at the AI Center in São Paulo
- At least 3 years of professional industry experience in mechanical design
- Experience creating manufacturing drawings with defined geometric tolerances (GD&T)
- Proficiency in SolidWorks 3D CAD
- Experience with structural simulation or FEA applied to mechanical design
- High autonomy and professional maturity managing complex project scopes
- Understanding of rotating equipment assemblies, gearboxes, transmissions, couplings, and bearings
- Knowledge of machining, welding, heat treatments, and general fabrication
- Hands-on tolerance stack-up analysis experience
- Logical reasoning and risk mitigation skills, preferably including FMEA experience
- Ability to perform model/test correlation using experimental data
- Hands-on willingness to execute physical tests and operate machinery
- Familiarity with PLM tools and CAD file governance/version control
- Advanced English
- Advanced Portuguese
- Basic Python or MATLAB knowledge for data acquisition and automation scripts
- Experience with HyperMesh or other standard FEA tools such as Ansys
- Experience in automotive, agricultural machinery, or heavy equipment OEM R&D
- Knowledge of fatigue analysis and durability assessment
- System simulation or dynamic modeling experience using MATLAB or Simulink
- Familiarity with DFMA methodologies
- Experience developing or managing an experimental laboratory
- Familiarity with predictive maintenance and diagnostic tools
- Technical leadership or multidisciplinary engineering coordination experience
- Participation in engineering competitions such as Baja SAE or Formula SAE
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The Company
What We Do
Tractian is a machine-intelligence company delivering integrated hardware, cloud software and AI to prevent machine failures and boost industrial uptime. Their offering combines vibration and condition sensors, TracOS maintenance-management software, and AI-driven analytics to enable predictive maintenance, energy optimization and operational visibility for factories and asset-heavy operations globally.
