1. Vital Lyfe
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Role description

Senior Mechanical Engineer

Vital Lyfe logoVital Lyfe
TypeFull-time
WorkplaceOn-site
SenioritySenior
Salary$140,000–$170,000

Company info

Vital Lyfe logo

Vital Lyfe

At Vital Lyfe, we’re tackling the global water crisis by developing innovative, desalination devices designed for efficiency and accessibility. Founded by a team of experienced engineers, we’re committed to delivering cutting-edge technology that provides clean water solutions for underserved communities, disaster relief, and sustainable living. Our mission is to make a measurable impact on global water scarcity while inspiring change through innovation and purpose-driven design.

Seed
HQHawthorne, US
Size40 employees
IndustryClimate Technology Product Manufacturing
Location
Los Angeles, CA
Posted1/15/2026
Engineering

About Vital Lyfe

Vital Lyfe is a tech company redefining water autonomy through innovation, creating a new category of personal water making technology built to scale where infrastructure can’t.

The Mission

Own and build the core mechanical systems behind our product; pumps, valves, pressure vessels, and fluid-handling assemblies & take them from early concepts to production at scale. This is a hands on, high-ownership role for someone who wants to design, test, break, fix, and ship hardware.

What You’ll Do

  • Own major mechanical subsystems from concept through production ramp and launch.

  • Design, prototype, and validate pumps, valves, pressure vessels, and related mechanical components.

  • Drive system-level tradeoffs across performance, reliability, manufacturability, and cost.

  • Build and run test plans to validate performance across real-world environments and edge cases.

  • Work closely with electrical, firmware, industrial design, and manufacturing to turn ideas into shipped product.

  • Help design and improve manufacturing processes and production equipment, including fixtures, tooling, and automation concepts.

  • Iterate fast; identify problems, propose solutions, and implement changes without heavy process overhead.

  • Support supplier selection, part qualification, and production ramp.

  • Mentor junior engineers as the team grows (without becoming detached from hands-on work).

What We’re Looking For

  • Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field.

  • 5+ years of experience designing and shipping mechanical or electromechanical hardware.

  • Strong CAD and FEA skills applied to real, production-intent designs.

  • Experience taking products from prototype to manufacturing.

  • Comfort working in ambiguity and making tradeoffs with incomplete information.

  • Bias toward action, ownership, and practical engineering solutions.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience with consumer hardware or high-volume manufacturing.

  • Background in pumps, valves, pressure systems, or fluid mechanics.

  • Exposure to automation, manufacturing process development, or production equipment.

  • Startup or early-stage company experience.

Physical Job Requirements - Essential Functions

  • Hands on work on development hardware.

  • Long periods of standing, crouching, walking.

  • Lifting up to 50 lbs.

Why Join Vital Lyfe?

  • Work on high-impact problems with global relevance

  • Help scale breakthrough technology in water security and climate resilience

  • Early ownership in a high growth, engineering led startup

  • Join a tight knit, mission driven team in a fast-paced environment

  • Build long term career equity as we grow

Location Requirement: Ability to work 100% onsite in Torrance, CA (remote or hybrid work will not be considered)

Vital Lyfe is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Vital Lyfe is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

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Latest funding
Seed · Dec 16, 2025
Investors
InterlagosGeneral Catalyst
Tech stackc10, aws-iot, jazzhr, matlab, broadly, react-native, microsoft-powerpoint, cplusplus, nodejs, thrive, attribution, hubspot, effector, microsoft-typescript, react, python, solidworks, sap, flutter, canva

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