Mechanical Design Engineer

The posting, as Atmoszero wrote it

AtmosZero is building the next generation of industrial steam infrastructure. Our flagship product, Boiler 2.0, is a modular industrial steam heat pump designed to help manufacturers reduce operational risk, improve flexibility, and modernize steam generation over time. Rather than forcing facilities to choose between reliability and sustainability, AtmosZero enables a practical path toward future-ready steam systems that integrate with existing operations and scale with customer needs.

AtmosZero · Loveland, Colorado (onsite) · Full-time · Engineer III or Senior Engineer I
Reports To: VP Engineering
Why this role exists
Industrial steam runs manufacturing - breweries, dairies, pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals - and almost all of it still comes from a boiler design that predates the jet engine. Much of the U.S. fleet is decades past its prime, facing volatile fuel costs, tightening limits on new combustion, and no cheap way to add capacity.
Boiler 2.0 is a modular heat pump that makes steam at up to 185°C from electricity and air alone. Because it moves heat rather than creating it, it returns roughly 2 units of steam energy per unit of electricity, against well under one for combustion. It drops into the old boiler's footprint and scales by adding modules - no stack, no fuel line, no combustion permit. Units are in production now in Loveland, Colorado.
The next cost step is mechanical. We need to turn proven system architecture and first-of-a-kind hardware into compact, serviceable, supplier-ready designs that can be built repeatedly at a much lower cost. That means making hard packaging trades, creating production-quality CAD and drawings, designing piping and structures that survive real loads, and giving suppliers a package they can quote and manufacture without guessing. You would own a real share of that work.
Level and scope
We are hiring one person into this role at whichever of three levels best matches the scope, independence, and judgment demonstrated through the interview process. Apply once and we will place you.

• Engineer III. You independently execute significant mechanical design work packages with limited supervision, such as equipment layouts, piping, structures, detailed assemblies, or supplier-ready drawings. You exercise sound design judgment, coordinate defined interfaces, and consistently carry work from requirements through release and build support.
• Senior Engineer I. You lead complex mechanical design initiatives through ambiguity, such as integrated product packaging, major subsystem design, or design-to-cost work. You own the work end to end, coordinate suppliers and external design resources, mentor teammates, and influence design decisions beyond your immediate area of responsibility.

If you are between levels or arrived at this expertise by an unusual route, apply anyway.
What you will do
Own mechanical design and packaging

• Develop and maintain integrated 3D CAD layouts for modular industrial heat-

[…]
fabricators and equipment suppliers, resolve incomplete information, and convert supplier feedback into controlled design decisions.

• Comfort with the ambiguity and pace of a startup building physical hardware, where the answer is often that nobody has one yet.

What would help
We do not expect anyone to have all of this. The first two are the ones we would most like to see.

• Deep SolidWorks experience with large assemblies, configurations, drawings, weldments, routing, BOMs, and PDM-controlled release.
• Experience designing packaged industrial equipment with piping, pressure equipment, heat exchangers, rotating equipment, structural frames, and service-access constraints.
• Working knowledge of ASME B31 piping requirements, pressure-boundary interfaces, welding and fabrication practices, and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing.
• Experience with structural, piping-stress, thermal-expansion, or mechanical FEA tools and the judgment to interpret their results.
• Experience with industrial heat pumps, refrigeration, steam systems, process skids, HVAC equipment, turbomachinery packages, or comparable engineered-to-order equipment.
• Experience leading DFMA, value engineering, cost reduction, supplier qualification, and competitive sourcing for complex hardware.
• Experience coordinating external engineering consultants and reviewing third-party calculations, models, and drawings.
• Experience supporting prototype builds, commissioning, certification, or field troubleshooting of industrial equipment.
• A graduate degree, professional engineering license, or patents you helped develop.

Compensation and benefits
Base salary range:

• Engineer III [$110,000 - $165,000]
• Senior Engineer I [$125,000 - $180,000]

Where an offer lands within a range depends on experience, demonstrated capability, and interview performance.
Equity: Stock option grant
Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision coverage; retirement plan; paid time off and holidays; parental leave .