Senior Mechanical Engineer

Senior Mechanical Engineer – Zenblen

Senior Mechanical Engineer role at Zenblen to take a lead role in designing mechanical systems from early concept through full production.

As our Senior Mechanical Engineer, you will focus on complex mechanical design work and will also support manufacturing, service, and validation activities. You will work closely with our manufacturing engineer, service team, and cross‑functional engineering groups to bring reliable, safe, compliant, and production‑ready hardware to market.

This is an opportunity to join an early‑stage, venture‑backed startup and see the immediate tangible impact of your work. In this close‑knit team environment, you will have ownership in valuable work streams while still receiving mentorship from our experienced engineering team. The position opens a vast professional network in the Chicago tech community and provides insight into startup acumen.

• Own mechanical design work from initial concept to detailed CAD, prototyping, validation, and release to production
• Design dynamic systems involving rotary motion, linear motion, actuators, and integrated electromechanical components
• Lead design activities for sheet metal, machined parts, injection‑molded parts, and other manufacturing methods
• Develop assemblies and subsystems that meet performance, cost, manufacturability, and reliability requirements
• Work closely with manufacturing to support improving build processes, resolve manufacturability concerns, and support production readiness
• Partner with the service team to investigate field issues, drive root‑cause analysis, and implement long‑term corrective actions
• Support validation activities including functional testing, life‑cycle testing, and system characterization
• Lead and support FMEAs across subsystems to identify risks and improve robustness
• Create and maintain engineering documentation including drawings, BOMs, specifications, and test plans
• Collaborate with vendors and Zenblen’s contract manufacturer to ensure components meet design intent and quality standards
• Support engineering builds and on‑site testing when needed

• BS in Mechanical Engineering or related field
• 5 or more years of mechanical design experience
• Strong experience designing dynamic systems such as motor‑driven mechanisms, rotary systems, linear motion stages, actuators, and motion assemblies
• Strong CAD skills and experience with complex assemblies
• Hands‑on experience with sheet metal design, machined components, and injection molding
• Experience with DFM and designing for volume production
• Understanding of tolerance analysis, materials, and mechanical fundamentals
• Experience running or supporting validation testing and FMEAs
• Ability to work in a fast‑paced environment and handle design iterations efficiently
• Strong communication skills and comfort working directly with manufacturing, vendors, and service technicians
• Bonus: Experience with electromechanical systems, robotics, automation, or food equipment

• A chance to own core systems at a high‑growth startup
• Hands‑on, real‑world problems in robotics, automation, and foodtech
• Close collaboration with a top‑tier, mission‑driven team
• Competitive compensation and equity
• Assist with the development of an on‑site, hardware‑rich environment (lab, prototyping, testing)

Zenblen offers freshly blended smoothies via a robotic smoothie bar. Our smoothie kiosk dispenses and blends ingredients right in front of the consumer, fresh to order.

We are a fast‑paced, high‑momentum startup that graduated from Chicago Booth’s New Venture Challenge, one of the top‑ranked accelerators in the nation. Our company has also been featured in the Chicago Venture Summit as a leading innovator in the food tech space. We are proud to have brought on expert investors and world‑class advisors to join us on this journey.

Our mission is to make healthy eating more accessible for everyone. We believe how someone fuels their body has a tremendous impact on all aspects of their life and therefore democratizing nutritionist‑curated smoothies will positively impact countless people across the globe.

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