Junior Mechanical Engineer
We’re looking for a Mechanical Engineer to join our mechanical team in Kitchener. This is a hands-on role taking parts and assemblies from concept to production: modelling in SolidWorks, prototyping in our shop, testing at the bench, and seeing designs through manufacturing.
Waterloo Technical is a product design and engineering consultancy that’s been bringing hardware products to life for over 14 years. Our team of ~20 works out of two facilities in downtown Kitchener, serving clients across IoT, industrial electronics, environmental monitoring, HVAC controls, and agricultural technology. The products we build are full mechatronic systems: enclosures, mechanisms, sensors, boards, and firmware, designed together under one roof. You’ll work on several products at once, each at a different stage, as part of a mechanical team that works closely together on all of them.
What You’ll Do
- Design parts and assemblies for connected products: enclosures, mounts, mechanisms, gaskets and seals, and the features that hold boards, sensors, batteries, and connectors in place
- Model in SolidWorks and produce the drawings, BOMs, and files that vendors and our production team build from
- Prototype your own designs: 3D print, machine, and assemble in our shop, then test, measure, and iterate
- Design for manufacturing: injection moulded plastics, sheet metal, machined parts, and the tolerances and fasteners that make an assembly go together the first time
- Work with our electrical and firmware teams on board outlines, connector placement, thermal paths, and cable routing
- Work with vendors: send out RFQs, review quotes and DFM feedback, and check incoming parts against drawings
- Join client calls as you grow into the role, and learn to explain design decisions and trade-offs in plain language
What We’re Looking For
- 0-2 years of experience designing mechanical parts and assemblies. New grads welcome
- Solid SolidWorks skills: parts, assemblies, and drawings with sensible tolerancing
- Comfortable in a shop: you’ve built what you’ve designed, and you know what happens when a drawing meets a real part
- Practical about manufacturing: you think about how a part gets made, what it costs, and how it goes together before it’s released, not after
- A systems thinker: curious about the electronics, firmware, and production process around your part, not just the part
- Organized and willing to own your work: files, revisions, and vendor communication kept in order
- A clear communicator, in writing and in person
- Degree or diploma in Mechanical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Technology, or equivalent hands-on experience
Nice to Have
- Experience designing for injection moulding: draft, wall thickness, snap fits, living hinges
- 3D printing experience beyond pressing print: FDM and resin, and knowing when each one is lying to you
- Exposure to outdoor or IP-rated enclosures, thermal management, or vibration
- Basic electronics or soldering, enough to help bring up a prototype
- You’ve designed and built something just because you wanted it to exist
Why This Role
You’ll get breadth that a single-product company can’t offer: different industries, different mechanisms, different constraints, all inside one job. You’ll work closely with our senior technical team, with plenty of mentorship for those earlier in their career and a clear path toward owning a project’s mechanical track and the client relationship that comes with it. We’re a small team, so your decisions actually reach the product.
This role is based in Kitchener and is primarily on-site: the shop work and cross-team collaboration are the point. Some flexibility for hybrid work once you’re established. We offer competitive compensation, health benefits, and profit sharing.
If you want to design parts that ship inside real products, and you’d rather understand the whole machine than just your corner of the assembly, we’d love to hear from you!
