Lead Mechanical Engineer - Machine Design

ABOUT HALTER At Halter, we’re on a mission to enable farmers and graziers to run the most productive and sustainable operations. Our customers are using Halter to break free from the time-intensive constraints of conventional practices. Imagine watching 500 cattle stand up and walk calmly towards their next break? No quad bikes, no dogs, no fences. Just a group of cattle walking at their own pace. People say it looks like magic. Our customers are revolutionizing grazing with Halter. It's changing lives and transforming an industry. People join Halter to do meaningful work. By joining us you’ll be solving challenging problems within a talented team and a culture built for high performance. Our team out-think, out-work and out-care. We’re committed to delivering real change in the world - this isn’t easy, and in truth, we love that it’s hard. We’re backed to deliver on a mission that matters by Tier 1 investors including Founders Fund https://foundersfund.com, Bessemer Venture Partners https://www.bvp.com/, BOND, https://www.bondcap.com/ DCVC https://www.dcvc.com/, Blackbird https://www.blackbird.vc/, Promus Ventures https://www.promusventures.com/, Rocket Lab’s Peter Beck and Icehouse ventures https://www.icehouseventures.co.nz/?utm_term=icehouse%20ventures&utm_campaign=Brand+Keywords&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=4064636360&hsa_cam=16902737884&hsa_grp=134004309485&hsa_ad=592971340272&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-1082530126230&hsa_kw=icehouse%20ventures&hsa_mt=b&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2v-gBhC1ARIsAOQdKY0J0DepRVFDmjQlAkJPbZuQnLSA5UVzUzOXYiPxkjX-SeVa513_BhkaAr-MEALw_wcB. To find out more, visit our LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/halter-limited & Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lifeathalter/. ROLE SUMMARY Player/coach. Own a portfolio of machine design and equipment delivery programs, scaling outcomes through others while still directly leading the highest-risk automation and station design work. Accountable for turning ambiguous production needs into reliable, maintainable equipment that improves whole-factory performance. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Own priorities across multiple machine design programs, balancing schedule, technical risk, production line impact, and long-term sustaining needs. - Lead complex automation delivery from concept through design, build, commissioning, validation, ramp, and handover into production. - Set and continuously improve standards for mechanical/mechatronics design, commissioning, validation, documentation, design reviews, and sustaining ownership. - Sponsor the highest-risk station, fixture, automation, and production test designs, making critical technical decisions where reliability, throughput, maintainability, or yield are at stake. - Drive systemic improvements to line performance, including downtime reduction, maintainability, spares/support strategy, and operator-friendly equipment design. - Develop team capability through coaching, technical bar-setting, and review of key designs, while creating clarity and direction for engineers across the portfolio. - Partner cross-functionally with Production Engineering, NPI, Manufacturing, Reliability, vendors, and leadership to drive whole-factory outcomes. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR - Deep technical expertise in mechanical/mechatronics engineering, with strong experience designing fixtures, automation equipment, and production test stations. - Proven ability to deliver complex manufacturing automation from concept through commissioning, validation, ramp, and sustaining support. - Strong technical leadership and standards-setting capability across design reviews, documentation, validation expectations, and engineering best practices. - Demonstrated ability to improve reliability and production line performance, including reducing downtime and improving maintainability. - Excellent communicator and cross-functional leader; able to set direction, create alignment across teams, and make sound tradeoffs across schedule, risk,…