Senior Mechanical Engineer
Vital Lyfe
Los Angeles, CA · $140k–$170k a year · Posted January 15, 2026
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Where Los Angeles, CA ranks
Where Los Angeles, CA placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.
November 2026
- #2Best cities for aerospace and defense jobs498 openings · of 67
- #2Best cities for media and entertainment jobs429 openings · of 17
- #2Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the West Coast428 jobs · of 47
- #3Best cities for legal jobs339 openings · of 36
- #3Best cities for design jobs158 openings · of 10
- #3Best cities for healthcare jobs590 openings · of 82
Rankings about engineering jobs
- Best cities for software and engineering jobs #1 San Francisco (3,412 openings)
- Best cities for engineering pay after cost of living #1 San Mateo ($216k)
- Most requested AI skills in engineering jobs #1 AI tools in daily work (6.1%)
- AI tools named most often in engineering jobs #1 Claude (1.7%)
- Employers with the most engineering jobs #1 Amazon (2,992 roles)
Pay compared with the market
This listing pays about $155,000 a year. Across 91 open senior mechanical engineer listings that state pay, the middle half runs $154,500 to $177,500 and the median is $170,000. That is inside the middle half of those listings, 9% below the median.
Listed pay is what employers advertise, not what people are paid.
Senior Mechanical Engineer salaries by state · Check your own pay
How AI is used in this kind of work
AI use among mechanical engineers is little observed so far. Measured exposure for mechanical engineers: 8% (little observed).
Share of this job’s tasks that AI is already used for at work, from real usage. It is not a forecast of job loss, and a low number means no use seen yet. Source: Anthropic Economic Index.
About the job
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.