
Senior Mechanical Prototyper & Lead
San Jose, CAJobSeen 5 days agoSeen in employer's feed 5 days ago
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At a glance
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Job overview
Apple’s Product Design Engineering group is seeking a Senior Mechanical Prototyper to help design, fabricate, assemble, troubleshoot, and repair prototype parts and assemblies. The role supports Apple Vision Products from early prototyping through mass production, working with internal teams and partner facilities. It also involves managing and mentoring a small team of mechanical prototypers.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
Qualifications
Full job description
Role Number: 200689961-3749
Summary
Apple is where individual imaginations gather together, committing to the values that lead to great work. Every new product we build, service we create, or Apple Store experience we deliver is the result of us making each other’s ideas stronger. That happens because every one of us shares a belief that we can make something wonderful and share it with the world, changing lives for the better. It’s the diversity of our people and their thinking that inspires the innovation that runs through everything we do. When we bring everybody in, we can do the best work of our lives. Here, you’ll do more than join something — you’ll add something.
The Product Design Engineering group working on new and future product concepts is looking for a Senior Mechanical Prototyper who will be responsible for assisting in the design, fabrication, and assembly/disassembly, troubleshooting and repair of prototype parts and assemblies as well as managing and mentoring a small team of mechanical prototypers.
Description
We are the hands-on technical team that carries the design of Apple Vision Products through the entire process, from early prototyping to mass production. By joining our team, you'll work side by side with your teammates inside Apple and at our partner facilities to define parts of a system in CAD, hand build physical electro-mechanical assemblies, and collaborate with vendors to produce parts and assemblies. You will support the fabrication, modification, and repair of prototype hardware that will indirectly and directly inform what we ship to customers.
- Design and fabrication of functional electro-mechanical prototypes of various sizes, materials and levels of complexity
- Execute detailed mechanical and electrical assembly operations, accurately record and communicate progress and challenges
- Maintain prototypes & perform failure analysis on electro-mechanical systems
- Work closely with a range of Mechanical, Electrical, and Systems engineers to support project development work
- Perform a mix of independent and collaborative work
Minimum Qualifications
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7+ years of Mechanical Engineering related industry experience
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5+ years of relevant mechanical prototyping experience
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Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent
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Hands-on experience with shop tools, prototype fabrication techniques and equipment (3D printers, laser cutter, lathe, mill, etc.)
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Familiar with a wide range of materials (plastics, foams, textiles, metals, composites, ceramics), their properties, and methods of processing them
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Ability to understand and to develop hand sketches, CAD models, and technical drawings
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Strong mechanical problem solving and troubleshooting skills
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Team player with excellent verbal and written communication
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Ability to predict timelines and meet deadlines in a fast paced environment
Preferred Qualifications
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Experience root causing failures and implementing corrective actions
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Familiarity with inspection and analysis equipment (microscopes, load cells, etc.)
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Experience mentoring or managing others
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Fluent in Unigraphics NX including surfacing tools, statistical software (JMP), MacOS
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Experience designing mechanisms, actuated systems, and machines
Apple is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to inclusion and diversity. We seek to promote equal opportunity for all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, Veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics.
How this job compares
Set against the 1,723 open Mechanical Engineering jobs on Olive Jobs, counted October 29, 2026.
- Pay
- This postingNot listed
- California median$145–198K/yr171 salary ranges
- California median$30–35/hr44 hourly ranges
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 263 open Mechanical Engineering jobs in California and 1,723 across the US. 2% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Hiring the most in California
- Anduril14 open
- Anduril Industries14 open
- Hermeus9 open
- Experience
- This posting asks for at least 7 years of experience; Mechanical Engineering postings that state a minimum ask for 5 years at the median (962 postings).
- Education
- 782 of the 1,723 open Mechanical Engineering jobs (45%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on October 29, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.
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