--- title: 'Director, Mechanical Engineering at nEye.ai' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/director-mechanical-engineering-neye-ai-santa-clara-678vykj7v6rn' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-11-10' --- # Director, Mechanical Engineering at nEye.ai - **Company:** nEye.ai - **Location:** Santa Clara, CA - **Compensation:** $210k–$290k - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-11-05 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-10 - **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/neye-systems-inc./f0bd7425-856c-489c-ae4e-e9b5688ad1ee ## Job description About Us: nEye.ai, a well-funded optical switch startup, is poised to revolutionize the future of data centers. nEye’s MEMS-based silicon photonics optical circuit switches (OCS) eliminate critical bottlenecks in AI processing by enabling direct optical connections among thousands of GPUs and memory units. The company's SuperSwitch is an ultra-low power consumption, high radix, compact chip-scale design, offering hyperscale data centers enhanced performance, efficiency, and scalability. Job Overview: We are seeking a highly skilled and strategic Director of Mechanical Engineering to be the primary owner and driver of all mechanical aspects of our product development. In this pivotal role, you will be the primary technical authority for mechanical design, simulation, and manufacturing, serving as the central interface between mechanical engineering and all other teams within the company. This is a unique opportunity for an accomplished individual contributor who is also ready to lead a small team of engineers, or a prior manager that enjoys leading a small, focused team. Your impact in this role will be measured by your team's accomplishments. You will be responsible for building and organizing the team that creates robust and reliable mechanical designs meeting the stringent requirements of the telecom and data center markets. You will own all stress/strain, modal, and thermal simulations, ensuring our products are optimized for performance and durability. This role spans the entire product lifecycle, from initial concept and vendor development to first article inspection and engineering change control. You will work closely with packaging experts on the team that specialize in particular areas of the product design. ## Key Responsibilities Mechanical Design - History and ability to design precision mechanical components and assemblies supporting MEMS and silicon photonic devices - History and ability to develop enclosures, mounting structures, fiber management solutions, and thermal hardware for high-performance optical systems - Drive mechanical designs from concept through prototype, validation, and production - Build and organize the Mechanical team for scaling into multiple products and projects - Choose, Develop and work closely with third party outsourcing to supplement existing resources. - Refine and run the nEye NPD process used by the Mechanical team. Analysis & Simulation - Identify critical simulation needs in the designs, including mechanical, thermal and dynamic. - Lead the structural, thermal, and vibration simulations using FEA tools - Analyze stress, strain, thermal performance, and reliability of assemblies - Drive design optimizations for manufacturability, robustness, and long-term reliability - Develop and lead design tradeoff studies through simulation and experimentation Prototype Development - Define and manage the build, assembly, and evaluation of engineering prototypes - Work closely with engineers and manufacturing partners to debug mechanical issues - Conduct root cause analysis on prototype and field failures - Iterate rapidly based on test data and engineering feedback Manufacturing Support - Collaborate with vendors on precision machined, sheet metal, molded, and fabricated parts - Own first article reviews, part approvals and manufacturing documentation - Support engineering change orders (ECOs) - Help transition designs from prototype into production Required Skills and Experience - Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field. - 7+ years of hands-on experience in mechanical design and analysis, with at least 3 years in a lead or management role. - Demonstrated leadership qualities specific to hiring and efficient design - Experience designing mechanical systems for the telecom or data center industry. - Expert-level proficiency with 3D-CAD software (e.g., SolidWorks, Creo, Inventor) and Finite Element Simulation software (e.g., Ansys, SolidWorks Simulation, COMSOL). - Demonstrated expertise in thermal management and simulation for electronic systems. - Proven experience in analytical mechanical design, including designing for low-stress mounting, shock, and vibration. - Strong understanding of a variety of manufacturing processes, including precision machining, extrusion, sheet metal, and a variety of molding technologies. - Direct experience managing vendors and performing first article inspections. ## Preferred Skills - Knowledge of industry standards for shock, vibration, and thermal testing (e.g., Telcordia). - Experience with advanced materials and adhesives for specialized applications. - Excellent communication and technical documentation skills, with the ability to effectively present designs and simulation results to cross-functional teams. nEye is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. ## About nEye.ai ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: nEye.ai develops ultra-low-power MEMS-based silicon photonic optical circuit switches (OCS) that eliminate connectivity bottlenecks in AI data centers, enabling direct optical links among thousands of GPUs. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series C funding stage) - **Headquarters**: Santa Clara, California, United States - **Founded**: 2020 - **Founders**: Ashish Vengsarkar (CEO), Ming Wu (Chief Scientist & Co-Founder), Tae Joon Seok (CTO & Co-Founder) ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Semiconductor manufacturing (silicon photonics) / AI data center infrastructure - **Target customers**: Hyperscale data centers, cloud providers, AI/ML infrastructure operators (B2B, Enterprise) - **Mission**: To transform data center networks through innovative optical circuit switching technology, solving the most challenging problems in AI infrastructure. ## Products & Services - **[SuperSwitch](https://www.neye.ai)**: A chip-scale, high-radix optical circuit switch leveraging MEMS-based silicon photonics. It enables direct optical connections among GPUs and memory units, dramatically reducing power consumption and latency compared to electrical switches. Type: Hardware (silicon photonic switch). ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed - **Key Metric**: Total funding of **$152.5M** across four rounds (Series A, B, C, and a corporate round) as of April 2026 - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Sutter Hill Ventures (led Series C, $80M, April 2026), CapitalG (led Series B, $58M, May 2025), TEDA (led Series A, $14.5M, September 2023) - **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew **+164.7% YoY** to 36 employees; 12 active job postings (up 300% YoY); filed 12 patents in photonics, fiber optics, and optical devices; key hires from Google, AWS, Ayar Labs, and Intel. ## Competitive Advantages - **MEMS + Silicon Photonics Integration**: Combines micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) with silicon photonics on a single chip, enabling ultra-low power, high-radix switching in a compact form factor. - **Founding Team Depth**: Led by industry veterans with decades of experience at Bell Labs, UC Berkeley, Google, and successful optical startups (Photuris, Nistica). Chief Scientist Ming C. Wu is a renowned professor at UC Berkeley. - **Patented Technology**: 12 granted/pending patents covering lidar, photonic switch arrays, and optical devices. - **Hyperscaler Relevance**: Directly addresses the critical bottleneck in AI cluster networking, a problem actively being tackled by major cloud providers. ## Strategic Focus - **Scaling Engineering & Operations**: Heavily hiring across MEMS design, photonics, silicon photonics layout, test systems, and lab operations to accelerate product development and deployment. - **Hyperscale Deployment**: Targeting volume production and integration into the world’s largest AI data centers, leveraging team members’ prior experience at Google and AWS. - **Product Maturation**: Moving from prototype to commercial-grade SuperSwitch, with emphasis on reliability, yield, and cost efficiency. ## Why Work Here - **Mission-Driven**: Tackle one of the hardest problems in AI infrastructure – optical connectivity at scale. - **On-Site Culture**: Roles are based in Santa Clara, CA (with an additional Berkeley office), fostering close collaboration among a tight-knit, highly technical team. - **Impact & Ownership**: Small team (~36 people) means engineers have broad responsibility and direct influence on product direction. - **Veteran Leadership**: Work alongside former Google, Bell Labs, and successful startup leaders who have raised over $100M and achieved multiple exits. - **Growth Trajectory**: Rapid headcount growth and significant venture backing signal a company in an aggressive scaling phase, offering career advancement opportunities. ## Sources 1. [LinkedIn – nEye Systems Company Page](https://linkedin.com/company/neye-systems) 2. [CB Insights – nEye Systems Profile](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/neye-systems) 3. [nEye.ai About Us](https://www.neye.ai/about-us) 4. [nEye.ai Join Us / Careers](https://www.neye.ai/join-us) 5. [Lever Jobs – nEye Systems Openings](https://jobs.lever.co/neye-systems-inc) ## Other roles at nEye.ai - [Senior Packaging Failure Analysis Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-packaging-failure-analysis-engineer-neye-ai-santa-clara-w4fzfvge6g2a) — Santa Clara, CA - [MEMS Process Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/mems-process-engineer-neye-ai-emeryville-db7tynfwsqzc) — Emeryville, CA - [Senior Silicon Photonics Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-silicon-photonics-designer-neye-ai-santa-clara-eqqy2cje2bz7) — Santa Clara, CA - [Photonics Test Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/photonics-test-technician-neye-ai-santa-clara-5w5004d6mgd3) — Santa Clara, CA - [Senior Mechanical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-mechanical-engineer-neye-ai-santa-clara-xk1zjs81pyr2) — Santa Clara, CA - [Principal Systems Packaging & Assembly Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-systems-packaging-assembly-engineer-neye-ai-santa-clara-mbmxte9kq10c) — Santa Clara, CA - [Principal Packaging Engineer, Optical Interfaces](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-packaging-engineer-optical-interfaces-neye-ai-santa-clara-r6c27ht76z0w) — Santa Clara, CA - [Principal Wafer Bonding Integration Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-wafer-bonding-integration-engineer-neye-ai-santa-clara-7q9fv5rjjgcs) — Santa Clara, CA - [Purchasing Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/purchasing-specialist-neye-ai-santa-clara-d7cs13xv9w7a) — Santa Clara, CA - [Lab Operations, Facilities and Equipment Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/lab-operations-facilities-and-equipment-manager-neye-ai-santa-clara-and-1qv3ypwcxjcm) — Santa Clara and Emeryville, CA