Lead Mechanical Engineer - Structures (Austin, TX) at Exowatt (Austin, TX)

Exowatt· Austin, TX· $150k–$215k·4d ago

Role details

Salary

$150k–$215k

Work type

Onsite

Employment

Full-Time

Job description

Exowatt is revolutionizing the energy landscape for the AI era with our groundbreaking P3 system that captures solar energy, stores it as heat, and generates electricity on demand. Founded in 2023 and backed by leading investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Sam Altman, and Felicis, we're committed to providing clean, modular, and scalable power that meets the rapidly growing demands of AI infrastructure. Our mission is to make sustainable renewable energy always available and almost free, enabling technological advancement while protecting our planet.

We are seeking an experienced Mechanical Engineer specializing in structural design to join our growing team. In this role, you will engage in the structural design and analysis of our renewable energy systems, ensuring structural integrity, durability, and performance in diverse environmental conditions.

This position is based in Austin, TX, but an alternate of Miami, FL is possible for the right candidate. If selected, relocation to Austin, TX or Miami, FL is required. Exowatt provides relocation assistance.

Key Responsibilities:

Create the structural design of both stationary and moving structures and associated mechanical or drive components and system layouts for renewable energy applications
Develop and validate structural models using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and other analytical methods
Create detailed engineering drawings and specifications for manufacturing
Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including controls, electrical, thermal, and software engineers
Evaluate and select appropriate materials based on structural strength requirements, stiffness, cost, and sustainability
Design for manufacturability, assembly, and serviceability
Mentor junior engineers and provide technical guidance to the mechanical engineering team
Interface with suppliers, manufacturers, and external engineering partners
Participate in design reviews and ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations
Troubleshoot structural issues during testing and deployment

Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field; Master's degree preferred
7+ years of mechanical engineering experience
Extensive knowledge of structural mechanics, materials science, and manufacturing processes
Proficiency in 3D CAD software (SolidWorks, Creo, or similar)
Experience with FEA software (ANSYS, Nastran, or similar)
Strong understanding of GD&T ASME Y14.5 and engineering drawing standards
Experience designing for extreme environmental conditions (high winds, seismic events, etc.)
Knowledge of relevant standards and codes (ASME, ISO, IEC, etc.)
Experience with renewable energy systems (solar, wind, or energy storage) preferred
Excellent communication and collaboration skills

Why work at Exowatt

High-Impact Mission: The opportunity to work on a critical technology that directly enables the AI revolution by solving its most fundamental constraint: sustainable, scalable power.
High-Performance Team: The company describes itself as a "high-performance team of engineers, scientists, and builders pushing the boundaries of what’s possible," indicating a fast-paced, ambitious environment.
On-Site Engineering Roles: The posted positions (Electrical Engineer, Lead Mechanical Engineer, Lead Controls & Firmware Engineer) are full-time and on-site in either Miami, FL or Austin, TX. No remote or hybrid options are visible in current job listings.
Competitive Benefits: Benefits include comprehensive healthcare, flexible PTO, and team-wide equity exowatt.com/careers.
Small, Fast-Moving Company: With a Series A funding, this is an early-stage company, offering roles with high ownership, influence, and the chance to build foundational systems.

About Exowatt

Company Overview

One-liner: Exowatt designs and manufactures modular, full-stack solar energy systems that capture solar energy, store it as heat, and dispatch electricity on demand to power energy-intensive infrastructure like AI data centers.
Entity Type: Private (Series A)
Headquarters: Miami, FL, USA
Founded: 2023 (implied by company narrative)
Founders: Not publicly disclosed on the website or job postings

Core Business

Primary industry/industries: Renewable Energy, Clean Technology, Energy Storage, AI Infrastructure.
Target customers: B2B — specifically AI data centers, high-performance computing (HPC) data centers, and utility-scale energy projects. They also target utility companies and industrial sites with high energy demands.
Mission or purpose statement: "Our mission is to deliver ultra-low-cost, reliable power that fuels global AI infrastructure while protecting our planet" — as stated by the founders on their vision page.

Products & Services

Exowatt P3: The flagship product, a "dispatchable solar" system. It is a modular, full-stack energy system that captures solar energy using custom optical lenses (Fresnel lenses), stores it as heat in a proprietary high-temperature sensible heat battery (long-duration energy storage), and converts it into electricity on demand via a proprietary heat engine. It is designed to provide up to 24 hours of dispatchable energy, essentially serving as a baseload power source. The system can be deployed behind the meter (BTM) to reduce interconnection wait times, and is built in the USA without rare earth minerals.
Energy Optimization Software: Integrated software platform for real-time monitoring, control, and automation of Exowatt P3 systems. Enables intelligent dispatch, integration with other energy assets (solar PV, wind, natural gas, grid), and participation in arbitrage and virtual power plants (VPPs).

Market Standing

Valuation: Not publicly disclosed.
Key Metric: Total Funding — $70 million Series A round announced on April 22, 2025 exowatt.com.
Notable Investors/Partners: Not named on the website (the funding announcement and Crunchbase profile are referenced but not detailed on the main site). The company claims a "Made in the USA" supply chain and mentions partnerships with utility companies and data center operators.
Growth Signals:
- Raised a significant $70M Series A in early 2025, signaling strong investor confidence.
- Actively hiring across multiple key engineering and leadership roles (Electrical, Mechanical, Controls, Power Electronics) in two locations (Miami, FL and Austin, TX).
- Targeting the rapidly expanding AI and HPC data center market, which has an enormous and growing demand for clean, dispatchable power.
- Their product’s "Bring Your Own Power" (BYOP) capability directly addresses the critical bottleneck of long interconnection queues for new data centers, a major market pain point.

Competitive Advantages

Dispatchable Solar + Storage: Unlike standard solar PV, Exowatt's system can provide 24/7 baseload power by storing solar energy as heat and generating electricity on demand, solving the intermittency problem of renewables.
Expedited Time-to-Power: The ability to deploy fully behind the meter allows customers to bypass lengthy utility interconnection queues, accelerating project timelines for energy-intensive facilities like data centers.
No Rare Earth Minerals: The system is built with abundant, domestically sourced materials, avoiding supply chain vulnerabilities and environmental concerns associated with rare earth mining.
Modular & Scalable: Factory-built modules allow for linear scaling, enabling customers to start small and expand capacity as their energy needs grow.
30-Year Lifespan: Designed for low maintenance and a 30-year operational life, providing long-term reliability.

Strategic Focus

Targeting the AI Energy Boom: Exowatt is squarely focused on providing clean, reliable, and rapidly deployable power to solve the massive energy demands of AI and HPC data centers.
U.S. Manufacturing & Energy Independence: The company is prioritizing domestic manufacturing to ensure quality, supply chain security, and alignment with national energy independence goals.
Scaling Rapidly to Meet Demand: With a $70M Series A, the focus is likely on scaling manufacturing, building out their deployment pipeline with initial customers, and expanding the engineering team to accelerate product development and deployment.

Sources

Job description

Why work at Exowatt

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