---
title: 'Senior Mechanical Engineer, Fluid Systems at Panthalassa'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-mechanical-engineer-fluid-systems-panthalassa-portland-4mhhg0t62f9p'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-04'
---

# Senior Mechanical Engineer, Fluid Systems at Panthalassa 

- **Company:** Panthalassa 
- **Location:** Portland, OR
- **Posted:** 2026-05-08
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-04
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/panthalassa/jobs/5991159004

## Job description

## About the Company

We are a renewable energy and ocean technology company committed to rapidly developing and deploying technologies that will ensure a sustainable future for Earth by unlocking the vast energy potential of its oceans. Our focus is on capturing civilizational levels of ultra-low-cost renewable energy for applications including computing and affordable renewable fuels delivered to shore.

The company is a public benefit corporation headquartered in Portland, Oregon, and backed by leading venture capitalists, philanthropic investors, university endowments, and private investment offices. We operate as an idea meritocracy in which the best ideas change the company’s direction on a regular basis.

Our staff have worked at organizations such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing, Tesla, Apple, Virgin Orbit, Astra, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, New Relic, Bridgewater, Raytheon, Disney Imagineering, and the US Army and Air Force, as well as research universities, startups, and small companies across a range of industries.

## About the Job

We are seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer, Fluid Systems to play a critical role in the design and development of the fluid systems that power our core technology, the “Node.”  The Node will operate in the worst conditions the world’s oceans have to offer for years at a time without human maintenance or intervention, and fluid systems are central to its performance and reliability.

In this role, you will own the design and delivery of critical fluid subsystems and components, working within the broader system architecture to ensure performance, reliability, and manufacturability. You will contribute deep technical expertise across design, analysis, testing, and deployment, partnering closely with mechanical design, manufacturing, and test teams.

This role is ideal for a highly capable engineer who thrives in hands-on technical work, enjoys solving complex problems, and is motivated to build robust, real-world systems. You will have significant ownership over your work while collaborating closely with senior technical leaders to refine system-level design decisions.

Candidates should have strong interpersonal skills and be able to thrive in a creative, scrappy, and collaborative environment in which the best ideas change the company’s direction on a regular basis. You will own your designs cradle-to-grave, from first concept through fabrication and deployment at sea. If you are an excellent engineer, regardless of your background, we want you to apply.

## Responsibilities

- Own the design and development of critical fluid subsystems and components across all phases (concept through deployment)
- Perform detailed design and analysis, including material selection, sizing, and system integration
- Collaborate with staff and senior engineers to refine system architecture and integration strategies
- Participate in design reviews and contribute to technical decision-making
- Work closely with internal teams and external vendors to ensure high-quality fabrication and assembly
- Produce clear engineering documentation, including drawings and GD&T
- Partner with testing teams to validate performance and iterate based on test and field data
- Troubleshoot and resolve issues in development, test, and deployment environments
- Mentor junior engineers and contribute to a culture of technical excellence

Required Qualifications

- Degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, naval architecture, marine engineering, or a related field
- 5+ years designing components and subsystems for fluid systems across a range of applications
- 5+ years of 3D CAD modeling experience
- Experience with complex, safety-critical, or high-performance fluid systems
- Strong engineering fundamentals, including hand calculations and simulation tools
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to collaborate effectively with engineers, technicians, and external partners
- Experience contributing to multiple design-build-test cycles for complex systems

Desired Qualifications

- Advanced degree in a relevant engineering field or equivalent additional experience
- Proficiency with NX/Teamcenter or similar CAD/PLM tools
- Familiarity with marine or offshore systems (e.g., hydraulics, welded structures, mechanical assemblies)
- Experience with programming tools such as Python, Julia, or Mathematica
- Knowledge of engineering standards such as ASME Y14.5
- Strong organizational and problem-solving skills
- Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, iterative environment

Additional Requirements

- Travel to vendors and test sites as needed.
- Intermittently able to work longer hours and weekends to support critical needs. While we expect a lot of each other, we also offer a high degree of autonomy and work-life balance.

## Compensation and Benefits

If hired for this full-time role, you will receive:

- Cash compensation of $155,000 – $205,000.
- Equity in the company. We’re all owners and if we’re successful, this equity should be far and away the most valuable component of your compensation.
- A benefits package that helps you take care of yourself and your family, including:
- Flexible paid time off
- Health insurance (the company pays 100% of gold-level PPO plan for full-time employees, their partners, and dependents)
- Dental insurance (the company pays 100% for full-time employees, their partners, and dependents)
- Vision insurance (the company pays 100% for full-time employees, their partners, and dependents)
- Disability insurance (the company pays 100% for a policy to provide long-term financial support if you become disabled)
- Ability to contribute to tax-advantaged accounts, including 401(k), health FSA, and dependent care FSA
- Relocation assistance to facilitate your move to Portland (if needed).

Location

This is an on-site position. Our offices, lab, and shop are located in Portland, Oregon.

## About Panthalassa 

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Building a planetary-scale renewable energy platform from the ocean to power compute and more, starting with AI data centers.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series B)
- **Headquarters**: Portland, Oregon, USA
- **Founded**: 2016
- **Founders**: Garth Sheldon-Coulson (CEO); co-founders not publicly listed

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Renewable energy / ocean technology
- **Target customers**: B2B – enterprises needing clean, low-cost power for compute-intensive workloads (AI training/inference); data center operators
- **Mission or purpose statement**: “To build a planetary-scale energy platform that’s clean, sustainable, and low-cost” (public-benefit corporation)

## Products & Services
- **Panthalassa Node (Ocean-1 / Ocean-2 / Ocean-3 / Ocean-4)**: A self-propelled, wave-energy device that generates electricity onboard. The electricity powers AI compute modules housed in sealed, seawater-cooled containers below the surface. Nodes are deployed in fleets, communicate via Starlink, and are designed to be ultra-low-cost, zero-emissions, and rapidly scalable. (Type: Hardware + integrated service)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding raised – $193M (as of May 2026)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Lead investor Peter Thiel; also Leblon Capital, Nimble Partners, Western Technology Investment, Portland Seed Fund, Sozo Ventures, and 27+ others (per CB Insights). Partners include SpaceX (Starlink), major aerospace/tech alumni on team.
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - $140M Series B announced May 2026
  - 28 open job positions (as of July 2026), spanning engineering, manufacturing, marine operations, finance, IT
  - Ocean-3 pilot deployment planned for 2026, commercial deployments in 2027
  - Transitioning from R&D to mass production and field operations
  - Team includes alumni from SpaceX, Google, Blue Origin, Apple, Boeing, Amazon, Tesla, NASA, etc.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Unique wave-energy design**: No mooring, self-propelled, few moving parts, low maintenance
- **Ocean-based compute paradigm**: Eliminates land and grid constraints for data centers; uses seawater for free cooling
- **Scalability**: Devices can be mass-produced and deployed in thousands, operating autonomously as a fleet
- **Cost advantage**: Claims to produce the “cleanest, cheapest energy on Earth” by avoiding transmission infrastructure and using open-ocean wave resources

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale manufacturing**: Building work centers, processes, and test architecture for high-volume production of nodes
- **Deploy pilot fleet**: Ocean-3 construction underway; proving commercial readiness in 2026–2027
- **Develop digital thread**: Architecting data flow from engineering through manufacturing, supply chain, quality, operations, and field service
- **Expand team**: Hiring across engineering, manufacturing, marine ops, and business functions to support growth

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Public-benefit corporation with a mission-driven, frontier-tech ethos. Values “taking the work seriously, but not ourselves.” Diverse backgrounds from aerospace, software, naval architecture, military, and research.
- **Work environment**: Mostly on-site in Portland, OR (some hybrid roles, e.g., FP&A Manager). Strong emphasis on hands-on engineering, prototyping, and manufacturing.
- **Notable perks**: Opportunity to work on a novel energy platform from concept through deployment; exposure to cross-disciplinary challenges (mechanical, electrical, marine, software, autonomy); be part of a high-growth startup post-Series B.
- **Engineering culture**: Builders encouraged to own projects from design to field; emphasis on simple, manufacturable, reliable systems; use of modern tools and autonomy.

## Sources
1. [Panthalassa.com](https://panthalassa.com)
2. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panthalassa_(company))
3. [CB Insights](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/panthalassa)
4. [Greenhouse Jobs](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/panthalassa)

## Other roles at Panthalassa 

- [Prototype Fabricator](https://feeny.ai/job/prototype-fabricator-panthalassa-portland-vqrd3wd6dejp) — Portland, OR
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- [Deputy Node Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/deputy-node-lead-panthalassa-portland-2s93hhvc6ehv) — Portland, OR
- [Associate Creative Director, Visualization](https://feeny.ai/job/associate-creative-director-visualization-panthalassa-portland-9cjwk9x05557) — Portland, OR
- [Associate Creative Director, Film](https://feeny.ai/job/associate-creative-director-film-panthalassa-portland-92sq0s3tg1ew) — Portland, OR
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