---
title: 'Senior Mechanical Engineer - Thermophotovoltaic Hardware & Manufacturing at Antora Energy'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-mechanical-engineer-thermophotovoltaic-hardware-manufacturing-antora-24yw9z12n42z'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-14'
---

# Senior Mechanical Engineer - Thermophotovoltaic Hardware & Manufacturing at Antora Energy

- **Company:** Antora Energy
- **Location:** San Jose, CA
- **Posted:** 2026-10-03
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-14
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/antora/jobs/6216389004

## Job description

Antora Energy delivers affordable, reliable energy to industry, data centers, and the grid. Our thermal batteries turn low-cost electricity into always-on heat and power, without supply-constrained critical minerals or multi-year construction timelines.

We are growing our company with people who put team and mission first, value connection through laughter and joy, and work with humility and openness. We are committed to building a diverse, passionate, and creative team dedicated to a future powered by abundant, clean, low-cost energy.

Position Summary

You will own the design, sourcing, and manufacturing of the structural and thermal hardware interfacing with Antora's thermophotovoltaic (TPV) modules. Our Heat-to-Power team builds TPV heat engines that convert stored high-temperature radiant heat into electricity, and we need an engineer who can turn our working TPV assembly into a product we can build reliably at low cost. Your first project is designing, prototyping, and testing our next-generation TPV assembly: large extruded cold plates with removable TPV modules on direct bonded copper (DBC) substrates. After that, you will carry each new generation of TPV hardware into production by building our supplier base, driving DFM and cost-down, and improving performance and reliability. You will partner with our architecture lead, who owns system concept and analysis, and work closely with thermal, electrical, and test engineers at our R&D facility.

Roles & Responsibilities

- Own the mechanical design of TPV hardware from concept through production release.
- Design, prototype, and test our next-generation TPV assembly, including large extruded aluminum cold plates and a reversible attachment for DBC-based TPV modules.
- Frame thermal simulation requests for our thermal engineers (the question, inputs, boundary conditions, and the decision each result informs), and run first-order thermal models yourself to screen options before committing to hardware.
- Use AI tools (Claude, ChatGPT, or similar) throughout the work, from supplier packages and cost models to analysis scripts and first-order thermal models.
- Produce release-ready detailed drawings with GD&T and tolerance stack-ups, and set the standard for drawing quality on TPV hardware.
- Build and manage our supplier base of machine shops, extruders, and fabricators: run RFQs, evaluate capability and cost, manage lead times, own first-article inspection and supplier quality issues.
- Drive DFM/DFA and cost-down: own the BOM and cost model, and reduce part count, assembly steps, and failure points such as coolant connections.
- Get hardware built through hands-on prototyping, assembly, and fixture design.
- Plan and run thermal, pressure, leak, and reliability tests with our test team to qualify designs.
- Carry each new generation of TPV hardware into production, including sourcing, qualification, and continuous improvement.
- Document designs, assembly procedures, and inspection criteria so hardware can be built and serviced repeatedly.

## Key Qualifications

- 5+ years of professional mechanical engineering experience, including hardware you carried from prototype into production.
- Deep, practical knowledge of manufacturing processes such as CNC machining, extrusion, brazing, welding, and sheet metal, and of what drives cost, lead time, and yield.
- Extensive direct work with machine shops, fabricators, and contract manufacturers: RFQs, supplier selection, first-article inspection, and resolving quality issues.
- Expert at release-ready detailed drawings, including GD&T and tolerance stack-up analysis.
- Proficient in 3D CAD and PDM/PLM release workflows.
- Hands-on builder: comfortable assembling, fixturing, and testing prototypes yourself.
- Experience designing liquid-cooled or thermally loaded hardware such as cold plates, heat exchangers, seals and fluid fittings, or thermal interface materials.
- Experience working with thermal analysts: framing the question, specifying inputs and boundary conditions, and critically interpreting simulation results before acting on them.
- Clear written and verbal communication, and experience leading design reviews across mechanical, thermal, electrical, and test disciplines.
- Fluent with Claude, ChatGPT, or similar AI tools in day-to-day engineering work, such as drafting RFQs and specifications, comparing supplier quotes, checking tolerance stacks, writing analysis scripts, and setting up first-order thermal models.
- BS, MS or Ph.D in Mechanical Engineering or a related field.
- Ability to work onsite.

Additional Qualifications Desired

- Power electronics or semiconductor module packaging: DBC or AMB substrates, baseplates, direct-cooled modules, EV traction inverters, or similar.
- Vacuum or controlled-atmosphere hardware.
- Reliability and qualification testing: thermal cycling, pressure and leak testing, failure analysis.
- Structural FEA for design checks such as clamping, flatness, and thermal stress.
- Cost-down and production ramp experience at a startup or scaling manufacturer.
- Background in photovoltaics, energy conversion, or other energy hardware.

Work Location:  Onsite - Sunnyvale, CA

Salary Range:  $115,000 USD - $210,000 USD

Salary Basis:  Annual

Please note that the salary range listed above reflects Antora Energy's estimated pay for this position. The actual salary offered will be within the posted range and determined based on several factors including but not limited to a candidate's experiences, credentials and expertise, as they pertain to the position's requirements.

In addition to a competitive base salary, Antora Energy’s Total Rewards program includes equity compensation in the form of stock options, a premium health benefits package with life and disability insurance, a 401K plan with employer contributions, flexible spending accounts, and an industry leading paid-time-off policy that features flexible and inclusive holiday observance, as well as paid volunteer time off.

#LI-Onsite https://diversityjobs.com/employer/top-diversity-employers?utm_campaign=TopEmployer&utm_medium=badge  When it comes to stopping climate change, we need everyone. We believe that having a diversity of backgrounds and experiences strengthens all of us, and we strive to create an environment where every one of us is empowered to create meaningful change.

## About Antora Energy

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Antora Energy manufactures and deploys modular thermal batteries that convert low-cost, intermittent clean electricity into reliable, always-on heat and power for global industrial facilities and data centers.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series B)
- **Headquarters**: San Jose, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2018
- **Founders**: Justin Briggs, Andrew Ponec, David Bierman

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Renewable Energy Power Generation, Thermal Energy Storage, Industrial Decarbonization
- **Target customers**: Large-scale industrial energy users (biofuels, refining, pulp & paper, steel & iron, chemicals, mining, concrete & lime, food & beverage) and data center operators (B2B, Enterprise).
- **Mission or purpose statement**: “We are here to power global industry with clean energy.” The company aims to make cheap, clean energy the standard that powers global industry.

## Products & Services
- **Thermal Battery System**: A modular, factory-built energy storage system that uses solid carbon (one of the safest, most stable materials on earth) to store surplus clean electricity as heat. It delivers always-on heat and power for industrial operations, scales from megawatts to gigawatts, and is designed for low cost, rapid deployment, and massive scale.
- **Project Big Stone**: One of the largest battery storage systems in the world, deployed in under 12 months for POET, the world’s largest biofuels producer. It delivers affordable, reliable energy and serves as a proof-of-concept for the company’s giga-scale deployment model.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available.
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of **$220.0M** across 10 rounds, including a $150M Series B led by Decarbonization Partners (Feb 2024). Annual revenue estimated at **$7.7M**.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Decarbonization Partners, National Science Foundation, California Energy Commission. Key partner: POET (biofuels).
- **Growth Signals**: 197 employees (+36.6% YoY), 31,700 LinkedIn followers (+42.9% YoY), active job postings up 140% YoY. The company is building gigawatt-hours of thermal batteries annually at its U.S. factory and has a presence in Spain.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Proprietary Technology**: Uses solid carbon thermal storage—a simple, safe, and low-cost material—to provide both heat and power, differentiating from chemical battery or molten salt solutions.
- **Modular & Factory-Built**: Modules are manufactured in a U.S. factory, enabling rapid deployment, seamless integration, and operational redundancy at any scale.
- **Speed to Market**: Project Big Stone advanced from an empty lot to energy delivery in under 12 months, demonstrating a fast deployment model that can be replicated globally.
- **Multi-day Storage**: Provides reliable energy for industrial operations where downtime is not an option, solving the intermittency problem of renewables.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale and Replicate**: Replicating the Project Big Stone model at factories and data centers across the U.S. and globally.
- **Giga-scale Manufacturing**: Expanding factory capacity to produce gigawatt-hours of thermal batteries each year, with a focus on American manufacturing.
- **Market Expansion**: Targeting hard-to-abate industrial sectors (steel, cement, chemicals) and data centers, while expanding internationally (e.g., Spain).
- **Cost Leadership**: Driving down costs to make cheap, clean energy the standard for global industry.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-Driven Work**: The company’s north star is to power global industry with clean energy, offering employees a chance to work on one of the most urgent climate challenges.
- **Culture**: Values include “Build with Humility & Openness,” “Team & Mission First,” and “Joy & Laughter Connect Us.” The company emphasizes kindness, collaboration, and learning from setbacks.
- **Work Environment**: Hybrid/remote-friendly with “Home Week” each quarter to bring in-person and remote team members together. Offices in San Jose, CA; Big Stone City, SD; and remote roles in the U.S.
- **Benefits**: Competitive salary, stock options, 401k match, 16 weeks paid parental leave, comprehensive medical/vision/dental, HSA with employer contribution, subsidized backup childcare/senior care/petcare, mental health support, on-site gym, healthy snacks, and volunteer time off.
- **Engineering & Impact**: Teams work on cutting-edge thermal storage, manufacturing, and field engineering. The company is growing fast (36% headcount growth) and offers the chance to shape a new industry.

## Sources
1. [antora.com](https://www.antora.com/)
2. [antora.com/company](https://www.antora.com/company)
3. [antora.com/careers](https://www.antora.com/careers)
4. [linkedin.com/company/antora-energy](https://www.linkedin.com/company/antora-energy)
5. [cbinsights.com/company/antora-energy](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/antora-energy)

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