Founding Mechanical Engineer
Job Description
Drogue is building the world's first offshore floating data centers. We're a small team tackling a massive, first-of-its-kind engineering challenge. If you thrive in ambiguity, love hard problems, and want to build something that's never been built before — keep reading.
We're not putting servers on a barge. We're engineering a new class of ocean-deployed infrastructure that generates its own power, recovers its own waste heat, stays on station in severe weather, and runs autonomously. This requires a mix of first principles engineering and existing technology from other industries.
As our Founding Mechanical Engineer you'll own the physical structure and mechanical systems that hold everything together and keep it working at sea. Heat exchangers, structures, pipes, mechanical interfaces between subsystems — if it's metal and it matters, it's yours. You'll work hand-in-hand with our ocean engineer and thermodynamics engineer to make sure everything integrates cleanly and survives the marine environment.
Responsibilities:
Design structural and mechanical systems for the platform: frames, supports, enclosures, piping, and mechanical interfaces
Perform structural analysis and ensure designs meet load, fatigue, and corrosion requirements for offshore service
Hands-on exposure to production environments and fabrication processes — structural welding, pipe fabrication, heat exchanger assembly, and the judgment to know what survives the shop floor versus what looks good in CAD.
Own material selection and mechanical integrity for saltwater, vibration, and thermal cycling environments
Qualifications:
B.S./M.S. in Mechanical Engineering
Hands-on structural and mechanical design experience — you've built things, not just analyzed them
Comfort with FEA tools and CAD, and the judgment to know when the model is wrong
This role is based in Washington, D.C. and will include some time at sea. We offer generous relocation assistance for candidates across the US. We pay our employees competitive salaries based on level of experience and offer meaningful equity in a fast growing company. Apply below, or reach out at [email protected] with questions.