Mechanical Design Engineer

Makai’s design group is interested in receiving resumes from talented and fast-learning graduate or undergraduate mechanical design engineers. These positions involve major project responsibilities in design of floating Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) plants, design of Seawater Air Conditioning (SWAC) systems and in design of unique underwater vehicles for cable placement and burial. Within the group, responsibilities may be varied and the mechanical design engineer may have responsibilities on multiple projects simultaneously.

This position will be located in Kailua-Kona, at Makai’s OTEC research facility at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA) science and tech park. The primary responsibilities will be to support the team’s goals in the development of OTEC heat exchangers, including the design, fabrication, and testing of these large components. Maintenance and operation of Makai’s research facility, as well as development and oversight of the corrosion testing facility will be part of the overall responsibilities of this position.

The ideal candidate will be a trained mechanical designer using Solidworks or a comparable 3D Modeling software with at least 300 hours of experience. Knowledge of GD&T and experience producing 2D engineering drawings is desired. The ideal candidate will have experience in the use of Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software such as ANSYS. Evidence of hands-on mechanical skills or aptitude is required for this position. A working knowledge of machine shop and common metal fabrication practices is desired. This position requires a good understanding of heat transfer and thermodynamics. Knowledge of instrumentation, data acquisition and troubleshooting these devices is a plus. Additional qualifications that Makai values highly in candidate design engineers include:

• Solid academic background with a high grade point average;
• High level of technical curiosity that will enable unique solutions to the technical challenges incumbent in the position;
• Ability and interest to learn, and apply, new technologies in support of overall technical objectives;
• Previous experience that has provided exposure to some phase of engineering design, construction or project management;
• Ability to think clearly and express oneself in written communication;
• Ability to work independently or with minimal supervision;
• A strong working knowledge of MS Office Software and common engineering analytical software such as Matlab is required;

The candidate must be willing to relocate to Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii.

All of Makai’s work is in the ocean or is marine-related. Therefore, ocean experience, background or interest is always a plus. Candidates should be U.S. citizens or possess a green card and should be locally based in Hawaii as interviews shall be conducted in person here in Hawaii. Makai provides engineers with interesting and challenging projects, a competitive salary, a strong list of company benefits, and a beautiful, unique and fun work atmosphere.

To apply for the Mechanical Design Engineer position at Makai, submit the following via email to duke.hartman@makai.com

1. Comprehensive Resume including: Overall GPA in graduate and undergraduate studies, year(s) of graduation, and country of citizenship or visa status in US.
2. Cover Letter highlighting how your education and experience are suited to our needs and why you want to work at Makai Ocean Engineering, Inc.

Applications that do not include #1 and #2 will not be considered.

 Ocean/Mechanical Project Management Engineer

Makai’s design group is interested in receiving resumes from ocean or mechanical engineers with experience in taking full leadership and responsibility for a major design project. This position will be filled as project commitments dictate, but Makai anticipates filling this position in the coming months. This position is in Makai’s design group which has major project responsibilities in design of a floating Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) plant and in design of Seawater Air Conditioning (SWAC) systems and in design of unique underwater vehicles for cable placement and burial. Candidates are referred to other sections of Makai’s website for summaries of our past work on the aforementioned technologies. The Project Management Engineer will serve as the primary liaison between the customer and Makai’s technical engineering staff; he will have full responsibility for the technical quality of the completed work and for overseeing the work of subordinate engineers.

Specific responsibilities for the Project Management Engineer position will include:

• Learning and understanding project technical requirements and how the specific aspects of the work fit into the overall project design goals;
• Understanding the capabilities of Makai’s technical staff and breaking down the project into manageable tasks to be performed by him and this staff;
• Recruiting further staff or technical consultants, if needed;
• Providing technical leadership for the staff to understand and assist them in solving challenging design and development problems;
• Taking a lead role in writing technical reports as project deliverables;
• Acting as primary contact for communication between the technical team and the client;
• Organizing and overseeing management meetings to maintain the project on schedule, on budget and to meet technical objectives;
• Checking, compiling and maintaining up to date design documentation records;
• Providing input and assistance in developing technical proposals for funding additional design projects or research and development efforts;
• Other duties as needed to complete project requirements in timely and cost effective fashion.

The ideal candidate will have at least 8 years of experience in design engineering project leadership/management with full responsibility for the technical quality of the work completed. An engineer with a Master or Ph.d in ocean or mechanical engineering is preferred, but undergraduate engineers with demonstrated technical skills and project engineering experience will be considered. The ideal candidate will already have a State of Hawaii Professional Engineer’s license or be license eligible based on licensure in another state or based on education and experience needed to take and pass the PE test.

An ability to think and write clearly and a demonstrated ability in demanding engineering analysis and project management are important assets for this position. A strong working knowledge of MS Office Software and other common engineering analytical software is required. Some experience and training in Autocad or Solidworks is a desirable skill. All of Makai’s work is in the ocean or is marine related. Therefore, ocean experience, background or interest is always a plus.

Candidates with many or all of the above qualifications will be most highly considered.

Candidates should be U.S. citizens or possess a green card and should be locally based in Hawaii as interviews shall be conducted in person here in Hawaii. Makai provides engineers with interesting and challenging projects, a competitive salary, a strong list of company benefits, and a beautiful and unique work atmosphere.

To apply for the Project Management Engineer position at Makai, submit the following via email to duke.hartman@makai.com

1. Comprehensive Resume including: Details of past project management work experience, special engineering skills or training received, overall GPA in graduate and undergraduate studies, year(s) of graduation, and country of citizenship or visa status in US.
2. Cover Letter highlighting how your experience and education are suited to our needs and why you want to work at Makai Ocean Engineering, Inc.

Applications that do not include #1 and #2 will not be considered.

 Ocean/Mechanical Engineer

Makai’s design group is interested in receiving resumes from talented and fast-learning graduate ocean and/or mechanical engineers to fill new or vacant positions as they become available. These positions are in Makai’s design group which has major project responsibilities in design of a floating Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) plant and in design of Seawater Air Conditioning (SWAC) systems in selected locations around the world. Within the group, OTEC Design responsibilities include design of large diameter pipe handling equipment, heat exchanger design, corrosion testing, OTEC plant configuration design and system analysis. SWAC design responsibilities include project development, offshore survey planning and oversight, pipeline and environmental loading analysis, detailed mechanical design tasks and construction management duties.

The qualifications that Makai values highly in candidate engineers include:

• Solid academic background with a high grade point average,
• High level of technical curiosity that will enable unique solutions to the technical challenges incumbent in the position.
• Ability and interest to learn, and apply, new technologies in support of overall technical objectives.
• Some diversity in engineering skills; for example, a candidate with a mechanical engineering undergraduate degree and ocean engineering graduate degree is preferred.
• Evidence of hands-on mechanical skills or aptitude.
• Previous experience that has provided exposure to some phase of engineering design, construction or project management.
• Ability to think clearly and express oneself in written communication.
• Ability to work independently or with minimal supervision.
• A strong working knowledge of MS Office Software and common engineering analytical software such as Matlab is required.
• Capability to use CAD software such as Solidworks and/or Autocad

Candidates with many or all of the above qualifications will be most highly considered.

All of Makai’s work is in the ocean or is marine related. Therefore, ocean experience, background or interest is always a plus. Candidates should be U.S. citizens or possess a green card and should be locally based in Hawaii as interviews shall be conducted in person here in Hawaii. Makai provides engineers with interesting and challenging projects, a competitive salary, a strong list of company benefits, and a beautiful and unique work atmosphere.

To apply for the Ocean or Mechanical Engineering position at Makai, submit the following via email to duke.hartman@makai.com

1. Comprehensive Resume including: Overall GPA in graduate and undergraduate studies, year(s) of graduation, and country of citizenship or visa status in US.
2. Cover Letter highlighting how your education and experience are suited to our needs and why you want to work at Makai Ocean Engineering, Inc.

Applications that do not include #1 and #2 will not be considered.