How to apply for Senior Mechanical Engineer

About Frost Methane

Frost Methane builds proprietary technology that neutralizes methane to curb global warming and generates high-value carbon offsets. The company works with rural communities and operates as a small team, so each hire owns a full function rather than a narrow slice.

About the role

This is the mechanical engineering function for the hardware stack. You own the flare design, site sizing and piping design, and mechanical manufacturing documentation, and you coordinate with operations on fabrication. You also work with the electrical team on subsystem integration and travel to farm sites for 2-4 installs per year.

A typical day

You might spend the morning refining flare part and assembly drawings in Fusion 360, then meet with operations to plan a fabrication run. Later you could review piping layouts for a farm site, sync with the electrical team on subsystem integration, or prepare for an upcoming field install. Some weeks include travel to a farm site to support an installation and bring back design improvements.

Who Frost Methane is looking for

• 5+ years of mechanical design experience taking hardware from concept through manufacturing, with a portfolio that shows the full path from idea to built product.
• Hands-on experience with sheet metal, welded, and plumbing part design, plus assembly design for custom hardware.
• Working knowledge of combustor design for biogas or other low-BTU fuels, including how fuel properties affect burner and flare sizing.
• Strong CAD skills, ideally in Fusion 360, and comfort producing part drawings, assembly drawings, and manufacturing procedures.
• Willingness to travel to farm sites and participate in field installs to see how designs perform in real conditions.

Tips for this application

• Lead with one or two projects where you owned the mechanical design end to end, from concept through manufacturing, and state the materials and processes used.
• Name Fusion 360 explicitly in your materials if you have used it, and list any other CAD tools you know so the team can gauge ramp-up time.
• Describe any combustor, flare, burner, or low-BTU fuel work in concrete terms, including fuel type, sizing approach, and test results.
• Show that you can write manufacturing documentation by referencing drawing packages, procedures, or work instructions you have produced.
• Mention any field or site installation experience, since the role includes 2-4 installs per year and travel to farm sites.

What to cover in your cover letter

['Your end-to-end ownership of mechanical hardware from concept through manufacturing, with specific examples.', 'Any direct experience with combustor design, biogas, or low-BTU fuels, and what you learned about sizing and performance.', 'Your ability to produce manufacturing documentation and coordinate with operations or fabrication partners.', 'Your interest in working with rural communities and doing field installs, since this is part of the role.']

Research before applying

• Read about methane's global warming potential and how methane abatement generates carbon offsets, so you understand the product's value chain.
• Look into biogas flare design and low-BTU combustion basics, including typical farm digester gas compositions and flow rates.
• Find any public information on Frost Methane's flare technology, deployments, or partnerships with rural communities.
• Check what Fusion 360 workflows are common for sheet metal and welded assemblies so you can speak to your process in the interview.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• Walk through a hardware project you took from concept to manufacturing. What did you design, what processes did you use, and what changed after it was built?
• How would you approach combustor or flare design for a low-BTU fuel such as biogas? What parameters drive sizing and stability?
• Describe your experience with sheet metal, welded, and plumbing part design. What tolerances and joining methods do you typically specify?
• How do you handle site sizing and piping design when farm size data varies? What inputs do you need and how do you model them?
• Tell us about a time you worked with an electrical team or another discipline to integrate subsystems. How did you manage interfaces?

Common mistakes to avoid

• Presenting only CAD models or renderings without evidence that your designs were actually manufactured and used.
• Ignoring the field component of the role, such as travel and installs, or implying you only want desk-based design work.
• Using generic language about climate impact without connecting it to the specific technical work of methane abatement and flare design.