Machine Designer

Introduction

• Description: We are looking for a seasoned professional to leader of our machine design program to lead the design aspect of GVCS machine prototypes - from concept, CAD design, and engineering design according to OSE Specifications. Unique opportunity with innovative open source hardware development organization. See also Master Prototyper and Machine Designer Invitation.
• Date of Recruiting Announcement - 8/25/12
• No. of Positions: 1
• City: Maysville
• Country / State: USA / Missouri
• Enterprise: Open Source Ecology
• Job Title Suffix: Design Director

Basic Terms

• Must live on-site at Factor e Farm (accommodations and fast internet are provided, applicant covers their own food) and follow Factor e Farm General Guidelines
• Full time commitment (no outside jobs or telecommuting unless specifically negotiated)
• Applicant covers travel to and from FeF, and any insurance needs
• Financial compensation based on risk-sharing, experience, and culture fit
• Biweekly blog posting on the Factor e Farm Blog according to FeF Blogging Standards
• Alignment with open source culture, and openness to lifelong learning

Skill Set Requirements

Basic Requirements

• Professional (or equivalent) experience in machine design of mechanical, hydraulic, precision machine, and mechatronic systems. Excellent practical sense in machine design, technical drawing, and CAD
• Design of CAM, automation, and robotic systems
• Experience with design-for-fabrication, design-for-disassembly, design-for-manufacturability, modular design
• Fabrication and machining experience
• Hydraulic power system design and build
• Excellent working knowledge of mechanisms, mechanics, electromechanical devices, and mechatronics
• Excellent working knowledge of CAD systems to generate Bills of Materials, Exploded Parts Diagrams, Animations, CAE analysis, Isometric drawings, fabrication and assembly drawings
• Ability to produce Systems Engineering Breakdown Diagrams and to define component interface designs
• Working knowledge of G, D, & T
• Excellent working knowledge of engines, engine repair, and electrical wiring
• Experience with creating bills of materials, sourcing, bidding, and preparation of work contracts
• Experience in heavy machine operation
• Excellent communication skills and technical writing ability to communicate complex design to a wide audience
• Ability to carry out performance calculations

Desired Experience

• Power electronics design and fabrication
• Hot metal processing systems design
• Electrical generator design and fabrication
• Gear design and fabrication
• Hydraulic motor design
• Engine design
• Tool and die design
• Metallurgy and alloying
• Metal casting
• Teaching experience
• Project management and startup entrepreneurship
• Agricultural machinery and heavy equipment design
• Farming
• Construction

Role

The core of the Machine Designer role is design of GVCS machines. This includes conceptual, CAD, and CAE design/analysis of mechanical, hydraulic, and mechatronic machines. The Machine Designer also engages in:

• Specifies an open source CAD solution. We are interested in leading the crowd-funding of such a project. Development is expected to be 1 year for Beta release with a team of 4 full-time programmers.
• Works closely with the Master Prototyper and the fabrication team.
• Strategic development and setting of standards towards design of the GVCS as an ecology of products where parts and modules interchange
• Focusing on design-for-fabrication, test-driven design
• Design and documentation of design-for-fabrication tool chains
• Generating Bills of Materials, estimating costs, submitting bids for engineering or construction projects, and preparing contract documents
• Generation of Fabrication Diagrams for the fabrication team
• Reports to Founding Director (FD) and executes development priorities set by the FD
• Assists FD in strategy on issues of design optimization
• Collaborates with other team members on documentation, planning, field testing, and other common activities
• Performs planning, review, and reporting process on Flashy XM platform according to Planning and Review Strategy (in development)
• Leads Flash Mob teams in crowd design sessions
• Develops fabrication procedures according to Fabrication Diagram method; develops Fabrication Diagram methodology
• Performs quality control of design work
• Trains apprentices and team members in machine design
• Coordinates with remote development teams (including design Flash Mobs) to design prototypes and components thereof
• Instills a sense of pride in excellence and inspires others towards mastery
• Crafts strategies for scaling CAD design efforts to a much greater community of intrinsically-motivated designers
• Advises the Director of Learning in developing curriculum covering machine design
• Designs processes with intent of cross-training of others in mind
• Participates in group work days on Saturdays

Requirements

The MP must be able to:

• Follow instructions from superiors, take initiative as necessary, and have the wisdom to understand the difference between the two
• Develop and implement standards for open, collaborative CAD design
• Work with both proprietary CAD tools and open source/free software
• Work with other engineering and documentation team members
• Manage interruptions and organize collaborators to meet monthly design schedules
• Manage Flash Mobs for CAD deign
• Be responsible for sound judgment
• Ask questions when uncertain or blocked
• Work with minimum supervision or work closely with teams on a schedule on teams
• Be in good physical condition
• Have excellent communication skills
• Teach apprentices
• Provide leadership and inspiration to apprentices

Application Form

Introduction

• Name
• Email
• Phone
• Link to Resume. If not available, email an attachment to recruiting at opensourceecology dot org
• Link to 3 work samples. If not available, email an attachment to recruiting at opensourceecology dot org
• Age

Core Experience

List the years of experience that you have. If not applicable, leave blank. For any items you fill - quantify your skill level with 1= good working proficiency; 2=master.

• Precision machining (mill, lathe, surface grinder, etc.)
• Custom fabrication (torching, welding, drilling, etc)
• Machine design (conceptual or CAD)
• Creating fabrication drawings
• Mechanical design with CAD
• Power electronic device design
• Electronic design
• Computer programming
• Performing CAE analysis
• Developing/managing a startup enterprise
• Heavy eqiupment operation
• Fluid power systems

Specific Skills

Please write 1 if you have solid working proficiency with any of the following, and leave blank otherwise. Please do not put 1 for 'something that you could do without a problem but have never done before' - as this is an assessment of your experience level.

Survey of Relevant Hands-on Skills

• Drilling
• Mag drilling
• Milling
• Lathing
• MIG welding
• TIG welding
• Stick welding
• Fabricating gears
• Fabricating shaft couplers
• Fabricating electrical motors
• Fabricating engines from the ground up
• Fabricating precision machines
• Making bolts
• Building hydraulic circuits
• Making ball bearings
• Oxyacetylen cutting
• Oxypropane cutting
• Water jet cutting
• Cold saw operation
• Oxyhydrogen cutting
• Surface grinding
• Band sawing
• Metal shear/punch operation
• Sharpening drill bits by hand
• Sharpending drill bits on a sharpener
• Lapping metal surfaces
• Using a digital readout
• Designing machines
• Design of power electronic devices
• DRO
• Sheet metal stamping
• Technical writing
• Creating exploded part diagrams
• Metal Casting
• Hardening steel
• Working with tool steel
• Tool-and-die making
• Press forging
• Blacksmithing
• Hot metal rolling
• Populating surface mount circuits
• Etching or milling circuits
• CNC routing of wood
• Building microcontroller circuits and sensors
• Using an induction furnace
• Sawmilling
• Table sawing
• Carpentry work
• Plumbing installation
• Pottery
• Animal husbandry
• Forest management
• Orchard management
• Farm management
• Auto mechanic work
• Small engine repair
• Chainsaw use
• Using a torque wrench
• Mortise-and-tenon construction
• Steel building erection
• High ropes fabrication work
• Bulldozing
• Plowing
• Disking
• Backhoe work
• Bobcat work

Design

• Sketchup modeling
• Professional CAD package use
• Electronic schematics design
• PCB layout design
• Power electronics design
• Windmill design
• Automotive design
• Interior design
• Architectural design
• Structural engineering design
• Thermal calculations
• Computer programming
• Web design
• Making presentations
• Speech and script writing
• On-demand publishing

Analysis and Planning Work

• Google spreadsheets and drawings
• Image processing
• Statistical analysis
• Quality control work
• Analyzing smoothness of surfaces
• G,D & T
• Site master planning
• Site analysis for planning
• Creating bills of materials
• Estimating costs
• Land surveying
• Leveling a site
• Measuring hydraulic flow rate and pressure
• Strategic planning
• Business planning
• Implementation planning
• Interviewing
• Systems design
• Mechanical interface design

Soft Skills

Please write 1 if you have solid working proficiency with any of the following, and leave blank otherwise.

• Teaching students
• Managing teams
• Emotional intelligence
• Videograohy
• Photography
• Cooking
• Editing video
• Blogging
• Counseling
• Mediation
• Meditation
• Reading body language
• Empathizing
• Yoga, Tai Chi, and other body-mind arts
• Massage
• Integrative transformative practice
• Public speaking