Aftermarket Sr. Mechanical Engineer

About Us

Daifuku Intralogistics America Corporation is a leading provider of intelligent material handling systems. With hundreds of engineers in-house, the company designs, manufactures, integrates, and installs a full spectrum of intralogistics solutions to meet client needs. These include leading-edge conveyor and sortation systems, voice- and light-directed order fulfillment equipment, a suite of warehouse controls & execution software, robotics, Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS), mezzanines, and structures, all backed by critical round-the-clock service and support.

If you want to join a team of industry leading experts who want to create an impact on the future of material handling solutions, we want to hear from you!

Job Summary

The Senior Mechanical Engineer is the technical lead for conveyor and sortation application engineering and project execution within Aftermarket Engineering. The role owns brownfield retrofit, upgrade, and expansion projects in operating distribution centers across the full lifecycle, from customer discovery and concept development through estimating, detailed design, and field execution. The engineer develops and defends technical solutions for pallet, parcel, and tote applications, integrating Daifuku-manufactured and third-party equipment into existing customer systems. This position leads mechanical design reviews, mentors developing engineers, and works closely with controls engineering, sales, project management, and field service teams to deliver solutions that are accurately scoped, competitively priced, and executed as quoted. 

Essential Functions

• Lead concept development for conveyor and sortation retrofits, upgrades, and expansions, translating customer operational goals (throughput, rate, product mix, footprint, and labor) into engineered solutions.
• Evaluate installed equipment in operating facilities and make reuse, refurbish, or replace recommendations supported by engineering analysis.
• Perform application calculations including throughput and rate analysis, gapping and accumulation, drive and motor sizing, belt pull, and merge and sorter induction capacity.
• Select and specify conveyor and sortation equipment, including belt, roller, motor-driven roller (MDR), transfers, sorters, spirals, and vertical lifts, from Daifuku and third-party platforms.
• Develop rough order of magnitude (ROM) budgets, firm cost estimates, and technical proposals for aftermarket opportunities, including scope of work, assumptions, clarifications, and exclusions.
• Obtain firm pricing from other Daifuku groups and third-party vendors for material, installation, and services used in aftermarket proposals.
• Support sales through customer meetings, site surveys, and technical presentations to define scope and win work.
• Own mechanical engineering on awarded projects from sales handoff through commissioning and closeout.
• Create or direct approval, permit, and installation drawings using AutoCAD, and issue bills of material.
• Obtain vendor quotes and work with purchasing teams to issue purchase orders.
• Monitor project schedules, engineering hours, and material costs against the quoted budget; identify scope changes and support change orders.
• Plan cut-ins and phased installations in operating facilities to minimize customer downtime.
• Prioritize and manage multiple concurrent projects in Quote and Execution phases.
• Lead mechanical design reviews for conveyor and sortation projects to ensure compliance with engineering principles, company standards, applicable codes, and customer requirements.
• Serve as the technical escalation point for mechanical conveyor and sortation questions across the team.
• Mentor and develop mechanical engineers through design review feedback, project pairing, and field exposure.
• Contribute to engineering standards, templates, and estimating tools that improve team consistency and speed.
• Define mechanical-to-controls requirements for each project, including device locations, I/O requirements, sensor and photo-eye placement, motor and variable frequency drive (VFD) data, and sequence of operation intent.
• Coordinate with controls, electrical, software, and project management teams to resolve design and test problems and ensure the engineered solution fits within system constraints.
• Travel up to 20% for site surveys, measuring buildings, inventorying equipment, installation support, commissioning, and customer meetings.
• Participate in and lead continuous improvement projects.
• Employees are responsible to comply with all requirements of Daifuku’s QMS policies and procedures.
• Employees are to ensure sustainable process outputs that drive continuous improvement to provide leading industry performance and exceptional customer satisfaction.