Lead Mechanical Design Engineer (Relocate to Emerald QLD)

TRG (Tenth Revolution Group) is proud to be partnering exclusively with Swarm Farm Robotics, a pioneer in autonomous agriculture technology. Please note this role is ideally based in Emerald, Queensland.
We are on a mission to inspire and empower farmers around the world and together is how we make it happen. Knowing your job is knowing your position on this team. Like elite athletes, we win together when everyone owns their role, trusts their teammates, and plays to their strengths.

Clarity drives confidence, and confidence drives results. Let's ensure you know your role on our team. GAME ON!

PURPOSE

The Lead Mechanical Design Engineer leads the design, prototyping, and validation of new products across the Swarm Farm platform.

This is a hands‑on leadership role responsible for turning ideas into working machines, fast. You will lead from the front, working alongside the team to design, build, test, and refine the next generation of agricultural robotics.

EXPERIENCE SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS

Ideally, you'll bring experience across many of the following areas:

Leading or mentoring a small engineering or technical team
Mechanical design of practical, manufacturable, and serviceable components and systems
Mobile machinery, ideally within agriculture or related industries
Hydraulic systems and mechanical loading principles
FEA and design validation processes
Hands‑on fabrication, machining, welding, and workshop environments
CAD, manufacturing drawings, assemblies, and prototype development
Problem‑solving and root cause analysis
Sourcing components and working with suppliers

Managing multiple projects and priorities in a quick paced environment

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Mechanical System Design
Lead the design and development of mechanical systems across the Swarm Farm robotic platform, from concept through to detailed design, prototyping, testing, and production release.

What success looks like

New ideas move from concept to field test quickly
Designs are simple, robust, manufacturable, and easy to service
Problems are solved at the root cause, not patched
Mechanical designs survive vibration, dust, mud, weather, chemical exposure, and field use
Designs integrate cleanly with hydraulic, electrical, cooling, sensor, and software systems

Robots perform reliably in real farm conditions

Team Leadership
Set the standard for practical, high-quality mechanical design across the team.

You will lead, mentor, recruit, challenge,



and support the design team so they deliver strong outcomes quickly and consistently.

Set clear priorities for the design team
Hold people accountable for quality, speed, and outcomes
Give direct and honest feedback
Help the team make good trade‑off decisions
Keep multiple projects moving without losing focus

Build a team culture that values practical design, field feedback, and ownership

Rapid Prototyping and Development

Lead rapid prototyping and design improvement work. You will work closely with the workshop, fabrication team, suppliers, and field teams to build, test, learn, and improve quickly.

Turn ideas into models, drawings, parts, and prototypes quickly
Produce practical designs that can be fabricated and tested
Work with the workshop team to build and modify prototype components
Use feedback from testing, field use, manufacturing, and service teams to improve designs
Be comfortable with raw feedback and fast iteration

Know when a design is good enough to prototype and when it needs more engineering work

Mechanical Engineering

Take ownership of moving design decisions forward, making calls where appropriate and bringing in the right people early for higher-impact trade-offs. Take ownership of creating momentum in moving design decisions forward and collaborate with the right people to deliver outcomes
Design for durability, simplicity, serviceability, and reliability
Understand mechanical loads, stresses, vibration, fatigue, and field failure modes
Work with hydraulic systems and understand how mechanical design affects hydraulic performance, routing, serviceability, and reliability
Integrate mechanical designs with electrical, software, sensors, cooling, and manufacturing requirements
Use sound engineering judgement to balance strength, cost, weight, manufacturability, and repairability
Make design decisions with imperfect information while bringing in the right people for important trade-offs
Contribute directly to CAD design work when required

Best practices in mechanical engineering and apply this knowledge to Swarm Farms product

CAD Modelling & Engineering Documentation





Develop concepts, assemblies, production drawings, brackets, mounts, and revisions
Quickly produce DXFs and fabrication information for prototyping
Maintain clean CAD structure, drawings, part revisions, and design records
Ensure drawings are useful for manufacturing, fabrication, and suppliers

Create documentation that helps the team build, service, and improve the machine

Field Testing and Validation

Participate in prototype testing and field trials
Analyse failures and test outcomes
Identify root causes and drive permanent fixes
Validate mechanical designs for strength, vibration, fatigue, serviceability, reliability, and field durability

Ensure designs are tested against real farming conditions, not just CAD assumptions

Design Quality and Engineering Standards

Ensure designs meet Swarm Farm performance, reliability and safety expectations

Apply strong mechanical engineering judgement to system design decisions Identify opportunities to improve reliability, simplicity and cost

Multi Project Management

Manage multiple design and prototype projects simultaneously
Balance rapid development work with longer term design improvements

Maintain progress and momentum across projects in a fast paced environment

Supplier Collaboration

Source practical components and fabrication options
Build strong relationships with suppliers
Work with laser cutters, CNC folders, fabricators, powder coaters, component suppliers, and engineering partners
Coordinate prototype parts and supplier-built components

Evaluate supplier capability, quality, cost, and turnaround time Design parts that suppliers can manufacture reliably

Cross Functional Collaboration

Work closely with electrical, software and systems teams to achieve practical workable outcomes
Ensure mechanical systems integrate effectively with other subsystems

Collaborate with the manufacturing team to ensure designs are production ready.

Budget and Resource Management

Manage project budgets and allocate resources efficiently

Provide regular progress reports to senior management and stakeholders

Why Swarm Farm?

Swarm Farm is driven by three core values:

It Matters - Making a real difference for farmers and sustainable agriculture
Get It Done - Solutions-focused and committed to delivering results

We Win Together - Success is shared across customers, partners, and team members

Ready to join a leading AgTech company and make a difference?

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📌 Lead Mechanical Design Engineer (Relocate to Emerald QLD) (Mackay)
🏢 Nigel Frank International
📍 Mackay