Mechanical Design / CAD Expert

What you'll do

The work tests whether AI can think like a production design engineer. You solve advanced problems across part and assembly design, GD&T, tolerance stack-up and design for manufacture, then review AI-generated technical answers to the same kind of problems and judge whether they are correct, accurate and good engineering.

The problems mix real production scenarios with theoretical questions, and the ad expects the standard toolkit: stack-up analysis, GD&T per ASME Y14.5, and DFM/DFA review. Your written explanation of why an answer is wrong is the part that teaches the model, so clarity counts as much as correctness.

It is remote, with a distributed team of other experts.

Who fits

• A BS or MS in mechanical engineering, aerospace or industrial design (CSWP or CSWE is a plus)
• At least five years in production design, having personally owned designs through GD&T, tolerance stacks, DFM and drawing release
• Expert command of parametric CAD, ASME Y14.5 and stack-up analysis
• A record of taking designs from concept through detail drawings, ECR/ECN and release
• Familiarity with ASME B89 metrology and with machining, sheet metal, injection moulding and casting constraints
• Professional written and spoken English
• SolidWorks, Creo, NX, CATIA or Inventor, PLM/PDM, or CAM/CNC experience is a plus

The ad strongly prefers evidence that you can author problems as well as solve them, and its list is specific: olympiad problem committees, textbook problem-set or solutions-manual credits, NCEES or qualifying-exam item writing, ASME Y14.5 or B89 committee service, top placings or team lead roles in Formula SAE/Formula Student, ASME HPVC, MATE ROV or a DARPA challenge, or recognition such as NSF CAREER, DOE Early Career, a Sloan Fellowship or ASME Fellow.

What it pays

$60–130/hour, but the ad says pay is output-based: you are paid per task that meets the project specification, and a minimum number of submissions per week applies (the exact minimum is not given in the ad). So the hourly band is an equivalent, and your real rate depends on how fast you produce accepted work. Rejected tasks are not paid.

For comparison, micro1's Industrial Design CAD Expert listing pays $40–80 for writing questions about FreeCAD assemblies, with no years floor.

Start timeline

micro1 says it typically fills these roles within 48 hours and expects selected experts to start their first tasks within 24–48 hours of finishing onboarding. Apply when you have capacity now.

Worth knowing

Good:

• A high ceiling for mechanical engineers, and the work is genuine design reasoning
• Twenty-five openings, flagged high demand
• The pay mechanism is disclosed up front
• Fast start if you are selected

Less good:

• Per-task pay means unaccepted work is unpaid, and no acceptance rate is published
• A weekly submission minimum, with the number not stated in the ad
• The strongly preferred list is a pedigree filter that many capable engineers will not meet
• No hours or project length published
• Contractor engagement: no benefits, no notice period, your own tax to manage

About this listing

Posted by micro1 on its own jobs portal and read on 24 September 2026; it had been up for about two months. The $60–130/hour band, the compensation and start paragraphs, and the qualifications above are its published text (the ad's internal role title is CAD / Mechanical Design Expert). No country restriction is stated. See micro1.