Nathan is our mechanical engineering manager. He presents to us his background and his job.

MECAGINE recruits mechanical design engineers, the offers are to be found on our jobs board.

Become mechanical engineering manager: his background

Nathan, can you please present us your educational background?
After a 2-year intensive preparation course for the entrance exams to top French engineering schools, I joined the ENSMM in Besançon, the National School of Mechanics and Microtechnics. It is a generalist school with a focus on mechanical engineering.

What led you to choose this path?
It came to me rather naturally, it always interested me to know how mechanical systems worked. As a child, I was doing a lot of carpentry with my grandfather. We made furniture together: he involved me in the plans, then in the woodworking in his workshop.

And at the professional level?
I joined MECAGINE at the end of my studies, for my first permanent contract, as a mechanical design engineer. I started with fixed price projects in the special machines sector.
Then I realized several missions in the field of optronics (mechanical design for optronic embedded systems), in the medical sector and in the area of embedded electronics in an hardened environment. These projects were interspersed with periods inside our Paris mechanical design office where I worked again in the sector of the special machine, and on electronic boxes integrating boards designed by our sister company ELSYS Design.

I see that you have worked in many areas! Let’s step back a little : could you explain to us the role of a mechanical design engineer?
The goal of a mechanical engineer is to find solutions that best meet a variety of needs and characteristics expressed by a client, respecting costs and deadlines. This leads us to perform various tasks throughout the development cycle of a project (definition of the mechanical architecture, design, preparation of plans etc.) and to focus on various issues (integration, electric arc, EMC, thermal, vibratory …).

At MECAGINE, an engineer in mechanical design is interested in all these topics?
Yes, to the extent that to achieve a good product, it is necessary to take into account from the design phase all these phenomena individually, but also their interactions. We treat these different issues to fairly advanced levels, and we also have support experts when necessary.

It’s a particularly rich job…
Yes. The topics are very diverse, with high levels of technicity and quality, so you have to be versatile.

The role of the mechanical engineering manager

You were promoted to the position of mechanical engineering manager. Can you tell us more about it?
It was a very good opportunity. I find it particularly interesting to participate in the growth of a small structure, without leaving the world of technology. I take care of the project management, as well as the support part. This implies to be always listening to the teams, but also to the customers.

You also participate in the training of the teams?
Yes. As part of the projects that we carry out in the design office, which I am in charge of, we train newcomers on various subjects, in order to enable them to grow their skills. The topics covered can be technical (e.g. thermal issues), or the use of new software, manufacturing processes (e.g. injected parts, sheet metal) to issues related to particular sectors of activity.

When interviewing an applicant, do you have special expectations?
Beyond the technical skills, we are very attentive to the personality of the candidate. We are looking for versatile, dynamic people who are motivated by the company project.

His opinion about MECAGINE

To conclude, could you tell us a few words about MECAGINE. Why did you join the company?
I had felt the elements that I told you about: the diversity and quality of projects, the professional guidance, joining a small dynamic structure. Once hired, that’s what I have found.

And how do you feel?
Great 😊. And besides the good atmosphere, I appreciate the closeness we have with our ADVANS Group colleagues. One of our strengths is to benefit from these multidisciplinary teams (mechanical engineering, electronics design and software development), with a high technical level, located in many cities of France. This opens up great prospects for the development of MECAGINE, and exciting opportunities for our engineers.