What the work involves

You will work from written design briefs to produce fully-parametric models of mechanical parts and assemblies — the emphasis is not on a pretty render but on a defensible feature tree, clean sketch constraints, and a model that survives being edited. A large share of tasks are the inverse: you receive an existing model plus a new technical requirement, make the change, and document exactly what you altered and why. A third stream is audit work — checking someone else's model for dimensional errors, sloppy tolerance application, or geometry that would be miserable to injection mold. Every task carries a written deliverable, because the reasoning behind your choices is often the part the AI is actually learning from.

The project runs in FreeCAD. micro1 is explicit that they are recruiting on parametric CAD skill rather than FreeCAD hours — sketch-based features, constraint solving, and design intent transfer across SolidWorks, Inventor, and Fusion. Prior FreeCAD exposure is a genuine advantage but not a gate. Expect a short ramp where you map familiar operations onto unfamiliar menus and get acquainted with FreeCAD's topological naming quirks.

What the screen looks for

  • Depth of manufacturing exposure, not just software hours. They want people who have supported at least two of injection molding, sheet metal, CNC, and casting/forging, and who can explain a DFM decision in terms of tooling reality — draft, wall thickness, bend relief, tool access — rather than reciting rules.
  • Real GD&T practice under ASME Y14.5 or equivalent, applied on drawings that went to a supplier, not learned from a course.
  • Current activity. Involvement in mechanical or industrial CAD work now, or very recently.
  • Written clarity. Change logs and audit findings are the product; vague prose is a real disqualifier.

Stated experience preferences are steep: roughly 4+ years for model editing tasks and 10+ years for authoring complex assemblies. Reverse engineering (scan-to-CAD, point cloud work) and CAD automation via Python, iLogic, or VBA are treated as meaningful bonuses.

Logistics

Fully remote contractor engagement, coordinated asynchronously with written reports plus occasional verbal check-ins with project coordinators. Hours are flexible and task-driven; contributors typically self-schedule around a weekly commitment agreed with the coordinator. Observed pay on this listing sits between $40 and $100 per hour, with placement in that band tracking assembly-level and GD&T depth — bands are as reported, not guaranteed.