Senior Mechanical Design Engineer

Responsibilities

Subsystem Design & Analysis

• Architect and detail-design core mechanical structures, castings, and weldments for the robot.
• Conduct rigorous FEA (static, fatigue, and modal) to optimize for weight, stiffness, and manufacturability.
• Design complex, high-precision mounting interfaces for high-torque actuators, LiDARs, and vision systems, ensuring zero backlash and precise alignment.

Verification, Validation & Reliability Engineering

• Translate product needs into verifiable engineering requirements for subsystems.
• Develop and execute physical verification and validation protocols, including drop testing, vibration-table testing, and continuous load cycling.
• Own subsystem DFMEA and implement design changes to mitigate identified failure modes.

Real-to-Virtual Fidelity

• Create and maintain mathematically rigorous URDFs for subsystems.
• Calculate inertial properties, center of mass, and friction models for simulation and controls teams.

Prototyping & Mentorship

• Lead rapid prototyping efforts to physically validate designs before committing to expensive tooling.
• Mentor junior engineers in CAD best practices, FEA setups, and GD&T application.

Required Qualifications & Skills

• Bachelor's or master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace, or Robotics.
• 4–8 years of professional experience designing dynamic mechanical systems.
• Expert proficiency in CAD software, such as Onshape or equivalent, and PDM systems.
• Strong experience applying GD&T according to ASME Y14.5 and performing complex 3D tolerance stack-up analyses.
• Deep understanding of material science, metal fabrication—including machining, welding, and casting—and structural mechanics.
• Strong hands-on fabrication and prototyping skills.

Preferred Experience

• Experience designing mobile robots, heavy-duty gimbals, or CNC machinery.
• Practical experience writing Python or MATLAB scripts to automate kinematic or dynamic calculations.