Hands-On Mechanical Design Engineer — Robotics Hardware

Gradient Robotics; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Gradient Robotics is seeking a Mechanical Engineer to own subassemblies from first sketch to validated hardware. This hands-on role requires designing a part, performing hand calcs and basic FEA, fabricating, and testing on the robot, with rapid iteration on failures within the same week.

You will work closely with a small team in San Francisco, on-site five days a week (six during crunch times), building components that scale AI infrastructure worldwide.

Qualifications

• 1-4 years of mechanical design experience (exceptional new grads with strong project or internship work are welcome)
• Solid fundamentals: statics, materials, tolerance analysis, fasteners, and basic FEA
• Experience building things: student teams, products that shipped, prototypes that worked
• Hands-on machining experience: we have some really cool machines, and as a small team, engineers do need to make their own parts at times
• Able to work on-site in San Francisco 5 days/week (6 days/week if needed during crunch time), embedded in the team

Responsibilities

• Own a subassembly and its parts through design, hand calcs, FEA, fabrication, assembly, and validation
• Own the supporting analysis: hand calcs, tolerance stack-ups, fastener and material selection, and basic FEA
• Build, assemble, and test your own parts on test fixtures and on the robot
• Iterate fast: turn feedback from a failed test into a revised part the same week

Skills

Statics

Materials

Tolerance analysis

Fasteners

Basic FEA

Hand calcs

Machining

On-site work

Tools

Fusion 360

Job description

Gradient Robotics is seeking a Mechanical Engineer to own subassemblies from first sketch to validated hardware. This hands-on role requires designing a part, performing hand calcs and basic FEA, fabricating, and testing on the robot, with rapid iteration on failures within the same week.

You will work closely with a small team in San Francisco, on-site five days a week (six during crunch times), building components that scale AI infrastructure worldwide.