Lead Actuator Gear Design Engineer — Onsite 4x/wk

OpenAI

San Francisco (CA)

On-site

USD 150,000 - 230,000

Full time

7 days ago

Be an early applicant

Application generator

Don’t send a generic resume — generate a resume and cover letter tailored to this exact role.

Get past ATS filters

Job summary

OpenAI is seeking an Actuator Gear Design Engineer in San Francisco to lead the design, integration, and validation of custom robotic actuator gearing. You will own actuator development from concept through prototype validation and production readiness, partnering with mechanical, electrical, controls, firmware, and reliability teams.

This in-person role requires presence 4 days a week and focuses on precision gearing, motor electromagnetics, sensing, and thermal architectures to enable scalable

Qualifications

5+ years of experience designing gears systems or robotic actuators.
Strong understanding of motors, transmissions, encoders, and thermal management.
Experience in prototype to production manufacturing workflows.

Responsibilities

Lead design and integration of custom actuator gearing for robotic systems.
Define actuator requirements and perform system-level trade studies.
Design precision electromechanical assemblies with tight tolerances and thermal considerations.
Drive integration with controls, firmware, and hardware teams to optimize performance.
Develop test methodologies and validation for actuator performance and reliability.
Collaborate with suppliers and manufacturing to scale production.

Skills

Gear design

Robotic actuators

Precision mechatronics

Encoder integration

CAD NX

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

Teamcenter

Job description

This in-person role requires presence 4 days a week and focuses on precision gearing, motor electromagnetics, sensing, and thermal architectures to enable scalable

Get your free, confidential resume review.

or drag and drop your file here.