Lead Mechanical Engineer

Akkar; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Akkar is seeking a Lead Mechanical Engineer in San Francisco to own the mechanical design of robotic grinding and finishing cells, from end effectors to fixturing, force compliance, dust management, and safety systems.

You will drive designs from prototype through deployment, testing hardware on the factory floor and iterating based on production data to deliver robust finishing systems for diverse parts and customers.

Qualifications

• Experience in industrial robotics/automation machinery design.
• Experience designing mechanical systems involving robotic tooling, end effectors, fixturing, or force compliance.
• Experience managing the full product lifecycle.

Responsibilities

• Design production-ready robotic cells including end effectors, tooling, fixturing, force-compliance systems, and safety/dust management.
• Improve finishing performance by optimizing abrasives, contact mechanics, material removal, surface quality, and cycle times.
• Take designs onto the factory floor, testing and iterating hardware in real production environments.
• Develop solutions for new parts and customers, establishing repeatable mechanical approaches and tooling standards.
• Work with robotic arms, force/torque sensing, vision, and other automation technologies to deliver reliable finishing systems.
• Drive designs from prototype through deployment and help ensure cells can operate reliably with minimal operator intervention.

Skills

Mechanical design

Robotics

End effectors

Fixturing

Force control

Safety systems

Production testing

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Job description

Ready to solve one of manufacturing’s toughest automation challenges?

We’re excited to be partnering with a rapidly growing robotics company developing intelligent automation for high-mix manufacturing. Their technology is tackling one of the industry’s biggest bottlenecks: automating grinding and finishing in environments where every part can be different.

They’re looking for a Lead Mechanical Engineer who understands that successful automation is about far more than getting a robot to move. You’ll help design systems that can handle abrasive wear, changing part geometry, force control, fixturing, cycle times, and the realities of a production floor, turning promising robotic demonstrations into cells that deliver repeatable results.

Why Join?

• Work on robotic systems already solving real manufacturing problems in production.
• Shape the mechanical architecture of next‑generation grinding and finishing cells.
• Solve challenging problems across robotics, tooling, abrasives, force control, and manufacturing.
• See your designs tested directly on the factory floor and continuously improve them based on real production data.
• Help establish the standards and technology that will allow the company to scale across new parts, processes, and customers.
• Join a small, highly technical team where your experience and decisions will have a direct impact.

The Role

As a Lead Mechanical Engineer, you’ll own the mechanical design of robotic grinding and finishing cells, from end effectors and tool changers to force compliance, fixturing, dust management, and safety systems.

What You’ll Do

• Design production-ready robotic cells including end effectors, tooling, fixturing, force-compliance systems, and safety/dust management.
• Improve finishing performance by optimizing abrasives, contact mechanics, material removal, surface quality, and cycle times.
• Take designs onto the factory floor, testing and iterating hardware in real production environments.
• Develop solutions for new parts and customers, establishing repeatable mechanical approaches and tooling standards.
• Work with robotic arms, force/torque sensing, vision, and other automation technologies to deliver reliable finishing systems.
• Drive designs from prototype through deployment and help ensure cells can operate reliably with minimal operator intervention.

What We’re Looking For

• Experience is industrial robotics/ automation machinery design/ machinery design
• Experience designing mechanical systems involving robotic tooling, end effectors, fixturing, or force compliance.
• Experience managing the full product lifecycle