Mechanical Design Engineer

Pantograph; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Pantograph in San Francisco is seeking a broadly talented hands-on mechanical engineer to design, prototype, and scale our first generation of robots. Our robots are durable tools built for thousands of hours of real-world operation and crafted with purpose.

You will design parts in Onshape, build and test prototypes, and work with suppliers and the hardware team to move designs from prototype to production.

Qualifications

• Track record of designing and shipping a physical product at scale.
• Experience with bent sheet metal and flat-pattern fabrication.
• Experience with cable routing and electronics integration.
• Knowledge of reliability engineering concepts (MTBF, failure rates, uptime modeling).
• Ability to prioritize and move fast while delivering tangible progress.
• Ability to document work clearly in a small, collaborative team.

Responsibilities

• Design parts and assemblies in Onshape that balance load, form factor, durability, cost, and ease of assembly
• Build and test prototypes rapidly, with an emphasis on reliability and durability
• Sweat the details of serviceability, transportability, safety, and usability
• Support procurement by creating engineering drawings, working with suppliers to source parts and ensure final quality
• Design test fixtures, qualification fixtures, and end-of-line tests
• Work closely with the rest of the hardware team to take designs from prototype through production

Skills

Reliability engineering

Prioritization

Documentation

Clear communication

Fast-paced mindset

Tools

Onshape

Job description

Pantograph is training general models that start by watching internet-scale video and end up on robots. We think the path to capable robots runs through general intelligence rather than narrow, robot-specific skills. We're scaling simple methods across video games, real-world video, and our own fleet of affordable, durable robots.

We're looking for a broadly talented hands‑on mechanical engineer to design, prototype, and scale our first generation of robots. Our robots are durable tools, built to survive thousands of hours of real-world operation while still feeling intentional and well‑crafted. We want someone who brings product sensibility to machines that are meant to be useful.

Responsibilities:

• Design parts and assemblies in Onshape that balance load, form factor, durability, cost, and ease of assembly

• Build and test prototypes rapidly, with an emphasis on reliability and durability

• Sweat the details of serviceability, transportability, safety, and usability

• Support procurement by creating engineering drawings, working with suppliers to source parts and ensure final quality

• Design test fixtures, qualification fixtures, and end‑of‑line tests

• Work closely with the rest of the hardware team to take designs from prototype through production

You might be a good fit if you:

• Have a track record of designing and shipping a physical product at scale (this matters more to us than years of experience or any specific degree)

• Have experience designing for bent sheet metal and similar flat‑pattern fabrication methods.

• Have experience with cable routing and management, and designing around electronics

• Have a working knowledge of reliability engineering — MTBF, failure rates, uptime modeling, and basic statistical analysis

• Ruthlessly prioritize, love moving fast and making tangible progress

• Communicate clearly and document your work on a small, collaborative team

Nice to have:

• Broad familiarity with robotic systems — actuators, motors, sensors, and electromechanical integration

• Experience designing for high-volume manufacturing

• An eye for the details that make physical products satisfying to own and use

We're a small, fast-moving team working together in person in San Francisco. If this work excites you but you don't check every box, we'd still love to hear from you.