Mechanical & Durability Test Engineer

Dexmate; Fremont (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Dexmate Inc. is hiring a Mechanical & Durability Test Engineer in Fremont, CA to own mechanical validation across our robots. You will define test plans, build fixtures, run durability campaigns, and tear down failed parts to root cause.

This hands-on role keeps you in the lab, instrumenting hardware, running tests, and documenting results. You will work closely with design engineers, suppliers, and labs to ensure hardware readiness for shipping, applying Weibull analyses and robust testing

Qualifications

• BS in Mechanical Engineering or related field; hands-on test work counts.
• 4+ years in mechanical test, validation, or reliability for robotics/industrial hardware.
• Hands-on with shop tools; able to build test setups.
• Experience instrumenting tests with strain gauges, load cells, and DAQ.
• Experience designing fatigue, durability, or accelerated life tests.
• CAD proficiency (SolidWorks/Onshape) for fixture design.
• Strong root-cause analysis and technical writing.

Responsibilities

• Translate customer usage into lab test specs and reliability targets.
• Define and execute mechanical validation plans for structures and actuators.
• Run strength, stiffness, stability, drop and load tests.
• Design and run accelerated life tests on joints and cables.
• Perform environmental tests (vibration, thermal cycling, dust/water ingress).
• Design and build test fixtures and jigs.
• Instrument tests and report results.
• Correlate data with FEA/CAE models and feedback to design.
• Lead failure analysis and maintain a failure-mode database.
• Present Weibull/risk data and ship/no-ship recommendations.
• Coordinate with suppliers and outside labs for testing.
• Write clear test procedures for technicians and Shenzhen team.

Skills

Hands-on test experience

CAD proficiency

Root-cause analysis

Instrumentation with strain gauges/DAQ

Fatigue/durability testing

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

CAD tools (SolidWorks/Onshape)

DAQ systems

Job description

Dexmate is building the foundation for physical AI — combining a new generation of robots with a universal Physical AI OS, making robots as easy to build and deploy as software. Today, robotics is fragmented, slow, and closed: most builders are forced to reinvent the same stack again and again, and most ideas never make it past the prototype stage. We exist to change that. Our mission is to democratize robotics by lowering the barrier to entry, delivering a plug-and-play platform for developers, researchers, and enterprises, and cultivating an open ecosystem that accelerates the evolution of physical AI. If you want to help shape the next layer of human capability — and believe the future of robotics should be built together, not in isolation — we’d love to build it with you.

THE ROLE

We are looking for Mechanical & Durability Test Engineers to prove that our robots are strong, stable, and built to last. You will own mechanical validation across our robots — from defining test plans and building fixtures to running durability campaigns and tearing down failed parts to find root cause. You will set how mechanical testing is done at Dexmate, and your sign-off will decide whether hardware is ready to ship.

This is a hands-on role. You will spend most of your time in the lab — building fixtures, instrumenting hardware, running tests, and tearing down parts yourself. We care most about what you have actually built, tested, and broken.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Translate real customer usage profiles into lab test specs and reliability targets, even when field data is still limited

• Define and execute mechanical validation plans for robot structures, joints, actuators, gearboxes, bushings, end effectors, and mobile bases at component, subsystem, and full-robot level

• Run strength, stiffness, stability, and tip-over tests; drop, impact, and collision tests; and static and dynamic load tests

• Design and run accelerated life and durability tests on joints, actuators, cables, and wear components, including continuous duty-cycle runs on full robots

• Run environmental tests — vibration, shock, thermal cycling, humidity, and dust/water ingress — in-house or with external labs

• Design and build test fixtures, jigs, and stands (CAD through fabrication)

• Instrument tests with strain gauges, load cells, torque sensors, encoders, and DAQ; analyze and report results

• Correlate test data with FEA/CAE models and feed findings back to design engineers

• Lead mechanical failure analysis: teardowns, root cause, corrective action, and verification of fixes; build and maintain a failure-mode database that feeds back into design

• Turn test data into statistical risk assessments (e.g., Weibull life estimates) and present clear ship/no-ship recommendations to leadership

• Work with suppliers on part-level qualification and with outside labs on certification testing

• Write clear test procedures that technicians and our Shenzhen team can run consistently

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• BS in Mechanical Engineering or a related field, or equivalent hands-on experience — proven test work matters more to us than the degree

• 4+ years of hands-on experience in mechanical test, validation, or reliability engineering for robotics, automotive, aerospace, industrial equipment, or consumer hardware

• Hands-on with shop tools and comfortable building your own test setups

• Hands-on experience instrumenting tests with strain gauges, load cells, and DAQ systems

• Experience designing and running fatigue, durability, or accelerated life tests

• Proficiency in CAD (SolidWorks, Onshape, or equivalent) for fixture design

• Strong root-cause analysis skills and clear technical writing

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience testing actuators, gearboxes (harmonic, planetary, cycloidal), or legged/wheeled robots

• Experience with vibration, shock, thermal, and IP testing and relevant standards (IEC 60068, IEC 60529)

• Familiarity with FEA and test-to-simulation correlation

• Knowledge of reliability methods: FMEA, Weibull analysis, HALT/HASS

• Python, MATLAB, or JMP for test data analysis

• Experience with failure analysis tools such as X-ray/CT, microscopy, or cross-sectioning

• Experience working with contract manufacturers and suppliers in Asia