Mechanical Engineer-Federal

FieldAI; Irvine (CA); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full benefits

Equity

Generous time off

Job summary

Fieldai in Irvine, California is seeking a Mechanical Engineer to design and validate mechanical systems for autonomous robotic platforms. Your contributions will be essential in shaping solutions that integrate hardware and software in challenging environments.

The role emphasizes responsibilities across the design lifecycle, including collaboration with cross-functional teams and ensuring that systems operate reliably in the field. A competitive salary of $70,000–$300,000 along with benefits is offered.

Qualifications

• Experience in mechanical systems integration with compute and sensors.
• Familiarity with manufacturing processes such as CNC and additive manufacturing.

Responsibilities

• Design mechanical structures, models, and components.
• Conduct mechanical load testing and thermal validation.
• Collaborate closely with electrical and systems engineers.

Skills

SolidWorks

FEA

Thermal management

Mechanical debugging

Education

B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering

Job description

Who are We?

Field AI is transforming how robots interact with the real world. We build risk‑aware, reliable, and field‑ready AI systems that address the most complex challenges in robotics, unlocking the full potential of embodied intelligence. We go beyond typical data‑driven approaches or pure transformer‑based architectures, and are charting a new course, with already globally deployed solutions delivering real‑world results and rapidly improving models through real‑field applications.

About the Job

At FieldAI, we build autonomous robotic systems that operate in demanding, real‑world environments where tight integration between hardware and software is critical. We’re looking for a Mechanical Engineer to support system and component level design, integration, and validation for our wheeled robotic platforms across both federal and commercial programs.

Mechanical Systems Role

As a Mechanical Engineer on the Federal Team at Field AI, you will contribute to the design and implementation of mechanical systems that house and support sensing and compute platforms in real‑world environments. From ruggedized enclosures to thermal management to manufacturability, your work will be critical to ensuring our systems operate reliably in the field. Responsibilities may span the full lifecycle from CAD through production to field support. You will collaborate closely with electrical, compute, and systems engineers to build tightly integrated solutions ready for deployment in challenging field environments. Additionally while your focus will be on mechanical systems you will likely contribute across all hardware domains.

What You'll Get to Do

1. Mechanical System Design

• Structures: Design and model mechanical structures including external enclosures, internal compute frames, and load‑bearing chassis.
• Mounts: Design and validate robust sensor mounts, payload attachment points, and mechanical interfaces.
• Ingress Protection: Implement IP‑rated solutions with gaskets, seals, membranes, and coatings to meet water/dust ingress standards.
• Thermal Management: Incorporate thermal mitigation strategies such as fans, heat sinks, conductive paths, and airflow guides.
• Mass & Volume Budgets: Ensure adherence to payload constraints, including tight volumetric envelopes and weight limitations.

2. Mechanical System Implementation

• CAD & Simulation: Build detailed SolidWorks CAD assemblies. Run FEA and thermal simulations to validate strength, durability, and heat dissipation.
• Material & Component Selection: Choose materials and components to meet mass, strength, thermal, and manufacturability constraints.
• Design for Production: Apply DFM, DFA, DFS principles throughout the design lifecycle.
• System Testing: Conduct mechanical load testing (shock, vibration), thermal validation, ingress tests, and sensor alignment assessments.
• Prototyping: Rapidly iterate on prototypes for fit checks, thermal evaluations, and integration trials.
• Documentation & Budgets: Generate mechanical drawings, GD&T annotations, BOMs, and assembly instructions for fabrication and QA. Manage weight, volume, and thermal budgets.

3. Mechanical System Production & Servicing

• Build: Work with vendors and contract manufacturers to procure mechanical hardware. Develop QA checks for incoming units. Support payload integration and scaling.
• Debug: Investigate mechanical failures, deformation, and environmental weaknesses during testing and deployments.
• Monitor: Develop protocols for monitoring the system mechanical health and loads.

What You Have

• Education: B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, or related field.
• Experience Level: We are recruiting across a wide range of experience levels from entry level engineers to senior and staff engineers.
• CAD Expertise: Proficient with SolidWorks or equivalent mechanical CAD platforms.
• Thermal & Structural Analysis: Familiarity with FEA and thermal modeling tools.
• Field‑Ready Design: Experience designing hardware that survives vibration, shock, thermal cycling, and environmental exposure.
• Manufacturing Knowledge: Experience designing for CNC, sheet metal, additive manufacturing, and assembly workflows.
• Mechanical Systems Integration: Experience working across teams to integrate mechanical systems with compute, sensors, and power electronics.
• Lab Skills: Comfort with mechanical debugging, thermal test setups, vibration tables, and ingress testing.
• Cross Functional Robotic Skills: Ability to contribute electrical, sensing, and embedded computing work to deliver robust integrated systems.

What Will Set You Apart

• Scaling: Experience taking systems from prototype to large‑scale production.
• Field Environments: Experience developing systems for harsh field environments.
• Deployed Robotics: Experience working on robotics deployed in real‑world settings such as autonomous vehicles, drones, or ruggedized robots.
• Systems Level Robotics: Fluency across mechanical, electrical, and software systems.
• Reliability Engineering: Experience designing to meet IP ratings, MIL‑STD, or equivalent ruggedness standards.

Compensation

The salary range for this role is $70,000–$300,000. The actual offer for this position will be based on factors such as relevant experience, competencies, certifications, and how well the candidate meets the qualifications outlined above. Part of our compensation package also includes full benefits, equity, and generous time off.

FieldAI Federal Team Eligibility

This position is for our FieldAI Federal Team. This team works on projects connected to the U.S. government which requires U.S. Person eligibility. A U.S. Person as defined by 22 C.F.R §120.62 includes U.S. Citizen, U.S. National, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), refugee or asylee.

EEO Statement

We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Candidates and employees are always evaluated based on merit, qualifications, and performance. We will never discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.