Mechanical Engineer Intern

Foundation Robotics Lab; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 34,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Foundation Robotics Lab is seeking engineering interns to advance the development of dexterous humanoid hands in a fast-paced startup setting. You will directly work on CAD models, tolerancing, and fabrication of hand components while collaborating with controls and sensor teams to ensure seamless integration.

Through hands-on design, testing, and iteration, you will gain exposure to real hardware from day one and help push the capabilities of our robotic fingers toward robust, repeatable

Qualifications

• Pursuing BS/MS/PhD in Mechanical Engineering with coursework in mechanics, materials science, and structural engineering.
• Strong understanding of kinematics, mechanism design, workspace, singularities, and force transmission in multi-joint fingers.
• Familiarity with contact mechanics, tribology, and endurance over millions of grasp cycles.
• Understanding of tolerance analysis and GD&T and their importance in tendon-driven fingers.
• Proficient in SolidWorks, Fusion 360, CATIA, or equivalent CAD tools for multi-body assemblies.
• Experience with lightweight structure design, topology optimization, and material removal strategies.
• Basic FEA experience in SolidWorks Simulation or ANSYS; interpret von Mises stress.
• Knowledge of tendon-driven and linkage-driven actuation mechanisms; capstans, routing guides.
• Familiar with actuators like micro brushless DC motors and linear actuators and integration challenges.

Responsibilities

• Participate in CAD design, fabrication, and testing of robotic hand components.
• Perform tolerancing analysis and support prototype development.
• Work with controls and sensors teams to align mechanical design with software.
• Document design choices and validate parts against specifications.

Skills

Kinematics

Mechanism design

Tolerance analysis

Prototyping

Four-bar linkage

Education

BS in Mechanical Engineering

MS/PhD preferred

Tools

SolidWorks

Fusion 360

CATIA

ANSYS

Job description

Our mission is to create advanced robots that can operate in complex environments, reducing human risk in conflict zones and enhancing efficiency in labor-intensive industries.

We are on the lookout for extraordinary engineers and scientists to join our team.

Your previous experience in robotics isn't a prerequisite — it's your talent and determination that truly count.

We expect that many of our team members will bring diverse perspectives from various industries and fields. We are looking for individuals with a proven record of exceptional ability and a history of creating things that work.

Our Culture

We like to be frank and honest about who we are, so that people can decide for themselves if this is a culture they resonate with. Please read more about our culture here https://foundation.bot/culture.

About This Role

Why are We Hiring for this Role:

• Building dexterous hands and fingers for a humanoid is one of the hardest mechanical engineering problems in robotics — more than 20 degrees of freedom packed into the volume of a human hand, each joint needing to transmit force, survive impact, and move with precision — and we need mechanical engineering bandwidth dedicated entirely to that problem
• Our finger and hand mechanisms are advancing rapidly and generating a constant stream of design iteration work — linkage geometry, tendon routing, pulley systems and tolerance stackups all need hands-on engineering attention that the core team cannot fully absorb
• We are not buying hands off a shelf and integrating them — every component is custom-designed for our platform, which means this intern will touch real CAD, real fabrication, and real hardware from day one
• The mechanical architecture of a robotic hand defines what the controls and sensor teams can even attempt — if the mechanism has backlash, compliance, or friction in the wrong places, no amount of software fixes it; this role is foundational
• We are a small startup and we move fast — interns here are designing parts, running tolerancing analysis, and holding calipers on prototypes the same week
• We want to build a team of mechanical engineers who understand humanoid hands from the ground up and we believe the best way to find those people is to train them early on the hardest version of the problem

What Kind of person are we looking for

• Currently pursuing a BS, MS, or PhD in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related field — with solid coursework in classical mechanics, materials science, and structural engineering.
• Strong understanding of kinematics and mechanism design — you know how to analyze a four-bar linkage, compute a Jacobian for a serial chain, and think about workspace, singularities, and force transmission in a multi-joint finger
• Familiarity with contact mechanics and tribology basics: contact stress, friction coefficients, wear mechanisms, relevant to designing fingertip surfaces and joint interfaces that survive millions of grasp cycles
• Understanding of tolerance analysis and GD&T: you know what a tolerance stackup is, why it matters for a tendon-driven finger, and how to use worst-case or RSS methods to catch problems before fabrication
• Proficient in SolidWorks, Fusion 360, CATIA, or equivalent parametric CAD: you can model complex multi-body assemblies, run motion studies, and manage configurations for design variants without creating a file management disaster
• Familiarity with designing for lightweight structures: rib patterns, topology optimization concepts, material removal strategies that preserve stiffness while hitting mass targets
• Basic FEA experience in SolidWorks Simulation, ANSYS, or similar: you can set up a static stress analysis on a finger link under load, interpret von Mises stress results, and identify where a part is over- or under-designed
• Understanding of tendon-driven and linkage-driven actuation mechanisms as used in robotic hands: you know what capstans, routing guides, and differential mechanisms are and why they matter for compact high-DOF designs
• Familiarity with actuator types relevant to robotic fingers: micro brushless DC motors and linear actuators, including the mechanical integration challenges each presents

To be a great candidate, you don't have to check every box. If you're excited about building the next generation of robotic hands and believe you'd bring something valuable to the team, we encourage you to apply. If you have a project presentation or portfolio that showcases relevant work, attach it to your application. Concrete proof of excellence will significantly strengthen your candidacy.