Mechanical Engineer, Reliability & Test

Sarah Smith Fund; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Robotics experience

Electrical safety standards familiar

UL/CE certification experience

Data acquisition (LabVIEW/Python)

Job summary

Sarah Smith Fund is seeking a hands-on Mechanical Reliability Engineer to own reliability across a field-ready robotic platform, turning prototypes into robust hardware for scalable deployments.

You will design test benches, perform FEA, lead DFMEA/PFMEA, ensure standards compliance, and drive manufacturability as you scale from prototype to volume production.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
• 4+ years in mechanical, reliability or test engineering on mechatronic products.
• Experience taking a mechatronic product from concept to production at 10k+ units.
• Expert-level FEA skills (ANSYS, Abaqus) including fatigue and nonlinear analysis.
• Designing and building physical test equipment and running structured campaigns.
• Knowledge of reliability methods (FMEA, Weibull, HALT/HASS).
• GD&T (ASME Y14.5) and tolerance stack‑ups.

Responsibilities

• Own mechanical reliability strategy across the robot from component selection through system validation.
• Design and build test benches, endurance rigs and fixtures for actuators, joints, structures and end effectors.
• Define and run test protocols (life cycle, fatigue, vibration, shock, thermal, ingress, drop) and set acceptance criteria.
• Perform detailed FEA and correlate simulation results with test data.
• Lead DFMEA/PFMEA, root cause analysis and corrective actions on field and test failures.
• Apply standards (ISO 10218, ISO 12100, IEC 60204-1, IEC 60529, OSHA 1910.269, ASTM F711) and lead hardware certification work.
• Drive design for reliability, manufacturability and serviceability toward volume production.
• Set up documentation, tolerancing, inspection and quality processes for scaling hardware.
• Work with suppliers on component qualification, incoming inspection and production quality.

Skills

4+ years experience

Mechatronics knowledge

Test equipment design

FMEA/F assessor

GD&T

Weibull analysis

Fatigue testing

Documentation discipline

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

ANSYS

Abaqus

Job description

Start Date: ASAP

About

You'll make sure our teleoperated humanoid robots work every time, in the field, around energized electrical equipment where failure isn't an option. You'll own reliability across the mechanical system, turning prototypes into hardware that is robust, repeatable and ready for real customer deployments.

This is a hands‑on role for someone who obsesses over details and is never satisfied with "it worked once." You'll build the test infrastructure, write the standards and define what "done" means for our hardware. You'll partner with design, controls and electrical teams to take the robot from prototype to production at scale.

Responsibilities

• Own mechanical reliability strategy across the robot, from component selection through system‑level validation
• Design and build test benches, endurance rigs and fixtures for actuators, joints, structures and end effectors
• Define and run test protocols (life cycle, fatigue, vibration, shock, thermal, ingress, drop) and set acceptance criteria
• Perform detailed FEA (structural, fatigue, modal, thermal) and correlate simulation results against physical test data
• Lead DFMEA/PFMEA, root cause analysis and corrective action on field and test failures
• Interpret and apply relevant standards (e.g., ISO 10218, ISO 12100, IEC 60204-1, IEC 60529, OSHA 1910.269, ASTM F711) and lead the hardware side of certification and compliance work
• Drive design for reliability, manufacturability and serviceability as we move from prototype to volume production
• Set up the documentation, tolerancing, inspection and quality processes the hardware team needs as it scales
• Work with suppliers on component qualification, incoming inspection and production quality

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field
• 4+ years in mechanical, reliability or test engineering on mechatronic products
• Hands-on experience taking at least one mechatronic product from concept to production at 10k+ units
• Expert-level FEA skills (ANSYS, Abaqus or similar), including fatigue and nonlinear analysis, plus the judgment to know when to trust the model
• A track record of designing and building physical test equipment and running structured test campaigns
• Strong working knowledge of reliability engineering methods (FMEA, Weibull analysis, accelerated life testing, HALT/HASS)
• Fluency in GD&T (ASME Y14.5), tolerance stack‑ups and drawing standards
• Meticulous attention to detail and a high bar for documentation and rigor

Bonus

• Experience with robotics, actuators or other high-cycle electromechanical systems
• Familiarity with electrical safety standards or equipment used around energized systems
• Experience guiding products through UL, CE or other certification processes
• Data acquisition and instrumentation experience (strain gauges, load cells, accelerometers, LabVIEW/Python)
• Experience at a company that scaled from prototype to volume manufacturing