Mechanical Engineer, Soft Goods Design

OpenAI; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 266,000 - 295,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenAI is seeking a Mechanical Engineer based in San Francisco, CA, to lead the development of flexible and compliant components in robotic platforms. You will work closely with cross-functional teams to translate material concepts into engineered subsystems, ensuring they meet functional and manufacturing requirements.

The ideal candidate has a degree in mechanical engineering, understands material behavior, and enjoys working from prototyping through production. Compensation ranges from $266K to $295K.

Qualifications

• Experience with A-surface and cosmetic component development.
• Familiarity with environmental or durability testing techniques.
• Experience working with contract manufacturers or specialty fabricators.

Responsibilities

• Design compliant or flexible materials for mechanical subsystems.
• Utilize FEA tools to characterize material behavior under loads.
• Develop validation protocols for soft components' performance.
• Transition early prototypes into manufacturable designs.

Skills

Mechanical tradeoffs in elastomers

Material behavior characterization

Collaboration with manufacturing partners

Detail-oriented documentation

Education

Degree in mechanical engineering or equivalent

Job description

About the Team

Our Robotics team is focused on unlocking general‑purpose robotics and pushing towards AGI‑level intelligence in dynamic, real‑world settings. Working across the entire model stack, we integrate cutting‑edge hardware and software to explore a broad range of robotic form factors. We strive to seamlessly blend high‑level AI capabilities with the constraints of physical systems to improve peoples' lives.

About the Role

We are seeking a Mechanical Engineer to lead the engineering, characterization, and productionization of flexible and compliant components in robotic platforms.

You will partner closely with cross‑functional teams to translate material concepts into engineered subsystems that meet functional, durability, and manufacturing requirements. This role focuses on understanding how soft materials behave in dynamic mechanical systems – including fatigue, creep, hysteresis, wear, and environmental degradation – and designing assemblies that perform consistently at scale.

You will work with materials such as elastomers, foams, thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs), engineered fabrics, knitted and woven textiles, cables, and other flexible load‑bearing or transmission elements, integrating them with rigid hardware, sensors, and actuators using fabrication methods such as bonding, molding, lamination, and sewn assemblies.

This role is based in San Francisco, CA, and requires in‑person presence 4 days a week.

In this role, you will

• Design and integrate compliant or flexible materials into mechanical subsystems and rigid hardware interfaces.
• Leverage FEA tools to characterize material behavior under operational loads, including tension, compression, abrasion, fatigue, and environmental exposure.
• Develop test methods and validation protocols to evaluate durability, performance, and failure modes of soft components.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams to transition early prototypes into manufacturable designs.
• Source and evaluate materials in collaboration with supply chain partners and specialty fabricators.
• Work with contract manufacturers on fabrication methods such as bonding, lamination, molding, overmolding, cut‑and‑sew, and composite layups.
• Analyze system‑level tradeoffs between compliance, durability, manufacturability, and integration constraints.
• Document material specifications, test data, and mechanical performance to support design iteration and production readiness.
• Investigate field failures and iterate designs based on observed wear patterns and performance degradation.

You might thrive in this role if you

• Understand mechanical tradeoffs in elastomers, foams, textiles, and flexible composites.
• Enjoy working across the full lifecycle from early prototyping through production.
• Can develop test fixtures or experiments to characterize material or assembly behavior.
• Are comfortable collaborating with both design and manufacturing partners.
• Are detail‑oriented and rigorous about documentation and repeatability.

Preferred qualifications

• Degree in mechanical engineering or equivalent.
• Experience with A‑surface and cosmetic component development.
• Experience integrating soft or compliant components into robotic, wearable, medical, automotive, or industrial hardware systems.
• Familiarity with environmental or durability testing (abrasion, ingress, cyclic loading, UV, temperature).
• Experience working with contract manufacturers or specialty fabricators.
• Familiarity with material characterization methods for flexible materials.
• Experience transitioning flexible‑material prototypes into production designs.

Equal Opportunity Employment

We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.

Compensation

Compensation Range: $266K - $295K