Senior Actuator Design Engineer for Advanced Robotics

OpenAI; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 342,000 - 445,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenAI in San Francisco seeks a Senior Actuator Design and Integration Engineer to lead the development of custom electromechanical actuators for advanced robotic systems. You will own actuator development from conception through prototype validation and system integration, partnering with mechanical, electrical, controls, firmware, reliability, and manufacturing teams.

This hands-on role focuses on design, integration, and validation of precision electromechanical systems, including motors,

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience designing electromechanical systems, robotic actuators, or precision mechatronic hardware.
• Strong understanding of motors, transmissions, bearings, encoders, structural design, thermal management, and precision mechanical integration.
• Familiarity with actuator sensing architectures, including encoder integration and calibration strategies.
• Experience designing for prototype and production manufacturing processes including machining, casting, molding, and assembly.
• Proficiency with CAD and PLM tools such as NX and Teamcenter or equivalent systems.
• Experience developing validation plans, reliability testing, and failure analysis workflows.
• Experience scaling hardware systems from prototype through EVT/DVT/PVT and into production is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture, design, and integration of custom robotic actuators, including motors, transmissions, sensing, thermal systems, structural components, and packaging.
• Define actuator requirements and system-level trade studies around torque density, bandwidth, efficiency, thermal performance, back-drivability, inertia, reliability, manufacturability, and cost.
• Design precision electromechanical assemblies with strong attention to tolerances, alignment, load paths, thermal expansion, sealing, wear, and serviceability.
• Drive actuator integration into robotic systems, partnering closely with controls, firmware, electrical, and robotics software teams to optimize closed-loop performance.
• Develop and evaluate architectures with integrated sensing and encoder strategies.
• Build and validate prototypes through hands-on bring-up, debugging, characterization, and iterative refinement.
• Develop test methodologies and characterization infrastructure for actuator performance, reliability, durability, and failure analysis.
• Analyze test data to identify limitations, failure modes, and opportunities for design improvement.
• Collaborate with manufacturing and supplier partners to transition designs from prototype to scalable production-ready assemblies.
• Support DFM, DFA, DFT, calibration, and assembly strategies for electromechanical subsystems.
• Contribute to actuator sourcing strategy, vendor qualification, prototype builds, and supply-chain development.
• Document designs, interfaces, validation results, and engineering decisions to support long-term maintainability and production readiness.
• Help establish engineering standards, integration practices, and development workflows for future robotic platforms.

Skills

Actuator design

Electromechanical systems

Trade studies

System integration

Prototyping

Control hardware

Encoder integration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics, or a related field

Tools

NX

Teamcenter

Job description

OpenAI in San Francisco seeks a Senior Actuator Design and Integration Engineer to lead the development of custom electromechanical actuators for advanced robotic systems. You will own actuator development from conception through prototype validation and system integration, partnering with mechanical, electrical, controls, firmware, reliability, and manufacturing teams.

This hands-on role focuses on design, integration, and validation of precision electromechanical systems, including motors,