Senior Mechanical and Robotics Design Engineer

Simplexity Product Development, Inc.; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 96,000 - 172,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare plan

401(k) plan

Paid holidays

Paid time off

Job summary

Simplexity Product Development is seeking a hands-on senior mechanical engineer to work embedded with a Seattle-area client on a cutting-edge robotics product. You will own mechanical subsystems from requirements through working hardware, validation, and release-quality documentation.

This is a technical individual contributor role, not a people-management position. You will lead subsystem decisions, coordinate interfaces, communicate risks, and perform design, analysis, prototyping, and testing

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in robotics, mechanical engineering, or a related discipline.
• 8+ years of applicable product-development experience.
• Subsystem ownership is key, not tenure.
• Owned at least one robotics or complex electromechanical subsystem from requirements to release.
• Extensive hands-on experience in robotic actuation and mechanisms.
• SolidWorks experience with complex assemblies and PDM workflows.
• Strong GD&T, tolerance analysis, DFM/DFA, and production methods knowledge.
• Hands-on prototype assembly, instrumentation, test, and root-cause analysis.
• Experience integrating mechanical designs with electrical/firmware/software.
• Experience leading technical discussions with clients while remaining hands-on.
• Ability to work on-site at the Seattle-area client site.

Responsibilities

• Convert system requirements into mechanical subsystem requirements, architecture, interfaces, and trade studies.
• Size and select motors, gearboxes, encoders, bearings, and related drivetrain components.
• Perform torque-speed, duty-cycle, inertia, efficiency, life, force, energy, and thermal analyses.
• Design linkages, gear trains, belts, pulleys, cables, and other moving mechanisms.
• Package sensors, wiring, PCBs within mechanical envelopes with thermal paths.
• Create, manage, and release SolidWorks assemblies, BOMs, and drawings via revision workflow.
• Design custom parts for machining, sheet metal, injection molding, and prototyping.
• Build and instrument prototypes, define tests, diagnose failures, and iterate to working hardware.
• Perform structural and thermal analyses as needed.
• Present design tradeoffs and project status to client stakeholders.
• Coordinate mechanical interfaces with electrical, firmware, software, systems, suppliers, and contract manufacturers.

Skills

Robotics

Mechanical engineering

SolidWorks

GD&T

PDM

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Robotics/Mechanical Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

PDM

Job description

POSITION DESCRIPTIONS

Simplifying the Complex. Simplexity is a product development engineering firm, hired by leading technology companies to design their next generation products. In an industry of overly-complex design and production, we strive for simplicity, reducing product cost and improving reliability for our clients through our Product Development Process.

Simplexity is seeking a hands‑on senior mechanical engineer to work embedded with our team at a Seattle‑area client on a cutting‑edge robotics product. You will own mechanical subsystems from requirements through working hardware, validation, and release‑quality documentation. This is a technical individual contributor role, not a people‑management position. You will lead subsystem decisions, coordinate interfaces, communicate risks, and personally perform design, analysis, drawing, prototype, and test work. The role is best suited to an engineer who can execute effectively when requirements and priorities are still evolving.

JOB DUTIES

• Convert system requirements into mechanical subsystem requirements, architecture, interfaces, and trade studies.
• Size and select motors, gearboxes, encoders, bearings, and related drivetrain or transmission components.
• Perform torque‑speed, duty‑cycle, inertia, efficiency, life, force, energy, structural, vibration, thermal, and tolerance analyses as appropriate to the design.
• Design linkages, gear trains, belts, pulleys, cables, and other moving mechanisms, including kinematic and dynamic analysis.
• Package sensors, wiring, PCBs, and related electronics within constrained mechanical envelopes, including practical thermal paths and serviceability considerations.
• Create, manage, and release complex SolidWorks assemblies, configurations, BOMs, and ASME Y14.5 drawings through a PDM‑controlled revision workflow.
• Design custom and semi‑custom parts for machining, sheet metal, injection moulding, 3D printing, and other prototype or production processes.
• Build and instrument prototypes, define tests, diagnose failures, perform root‑cause analysis, and iterate rapidly to working hardware.
• Perform structural finite element analysis, thermal simulation, or other relevant analyses.
• Present design tradeoffs, technical risks, decisions, and project status directly to client stakeholders.
• Coordinate mechanical interfaces with electrical, firmware, software, systems, suppliers, industrial design, and contract manufacturing partners.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
• 8+ years of applicable product‑development experience.
• Demonstrated subsystem ownership is more important than a specific tenure threshold.
• Owned at least one robotics or complex electromechanical subsystem from requirements and architecture through detailed design, hardware implementation, validation testing, and design release.
• Extensive hands‑on experience in robotic actuation and mechanisms, including motor/transmission selection and kinematic or dynamic analysis.
• Recent hands‑on SolidWorks experience with complex assemblies, configurations, production drawings, and PDM‑controlled revision workflows.
• Strong GD&T (ASME Y14.5), tolerance analysis, DFM/DFA, and practical knowledge of low‑volume and production manufacturing methods.
• Hands‑on prototype assembly, instrumentation, test, troubleshooting, and system‑level root‑cause analysis.
• Experience integrating complex mechanical designs with electrical, firmware, software, and systems engineering disciplines.
• Experience leading technical discussions with clients or demanding external stakeholders while remaining a hands‑on individual contributor.
• Ability to work on‑site at the Seattle‑area client site.

PLUSES TO HAVE

Experience in any of the following areas is a strong plus:

• Experience moving robotic hardware through EVT/DVT or an equivalent product‑development lifecycle.
• Experience designing test fixtures, test instruments, or automated mechanical test equipment.
• Experience using SolidWorks PDM to manage CAD files.
• Experience developing custom actuator or drivetrain solutions with external vendors.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Two types of contractor roles will be considered:

W-2 contractor (employee of Simplexity):

• Hourly rate $70- $95/hr, depending on experience
• Excellent Healthcare plan (Medical, Dental, and Vision) fully paid for by the company for the employee; partial payment for dependents
• 401(k) plan with company match after 1,000 hours of service
• Long-term and short-term disability, AD&D and Life Insurance
• 11 paid holidays
• 15 days of paid‑time‑off (PTO) accrued each year

1099 contractors (have your own registered consulting/contracting business):

• Hourly rate $95- $125/hr, depending on experience
• No benefits, holidays, or paid time off (PTO) included

No recruiters please.

Job location is in the Seattle, WA metro region at a Simplexity client site. Initial ~6 month contract with expectation of multi-year engagement.

Simplexity is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Diverse candidates are encouraged to apply.

***Please be advised that Simplexity Product Development will never ask you to respond to a non‑SimplexityPD domain such as a gmail, ymail, hotmail, etc. If you suspect that you have been contacted by someone impersonating Simplexity Product Development who is using a fraudulent email address, please do not reply. If you are not sure, please fill out a contact form at to report the incident. ***