Senior Mechanical Design Engineer — Electric Motors, DoorDash Air

Visa Hunt; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 161,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) plan with employer matching

Paid parental leave (16 weeks)

Wellness benefits

Job summary

DoorDash is seeking a senior Mechanical Engineer to design high-performance electric motors for UAV propulsion. You will own motors from concept through production, collaborate with cross-functional teams, and iterate rapidly in a prototype-driven environment.

Expect on-site work in San Francisco with travel to suppliers as needed and mentorship opportunities. The role offers autonomy, cross-functional collaboration, and room for increasing responsibility in a fast-paced setting with a full

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering required.
• 3+ years of experience with dynamic mechanical systems (motors, actuators, mechanisms).
• Strong CAD modeling skills for complex parts and assemblies.
• Experience with basic structural and thermal simulations.
• Hands-on prototyping, metal fabrication, and 3D printing experience.
• Familiarity with electromechanical integration and wiring practices.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with electro-mechanical design and manufacturing teams.
• Design mass and volume optimized rotor and stator structures.
• Select bearings and bearing systems; plan integration.
• Handle motor sensor selection and integration (encoders, temp sensors).
• Perform structural and thermal FEA to optimize performance and reliability.
• Lead build of prototypes, fixtures, and test hardware using CNC and 3D printing.
• Design for harsh outdoor environments and rugged operation.

Skills

Dynamic mechanical systems

3D CAD modeling

Structural and thermal simulation

Hands-on prototyping

Electrical/mechanical integration

Harsh environment design

manufacturability & assembly

Exploratory fast-paced work

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

CAD software

CNC tooling

3D printing

Finite Element Analysis (FEA)

Job description

About the Team

DoorDash completes over 2.5 billion deliveries per year and is investing heavily in the next generation of delivery automation. This role is part of a small, high-impact team building a new autonomous system from the ground up, with the potential to eventually operate at a massive global scale. We haven’t publicly announced this specific project yet.

We are seeking a highly capable, driven, and passionate mechanical engineer to design and develop high performance electric motors. The primary application of these motors is unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) propulsion. There are other important motors on our aircraft and within ground equipment that we may decide to develop in house as well.

About the Role

This is an exploratory product space with significant opportunity for architectural ownership. This role is on-site in San Francisco’s mission district at least 3 days per week. Availability to be onsite 5 days per week is required with flexibility to work from home as appropriate. Occasional travel to suppliers is expected. You will operate in a very fast-paced, prototype-driven environment where hands-on engineering and rapid iteration are encouraged. We provide access to a full machine shop with welding equipment, additive manufacturing tools, electrical integration tools, and significant in-house test capability to enable efficient concept-to-hardware development. This is a senior role that offers autonomy, cross-functional collaboration, mentoring, and opportunities for increasing responsibility.

You're excited about this opportunity because...

• Collaborate closely with:
  • Electro-mechanical design experts on winding and magnet design.
  • Internal, domestic and foreign manufacturing partners
  • Electrical, systems, structural, aerodynamics, reliability, and test engineers as well as industrial design to refine requirements.
• Design mass and volume optimized rotor and stator structures.
• Bearing selection and bearing system design.
• Electrical wiring and connector selection and integration.
• Motor sensor selection and integration (rotary encoders, temperature, etc.)
• Perform structural and thermal finite element analysis (FEA) to optimize performance and reliability.
• Start to finish ownership of motors from concept through production.
• Build prototypes, fixtures, and test hardware using CNC tools and 3D printers.
• Design for outdoor commercial operation including ingress protection and harsh environmental survival.

We're excited about you because...

• Mechanical engineering bachelors degree and 3+ years of experience.
• Experience with dynamic mechanical systems (motors, actuators, mechanisms, etc.)
• Strong 3D modeling (CAD) skills for complex parts and assemblies.
• Self sufficient with at least basic structural and thermal simulation.
• Self sufficient with hands-on prototyping, metal fabrication, 3D printing.
• Competence with assembly and test fixture design.
• Familiar with electromechanical integration and wiring practices.
• Experience designing hardware for outdoor or harsh environments.
• Strong understanding of manufacturability and assembly methods.
• Comfortable working in an exploratory, fast-paced environment.
• Bonus points for experience with electric motor manufacturing processes and equipment.

Compensation

The successful candidate's starting pay will fall within the pay range listed below and is determined based on job-related factors including, but not limited to, skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions. Base salary is localized according to an employee’s work location. Ranges are market-dependent and may be modified in the future.

In addition to base salary, the compensation for this role includes opportunities for equity grants. Talk to your recruiter for more information.

DoorDash cares about you and your overall well-being. That’s why we offer a comprehensive benefits package to all regular employees, which includes a 401(k) plan with employer matching, 16 weeks of paid parental leave, wellness benefits, commuter benefits match, paid time off and paid sick leave in compliance with applicable laws (e.g. Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act). DoorDash also offers medical, dental, and vision benefits, 11 paid holidays, disability and basic life insurance, family-forming assistance, and a mental health program, among others.

To learn more about our benefits, visit our careers page here.

See below for paid time off details:

• For salaried roles: flexible paid time off/vacation, plus 80 hours of paid sick time per year.
• For hourly roles: vacation accrued at about 1 hour for every 25.97 hours worked (e.g. about 6.7 hours/month if working 40 hours/week; about 3.4 hours/month if working 20 hours/week), and paid sick time accrued at 1 hour for every 30 hours worked (e.g. about 5.8 hours/month if working 40 hours/week; about 2.9 hours/month if working 20 hours/week).

The national base pay ranges for this position within the United States, including Illinois and Colorado.

$109,500 — $161,000 USD

$134,000 — $197,000 USD

$161,800 — $238,000 USD

About DoorDash

At DoorDash, our mission to empower local economies shapes how our team members move quickly, learn, and reiterate in order to make impactful decisions that display empathy for our range of users—from Dashers to merchant partners to consumers. We are a technology and logistics company that started by enabling door-to-door delivery, and we are looking for team members who can help us go from a company that is known as the place you order food to a company that people turn to for any and all goods.
DoorDash is growing rapidly and changing constantly, which gives our team members the opportunity to share their unique perspectives, solve new challenges, and own their careers. We're committed to supporting employees’ happiness, healthiness, and overall well-being by providing comprehensive benefits and perks including premium healthcare, wellness expense reimbursement, paid parental leave and more.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

We’re committed to growing and empowering a more inclusive community within our company, industry, and cities. That’s why we hire and cultivate diverse teams of people from all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We believe that true innovation happens when everyone has room at the table and the tools, resources, and opportunity to excel.

Statement of Non-Discrimination: In keeping with our beliefs and goals, no employee or applicant will face discrimination or harassment based on: race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, age, gender, marital/domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability status, or veteran status. Above and beyond discrimination and harassment based on “protected categories,” we also strive to prevent other subtler forms of inappropriate behavior (i.e., stereotyping) from ever gaining a foothold in our office. Whether blatant or hidden, barriers to success have no place at DoorDash. We value a diverse workforce – people who identify as women, non-binary or gender non-conforming, LGBTQIA+, American Indian or Native Alaskan, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, differently-abled, caretakers and parents, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. Thank you to the Level Playing Field Institute for this statement of non-discrimination.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, and any other state or local hiring regulations, we will consider for employment any qualified applicant, including those with arrest and conviction records, in a manner consistent with the applicable regulation.

If you need any accommodations, please inform your recruiting contact upon initial connection.