Senior Mechanical Engineer - Robotics

Watney Robotics; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Watney Robotics is seeking a hands-on Mechanical Design Engineer to design components for our production robotics fleet. Based onsite at our San Francisco headquarters, you will own critical pieces of hardware from concept to production, shipping fast and influencing product direction from Day 1.

You will design end-effectors, grippers, mounts and more, develop rapid prototypes, and ensure manufacturability while collaborating closely with Hardware Engineers and Operations in a fast-paced

Qualifications

• 4+ years of mechanical design experience.
• End-to-end mechanical design ownership for robotics or related systems.
• Proficiency with 3D CAD tools: Creo, SolidWorks, NX; Onshape is a plus.
• Familiarity with Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T).
• Strong ownership, initiative and problem-solving mindset.

Responsibilities

• Design custom mechanical components for robotics systems (end-effectors, grippers, manipulators, mounts, etc).
• Develop rapid prototypes to validate performance, reliability and manufacturability.
• Integrate components within larger hardware systems to meet performance goals.
• Provide technical leadership and guidance on technology strategy and decisions.
• Collaborate with Hardware Engineers and Operations to support product development.

Skills

Mechanical design

CAD: Creo/SolidWorks/NX

GD&T

Ownership & initiative

Collaboration & communication

Tools

Onshape

Job description

Our Mission

Expand human ambition in the physical world.

Critical infrastructure is constrained by labor shortages, hazardous working conditions, and operational complexity. Watney builds and deploys autonomous robotic systems that increase the speed and capacity of buildout, starting with data centers.

About the Role

As one of the foundational members of our Engineering team, you will design components and assemblies for our fast-growing fleet of production robots. We like to ship fast. From Day 1, you’ll play an instrumental role in bringing our products to life, owning critical pieces of our hardware design from concept to production.

Working directly with our founding team, this role is based onsite at our San Francisco headquarters.

What You’ll Do

• Design custom mechanical components for our advanced robotics and teleoperations systems, including end-effectors, grippers, manipulators, mounts, etc.

• Develop and implement solutions for rapid prototyping of new hardware designs to ensure performance, reliability and manufacturability.

• Integrate mechanical components within larger hardware systems, ensuring they meet performance and project goals.

• Provide technical leadership and advise leadership on technology strategy and decision-making.

• Collaborate with Hardware Engineers and Ops team to support overall product development, enabling our autonomous robotics solutions.

You May Be a Good Fit If You:

• 4+ years of mechanical design experience.

• In-depth, hands-on experience, owning end-to-end mechanical design of components and assemblies for robotics systems, medical devices, rockets, drones, automotive systems or like.

• Proficiency designing parts and systems using 3D modeling software such as Creo, Solidworks or NX. Onshape a big plus!

• Familiarity with Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T).

• Strong sense of ownership, initiative, problem solving and analysis.

• Effective communicator and collaborator with the ability to work closely with Hardware Engineers and Ops team in a fast-paced environment.

We’re committed to building a diverse, inclusive team. At Watney Robotics, we welcome people of all backgrounds and identities, and we make hiring decisions based on skills, experience, and potential. If you’re passionate about robotics but don’t meet every requirement, we still encourage you to apply!

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