Senior Motors Engineer

Chirp Robotics; Torrance (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Competitive benefits

Unlimited vacation

Job summary

CHIRP Robotics in Torrance, CA is seeking a Senior Motor Engineer to design small brushless DC motors for precision gimbals and propulsion, and to lead prototypes into high-volume production. You will own motor performance and manufacturability, develop scalable supply chains, and supervise in-house machining in close collaboration with controls, electrical, mechanical, and manufacturing teams.

You will own motor performance, guide supplier qualification, and collaborate with controls,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in electrical or mechanical engineering or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years in permanent-magnet brushless motor development and production ramp.
• Strong knowledge of motor electromagnetics, windings, back EMF, torque constants, losses and thermal limits.
• Experience with EM simulation tools (Ansys Maxwell, JMAG, or Motor-CAD) and validation against test data.
• Experience with motor mechanical/thermal design, CAD, tolerancing, and machining guidance.
• Hands-on prototyping, testing, characterization, and troubleshooting of motors.
• Familiarity with three-phase inverters, field-oriented control, and motor drive feedback.

Responsibilities

• Design and optimize gimbal and propulsion motors for torque, smoothness, efficiency, weight, reliability, and cost.
• Lead electromagnetic and mechanical design, simulation, prototyping, and performance validation.
• Own transition to high-volume production, including process development, automation, tooling, capacity, yield and end-of-line testing.
• Develop and qualify suppliers for magnets, laminations, windings, bearings, and machined components; manage quality, lead times, and supply continuity.
• Supervise in-house machining of motor components, guiding machinists on drawings, tolerances, fixtures, inspection, and production priorities.
• Partner with controls and electrical engineers on motor drives and feedback; resolve qualification and production failures.
• Own design documentation and engineering changes, and mentor engineers through development and production ramp.

Skills

Brushless motor development

Motor electromagnetics

Three-phase inverters

Design validation

Production ramp

FEA tools

Prototype testing

Education

Bachelor's in EE/ME

Tools

Ansys Maxwell

JMAG

Motor-CAD

Job description

We are seeking a Senior Motor Engineer to design small brushless DC motors for precision gimbals and propulsion systems and lead their transition from prototypes to high-volume production. You will own motor performance and manufacturability, develop scalable supply chains, and supervise in-house machining in close collaboration with controls, electrical, mechanical, and manufacturing teams.

Responsibilities

• Design and optimize gimbal and propulsion motors for torque, smoothness, efficiency, weight, reliability, and cost.
• Lead electromagnetic and mechanical design, simulation, prototyping, and performance validation.
• Own the transition to high-volume production, including process development, automation, tooling, production capacity, yield, and end-of-line testing.
• Develop and qualify suppliers for magnets, laminations, windings, bearings, and machined components; manage technical requirements, quality, lead times, and supply continuity.
• Supervise in-house machining of motor components, guiding machinists on drawings, tolerances, fixtures, inspection, and production priorities.
• Partner with controls and electrical engineers on motor drives and feedback; resolve qualification and production failures.
• Own design documentation and engineering changes, and mentor engineers through development and production ramp.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years of relevant experience, including hands-on permanent-magnet brushless motor development and ownership through production ramp.
• Strong understanding of motor electromagnetics, saturation, windings, back EMF, torque constants, losses, and thermal limits.
• Proficiency with electromagnetic FEA tools such as Ansys Maxwell, JMAG, or Motor-CAD, including model validation against test data.
• Experience with motor mechanical and thermal design, CAD, drawings, tolerancing, and machining; ability to guide machinists and inspect components.
• Hands-on experience prototyping, testing, characterizing, and troubleshooting motors.
• Working knowledge of three-phase inverters, commutation, field-oriented control, and position feedback to support collaboration with drive and controls engineers.
• Experience transferring motors or electromechanical products to volume production, qualifying suppliers, and managing component quality and supply constraints.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience designing small outrunner motors for UAV propulsion or direct-drive gimbal motors for precision positioning and stabilization.
• Experience reducing cogging torque, torque ripple, acoustic noise, and vibration through electromagnetic and mechanical design.
• Experience with winding equipment and processes, lamination fabrication, insulation systems, permanent-magnet handling and bonding, and rotor balancing.
• Experience scaling motor production to very high volumes, including automated assembly and testing, capacity planning, process capability, yield improvement, and supplier capacity development.
• Experience with encoder integration, motor and controller co-optimization, and system-level stabilization or propulsion testing.
• Experience with environmental qualification and accelerated life testing for aerospace, robotics, or other demanding applications.
• Experience using Python, MATLAB, or similar tools for design optimization, test automation, and data analysis.

$150,000 - $180,000 a year

Compensation package includes equity, competitive benefits and unlimited vacation.

Company Overview

CHIRP Robotics is a well-funded seed-stage startup operating in stealth mode and based in Torrance, California. The company aims to become a leading U.S. provider of modular intelligence and autonomous systems for a wide range of vehicles and applications. It has an impressive portfolio of patents on the hardware side and IP in software / algorithms. CHIRP’s CEO, a founding member of SpaceX, brings extensive technical expertise, a strong professional network, and significant business leadership experience.

Why Join Us

• Opportunity to work on innovative and complex systems.
• Hands-on experience with a broad range of engineering challenges.
• Collaborative and growth-oriented work environment.
• Competitive salary and benefits package.