Senior Powertrain Engineer

Humble Robotics; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Humble Robotics seeks a Senior Powertrain Engineer to own the architecture, design, and delivery of a full electric powertrain for our autonomous heavy‑duty platform. You will shape system architecture, drive efficiency from first principles, and produce production‑ready hardware that endures real‑world use.

You will lead end‑to‑end powertrain development, collaborate with controls, autonomy, and thermal teams, and mentor others while managing safety and HV requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of electric powertrain or vehicle propulsion experience.
• Strong fundamentals in electric machines, power electronics, and lithium‑ion batteries.
• Experience with high voltage design and safety considerations.
• Proven track record delivering hardware from concept through validation.
• Experience with system modeling tools.
• Hands-on prototyping, testing, and debugging electromechanical systems.
• Ability to operate independently and make decisions under uncertainty.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration and communication skills.
• Eligible to work in the United States.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end development of the electric powertrain system, including battery pack, HV architecture, motors, inverters, and drivetrain.
• Define system architecture and tradeoffs across performance, range, efficiency, thermal management, and durability.
• Lead battery system integration, including pack design requirements, thermal strategy, HV safety, and BMS interface.
• Drive system level modeling and analysis (energy consumption, thermal behavior, duty cycles, degradation).
• Collaborate with controls, autonomy, electrical, and thermal teams for seamless integration.
• Lead validation strategy and execution (component, battery, vehicle, durability testing).
• Support prototype builds and vehicle bring-up with hands-on debugging of HV and powertrain systems.
• Own supplier technical relationships for battery systems, motors, inverters, drivetrain components.
• Identify and mitigate risks across HV safety, thermal limits, reliability.
• Set engineering standards, review designs, raise the technical bar.

Skills

Powertrain engineering

Battery systems

System modeling

Prototype & test

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering

Tools

MATLAB/Simulink

Job description

About Humble Robotics

We're building an autonomous, zero-emissions hauler that dramatically lowers the cost of freight with groundbreaking vision-based AI, designed for today's global logistics network.

We're a fast-moving, close-knit team of AV industry veterans and innovative thinkers. We don't believe culture can be engineered - but when it falls into place, it's a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

Progress has never felt so present.

Position Overview

The Senior Powertrain Engineer owns the architecture, design, and delivery of the full electric powertrain system - including battery, high voltage distribution, motors, inverters, and drivetrain for our autonomous heavy duty vehicle platform.

This is a highly cross-disciplinary, safety critical role. You will define system level architecture, drive performance and efficiency from first principles, and deliver production ready hardware that operates reliably under demanding real world conditions.

Key Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end development of the electric powertrain system, including battery pack, HV architecture, motors, inverters, and drivetrain
• Define system architecture and key tradeoffs across performance, range, efficiency, thermal management, and durability
• Lead battery system integration, including pack design requirements, thermal strategy, HV safety, and interface with BMS
• Drive system level modeling and analysis (energy consumption, thermal behavior, duty cycles, and degradation)
• Collaborate closely with controls, autonomy, electrical, and thermal teams to ensure seamless system integration
• Lead validation strategy and execution, including component testing, battery validation, vehicle testing, and durability testing
• Support prototype builds and vehicle bring-up, including hands on debugging of HV and powertrain systems
• Own supplier technical relationships for battery systems, motors, inverters, and drivetrain components
• Identify and mitigate key risks across HV safety, thermal limits, and system reliability
• Set engineering standards, review designs, and raise the technical bar across the team

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field
• 5+ years of experience in electric powertrain, battery systems, or vehicle propulsion
• Strong fundamentals in electric machines, power electronics, and lithium-ion battery systems
• Experience with high voltage system design and safety considerations
• Proven track record delivering hardware from concept through validation
• Experience with system modeling tools
• Hands-on experience with prototyping, testing, and debugging electromechanical systems
• Ability to operate independently and make high quality engineering decisions under uncertainty
• Strong cross-functional collaboration and communication skills
• Eligible to work in the United States

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with heavy duty trucks or commercial EV platforms
• Experience with battery pack design, integration, or validation
• Experience with BMS, HV distribution, and thermal management systems
• Experience with inverter/motor integration and controls
• Familiarity with automotive standards (e.g., ISO 26262, SAE, FMVSS)
• Experience scaling systems from prototype to production
• Experience working in fast-paced startup or product development environments

Compensation

This role is eligible for base salary + benefits + equity compensation. Salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by additional factors, including qualifications, skills, experience, and location.

Additional Information

As part of the interview process, we may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to compare your qualifications and experience to the job description. A human reviews all AI output and makes a final hiring decision. Humble Robotics does not rely on the output to make any employment decisions. Some applicants may have a legal right to opt-out of the use of AI as part of our interview process. Contact [e-mail] to exercise this right or if you have further questions on the use of AI tools in our hiring process.

Humble Robotics is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, gender, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, marital status or any other characteristics protected by law. Humble Robotics will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records in a manner consistent with local ordinances.