Mechanical Design Engineer, Hands

Responsibilities

• Design and development of mechanical components and assemblies for dexterous hands — fingers, linkages, transmissions, and palm structures
• Own designs from concept through production: parts that satisfy load conditions, durability, form factor, and packaging constraints in an extremely space-constrained envelope
• Rapidly build, test, and break prototypes to validate assembly, range of motion, grasp performance, and wire routing. You'll use 3D printing, CNC machining, and manual fabrication
• Integrate tactile sensors, actuators, motors, and wire harnesses into compact fingertip and palm geometries, working closely with the tactile sensing and actuation teams
• Generate accurate 2D drawings using GD&T (ASME Y14.5) and drive parts through supplier selection, first article inspection, and production ramp
• Develop specifications and accelerated life test plans (grasp cycles, impact, wear) to validate the hand for its lifetime
• Perform basic analyses (tolerance, structural, thermal) to validate design decisions
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (electrical, firmware, controls, industrial design) to consolidate requirements and integrate the hand into the full robot system

Qualifications

• Exceptional mechanical intuition. You understand how forces, materials, and mechanisms behave instinctively — especially small, high-cycle mechanisms
• 3+ years of experience (or equivalent "hard tech" projects) building complex, miniaturized electromechanical systems — robotic hands, grippers, surgical robotics, prosthetics, precision mechanisms, or consumer wearables
• High proficiency in SolidWorks, Catia, or similar tools; comfortable designing complex geometry in tight packaging
• Experience with electromechanical integration — sensors, small motors, flex circuits, and wire harnesses in constrained volumes
• Hands-on problem-solving approach with the ability to iterate quickly
• Experience designing for volume processes (MIM, injection molding, micro-machining, CNC) and working with contract manufacturers
• You are comfortable with ambiguity, move fast, and have an "engineering curiosity" that drives you to understand how the entire hand-arm system works, not just your part