Staff Hardware Engineer ($250k-$300k + Equity) at Nidus

About the role

Nidus is a $25M-funded New York City startup building AI-powered autonomous manufacturing systems. Founded by experts in defense technology and AI, Nidus has already secured seven-figure revenue with a Tier 1 prime, developing vision-language-action models that enable robots to perform complex manipulation tasks in real-world environments.

• Own the entire hardware roadmap and technical architecture for a $25M-funded startup rather than being a "cog-in-the-machine" at a larger organization.
• Work in-person in NYC with a world-class team of 10 people, including a robotics lead from NASA/JPL's rover programs and veterans of defense technology.
• Join a company with significant traction, having already closed seven figures in revenue with a Tier 1 prime while building critical technology for American manufacturing.

Location: New York City, USA

Responsibilities

• Architect and lead the design of robotic data-collection platforms, end effectors, and complete workcells for real-world manufacturing environments.
• Partner with ML and data teams to optimize sensor placement and hardware configuration to maximize training data quality for vision-language-action models.
• Drive major hardware programs from early system architecture through prototyping, validation, production, and high-stakes customer site deployments.

Requirements

• Has at least 8 years of experience leading complex hardware programs in robotics, automation, or electromechanical systems from requirements through production.
• Possesses deep proficiency in modern 3D CAD (SolidWorks/Onshape) and strong mechanical fundamentals, including tolerance analysis, GD&T, and actuator selection.
• Must be a U.S. citizen capable of working in-person in New York City and traveling to customer sites for hands-on system deployments.

Skills

• Modern 3D CAD (SolidWorks/Onshape)
• Tolerance analysis
• GD&T
• Actuator selection

Benefits

• Equity

Pay

$250k-$300k base salary