Electrical Engineer, Robotics

OpenAI•San Francisco, CA

3d•$295,000 - $380,000•Hybrid

About The Position

OpenAI is seeking an experienced Electrical Engineer to join its Robotics team, focusing on developing the next generation of robotic systems. This role involves the complete hardware development lifecycle, from initial concept and prototyping to circuit design, component selection, PCB layout, bring-up, integration, and deployment. Engineers will independently lead significant hardware initiatives, translating ambiguous goals into actionable plans, making critical technical decisions, and collaborating with cross-functional teams. The role requires working closely with mechanical, firmware, software, controls, and research teams to develop novel hardware and integrate it into robotic platforms. The ideal candidate enjoys hands-on building, debugging, and system integration, balancing rapid experimentation with the need for reliable and scalable systems. This position is based in San Francisco, CA, with a requirement for in-person presence four days a week.

Requirements

6+ years of experience developing electrical systems for robotics, consumer electronics, medical devices, wearables, cameras, or other tightly integrated electromechanical products.
Personally owned hardware from concept through PCB layout, bring-up, validation, and deployment.
Enjoy designing compact, high-density electronics that must fit within severe mechanical constraints.
Experience with technologies such as BGAs, rigid-flex assemblies, fine-pitch interconnects, micro-coax, FPCs, dense connector systems, or similar packaging approaches.
Can reason across electrical, firmware, and mechanical boundaries when making design decisions.
Comfortable taking ownership of loosely defined problems and turning them into working systems with limited direction.
Partnered closely with cross-functional teams to translate product goals into practical hardware systems.
Enjoy building and validating integrated prototypes where mechanical, electrical, firmware, and sensing systems are developed together.
Enjoy collaborating closely with and supporting the growth of other engineers on the team.

Nice To Haves

Experience with GMSL, MIPI/CSI, FPD-Link, or other high-speed camera interfaces.
Experience with multi-board robotic or electromechanical systems that include distributed sensing, actuation, and real-time communication.
Experience bringing hardware through EVT/DVT-style builds, low-volume production, or contract-manufacturer-supported builds.
Familiarity with writing bring-up, test, or diagnostic firmware in C, C++, Rust, or Python.

Responsibilities

Own significant portions of the electrical architecture for compact, highly integrated robotic and electromechanical systems, including sensing, communication, power distribution, and actuator interfaces.
Design and implement compact electronics spanning circuit design, component selection, PCB layout, bring-up, validation, and deployment.
Build and validate hardware in integrated robotic systems, driving issues from first observation through root cause and design resolution.
Partner closely with mechanical, firmware, software, controls, manufacturing, and research teams to deliver coherent system-level solutions.
Make thoughtful engineering tradeoffs across performance, size, power, reliability, manufacturability, and iteration speed.