Founding Mechanical Engineer

Aviary Robotics•San Francisco, CA

13d

About The Position

We're an early-stage robotics startup building aerial robots that perform physical maintenance tasks in the field — work that today requires sending skilled crews to remote or hazardous sites. We're pre-seed, assembling our founding team, and moving fast toward our first paying pilot with a utility customer. We're looking for a founding mechanical engineer to own the physical design of our robotic platform end to end — airframe, actuation, and the mechanisms that let the system physically interact with its environment. You'll work closely with the CEO (hardware background) and CTO (software/autonomy background) to take the platform from prototype to field-ready.

Requirements

5+ years mechanical engineering experience, ideally on robotics, aerospace, or field hardware
Hands-on CAD proficiency (SolidWorks, Fusion 360, or similar) and experience taking designs from concept to physical prototype
Experience designing for harsh/outdoor operating environments
Comfortable working in a small team where you'll do design, prototyping, and testing yourself

Nice To Haves

Experience with actuated/robotic arms or manipulators
Background in drone, aerospace, or other weight-constrained platform design
Experience with rapid prototyping (3D printing, machining) in-house
Experience designing hardware for grid, utility, or other critical infrastructure environments

Responsibilities

Design and iterate on airframe structure, actuator integration, and end-effector mechanisms
Own DFM/DFA decisions as we move from prototype to small-batch production
Run structural, thermal, and environmental analysis to validate designs for field conditions
Source and manage relationships with fabrication and manufacturing vendors
Collaborate with electrical and controls engineers to integrate sensors, wiring, and compute

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