Harness Engineer

OpenAI•San Francisco, CA

6d•$266,000 - $380,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Our Robotics team is focused on unlocking general-purpose robotics and pushing towards AGI-level intelligence in dynamic, real-world settings. Working across the entire model stack, we integrate cutting-edge hardware and software to explore a broad range of robotic form factors. We strive to seamlessly blend high-level AI capabilities with the constraints of physical systems to improve peoples’ lives. We are seeking a Senior Harness Engineer to drive the development and integration of custom wire harnesses for advanced robotic systems. You will own static and dynamic wire harness development from early architecture through prototype validation and system integration, partnering closely with mechanical, electrical, reliability, and manufacturing teams. This role focuses on the design, integration and development of custom wire harness solutions including round wire, FPCs, connector selection, strain relief features, dynamic harness simulation and modeling. You will work closely with the mechanical engineering, actuator and electrical engineering teams to drive harness design across the full engineering lifecycle while establishing scalable in house design, test, and integration practices for future robotic platforms. This role is based in San Francisco, CA. This role will be expected to be in office 4 days per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees.

Requirements

Have strong intuition for designing high-performance electromechanical systems and understanding the tradeoffs between performance, robustness, manufacturability, and cost.
Enjoy operating at both subsystem and system levels, balancing wire harness and/or flexible printed circuit design with overall robot integration needs.
Are highly hands-on and enjoy building, debugging, instrumenting, and testing hardware directly.
Can move fluidly between first-principles analysis, rapid prototyping, and production-oriented engineering decisions.
Are comfortable working in fast-moving environments with evolving requirements and aggressive technical goals.
Have a strong sense of ownership and proactively drive cross-functional alignment to unblock progress.
Communicate clearly across disciplines and can collaborate effectively with research, controls, manufacturing, and operations teams.
Care deeply about engineering rigor while maintaining the ability to iterate quickly.
Are motivated by enabling the next generation of intelligent robotic systems through differentiated hardware capabilities.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics, or a related field.
7+ years of experience designing and scaling custom wire harnesses and/or flexible printed circuits.
Strong understanding of connector types across all size ranges and wire types.
Proficiency with CAD and PLM tools, such as NX and Teamcenter, or equivalent systems.
Experience developing validation plans, reliability testing, and failure analysis workflows.
Experience scaling hardware systems from prototype through EVT/DVT/PVT and into production is a plus.

Responsibilities

Lead the architecture, design, and integration of custom wire harnesses and/or flexible printed circuits (FPC).
Build and validate prototypes through hands-on bring-up, debugging, characterization, and iterative refinement.
Develop test methodologies and characterization infrastructure for wire harness performance, reliability, durability, and failure analysis.
Analyze test data to identify limitations, failure modes, and opportunities for design improvement.
Collaborate with manufacturing and supplier partners to transition designs from prototype to scalable production-ready assemblies.
Contribute to wire harness sourcing strategy, vendor qualification, prototype builds, and supply-chain development.
Document designs, interfaces, validation results, and engineering decisions to support long-term maintainability and production readiness.
Help establish engineering standards, integration practices, and development workflows for future robotic platforms.