Mechanical Engineer, Robotics

TAR•San Francisco, CA

9d•Hybrid

About The Position

TAR's mission is to power intelligence for the world by building the world’s first off-grid power plant for data centers powered by renewable technologies. We are building GW-scale power faster than anyone has ever done, by rethinking every layer of the stack. We vertically integrate to solve every bottleneck, from racking systems to power electronics to dispatch algorithms to on-site construction. This is a mid to senior level individual contributor role based at our San Francisco robotics facility, with regular field time at our GW-scale campus in West Texas. As the Mechanical Engineer you own hardware end to end: early CAD concepts, detailed drawings, material choices, manufacturability, and the handoff to fabrication partners, then you take machines from first prototype to a fleet the site can rely on.

Requirements

4+ years of mechanical design experience on robotic or electromechanical systems
Track record taking machines from CAD to working, field-deployed hardware in a rapid-iteration environment such as robotics, industrial automation, construction equipment, drones, defense, or an elite hardware startup.
Deep CAD and 3D modeling proficiency (Solidworks or similar), with fluency in GD&T and tolerance analysis.
Strong mechanism and actuation design: kinematics, linkages, gearing, motor sizing, joint and bearing design.
Materials, fabrication, and DFM expertise across steel, aluminum, and machined and fabricated parts.
High ownership, bias for speed, and comfort with ambiguity.

Nice To Haves

Heavy equipment, construction, agricultural, or mining machinery design.
Hydraulics, pneumatics, or other high-force actuation.
Sealing, ingress protection, and thermal design for outdoor equipment.

Responsibilities

Design the mechanical architecture of deployment machines: chassis, drivetrains, booms, manipulators, and end effectors that pick, place, and fasten multi-hundred-pound energy assets.
Design custom mechanisms and actuation: kinematics and linkage design, motor and gearbox selection, bearing and joint design, and the tolerance stack-ups that determine whether a module lands where it should.
Take parts from CAD through detailed drawings and GD&T, material selection, and design for manufacturing to vendor handoff.
Engineer for the West Texas environment: heat, dust and particulate ingress, wind loading, vibration over rough terrain, and long intervals between service visits.
Run structural and mechanical simulation (FEA, load cases, fatigue) to size structures and validate designs before cutting metal.
Build and test prototypes hands-on: instrument them, run them to failure, and fold what you learn into the next revision.
Own vendor relationships and production planning, and drive machines from one-off prototype to a repeatable fleet build.