Robotic Grasping Hardware Manager, AR Manipulation HW & Systems

Amazon•North Reading, MA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

We are building robots that pick, place, and manipulate items and packages across Amazon's fulfillment network. The Manipulation Robotics organization is looking for a Hardware Development Manager to guide our grasping and end-of-arm tooling (EOAT) team. This team designs the grasping systems for our manipulation workcells, including Robin, Sparrow, and Cardinal, as well as next-generation systems that push the boundaries of what robotic manipulation can do. You'll have the opportunity to shape the long-term technical vision for grasping and manipulation robotics, and build the roadmap for what comes next. The team works across suction-based and finger-based grasping modalities, designing tightly coupled hardware, controls, and software systems where design decisions are deeply interconnected across the architecture. Deploying at scale means that reliability, supportability, ease of use, and cost matter just as much as raw performance. We are relentless about simplifying our designs, because simpler systems are more reliable, more cost-effective, and easier to scale.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in robotics, mechanical/mechatronics engineering, systems engineering or related field
8+ years of experience in hardware engineering or systems engineering
Experience providing technical leadership and/or line management for cross-functional engineering teams
Experience with hardware product development from concept through production
Demonstrated ability to evaluate how hardware design decisions impact software and overall system performance

Nice To Haves

Experience with robotic manipulation, grasping, or end-of-arm tooling
Experience in industrial automation or robotics
Experience navigating tradeoffs across performance, cost, schedule, and architecture
Track record of rapid prototyping and iterative design approaches
Experience with vendor management and manufacturing partnerships

Responsibilities

Drive technical direction and cross-functional alignment across hardware, software, controls, and program teams, ensuring the team is solving the right problems and moving together
Navigate tradeoffs across performance, cost, schedule, and architecture on tightly coupled system designs, always looking for opportunities to simplify
Champion scrappy, iterative approaches: push the team to prototype fast, test real hardware, learn fast, and iterate before committing to full designs
Drive cost optimization and Design for X (DfX: cost, test, manufacturing, serviceability) across grasping programs, and own vendor and supplier relationships to bring better technology into our systems
Bring together experts across disciplines, extract the key constraints and insights, and synthesize a clear forward-looking strategy for grasping and manipulation that goes beyond near-term project delivery
Define and track metrics that measure team performance and product quality, develop engineering processes and best practices, and foster adoption of AI tools to accelerate the team
Be a visible advocate for your team, invest in your people through growth plans and mentoring, and create an environment where technical contributors continue to develop and thrive

Benefits

Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage
Maternity and Parental Leave Options
Paid Time Off (PTO)
401(k) Plan
sign-on payments
restricted stock units (RSUs)
health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage)
401(k) matching
paid time off
parental leave