Senior Mechanical Engineer, Robotics Hardware

Machina Labs•Los Angeles, CA

1d•$135,000 - $165,000•Onsite

About The Position

Machina Labs is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to own mechanical hardware design for robotic sheet forming cells, taking designs from concept through release and into production. The role owns machine subsystem designs and design decisions affecting performance, durability, and serviceability, while collaborating with Robotics, Forming Process, Electrical, Controls, and Production teams. The scope of ownership may change as the machine and company grow. The engineer designs hardware such as robot end-of-arm tooling, spindle assemblies, heated forming end effectors, scan and calibration tool mounts, machine frames, and other robot-mounted and cell subsystems. The role also defines mechanical, fluid, and electrical interfaces; designs integrated fluid and thermal systems; integrates sensing; establishes manufacturability approaches; performs and documents analyses; writes and executes verification plans; and maintains release documentation and engineering changes. The position leads design reviews, evaluates safety and technical risks, supports fabrication suppliers, investigates production and field failures, and improves hardware reliability, serviceability, and cost as production scales. The role is onsite in Chatsworth, California, with occasional travel to suppliers, customers, or other Machina factory sites. Applicants must be a U.S. person as defined under ITAR.

Requirements

B.S. in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering or a related field.
At least 4 years of mechanical design experience for robotics, industrial machinery, or automation equipment, including ownership of a complex assembly or subsystem from concept through release and deployment or production.
Experience designing mechatronic hardware such as actuated mechanisms, dynamic kinematic assemblies, or robotic end-of-arm tooling.
Experience with structural, tolerance, or thermal analysis (hand calculations or FEA), applied to design decisions and documented for release.
Strong fundamentals in material selection and failure modes, including fatigue, wear, and thermal effects.
Strong CAD skills and experience producing fabrication-ready drawings with GD&T for machined, welded, and sheet-metal parts.
Design verification experience, including writing test plans, running tests, and iterating designs based on data.
Experience in at least one of the following: fluid systems (cooling, lubrication, vacuum, pneumatic, or hydraulic), sensor integration (load, pressure, or temperature), or heated hardware.
Strong documentation and change-control discipline, using SolidWorks PDM or a similar ECM.
Must be a U.S. person as defined under ITAR due to access to export-controlled information.
Able to work onsite in Chatsworth, California, and travel occasionally to suppliers, customers, or additional Machina factory sites.

Nice To Haves

Experience with spindles, bearings, or other rotating hardware under high or cyclic load.
Experience with heated tooling or elevated-temperature thermal management.
FEA proficiency using ANSYS, SolidWorks Simulation, or similar tools for structural and thermal analysis.
Experience with robot tool interfaces and tool changers such as KUKA or Fanuc.
Experience working with machine shops and fabrication suppliers as the engineering owner.
Experience with weld design and fabrication processes.
Experience preparing CAD models for simulation or offline programming.
Experience with formal engineering reviews and release gates.
Experience routing cables, hoses, or harnesses on dynamic kinematic systems.

Responsibilities

Own mechanical machine hardware design through release, including end-of-arm tooling, spindle assemblies, heated tooling, tool mounts, machine frames, and other robot-mounted or cell subsystems.
Define mechanical, fluid, and electrical interfaces to the robot and machine, and maintain them under change control.
Design integrated fluid and thermal systems, including cooling, lubrication, material transport, vacuum, and actuation.
Integrate load, pressure, and temperature sensing in collaboration with electrical and controls teams.
Set the manufacturability approach for owned assemblies and lead design and manufacturability reviews with Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, and Production.
Perform and document analyses such as tolerance, structural, and thermal analyses for release.
Write and execute design verification plans, using test data to achieve performance, life, and serviceability targets.
Produce and maintain CAD, fabrication-ready drawings with GD&T, bills of materials, revision history, and capability specifications; own engineering changes.
Lead design reviews for owned hardware and review other engineers' designs.
Evaluate safety and technical risks, including interfaces, loads, failure modes, installation, and use, and design mitigations into hardware and validation.
Serve as the engineering point of contact for fabrication suppliers, provide release packages, answer technical questions, approve deviations, and drive quality issues to root cause.
Lead investigations of production and field failures, determine root causes, and implement durable fixes.
Improve the reliability, serviceability, and cost of owned hardware as production scales.