Staff Mechanical Engineer, Technical Lead

Path Robotics•Columbus, OH

11d

About The Position

Path Robotics is seeking a hands-on technical lead for the Sensing and Embodied Intelligence team, guiding the team’s contribution to manipulation products as the company expands from autonomous welding into factory automation. The role sets technical direction for sensing end-of-arm tooling, physical interfaces among robots, tools, sensors, and parts, and the tasks designed to train manipulation models. The technical lead defines architecture, makes engineering tradeoffs, and builds hardware directly. The role owns the technical roadmap for sensing end-of-arm tooling, physical interfaces, and training task design. It translates product goals and model-training needs into hardware requirements and interface specifications; leads design reviews; establishes standards for robustness, serviceability, and manufacturability; and identifies and addresses technical risks before they reach the field. Responsibilities span the design of sensor-integrated end-of-arm tooling, including cameras, 3D, force/torque, tactile, and proximity sensors; sensor placement, calibration, and mounting; and tooling development from concept through production release. The technical lead also defines mechanical, electrical, and data interfaces across robots, tools, tool changers, sensors, fixtures, and workpieces, and designs tasks, fixtures, parts, and environments for collecting demonstration and training data in partnership with ML engineers. The position owns the hardware lifecycle from requirements and design through prototyping, validation, deployment, and improvement. It aligns hardware across mechanical, electrical, software, and ML teams; mentors engineers; works with vendors, suppliers, and the shop to build hardware; and drives root cause analysis and design improvements using field and reliability data. The role may support work under U.S. Government contracts and may involve export-controlled information and Controlled Unclassified Information. Candidates must be able to comply with applicable U.S. export control regulations and company and federal data protection and confidentiality standards. Employment may be contingent upon a background check consistent with applicable requirements.

Requirements

Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Robotics, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
7+ years in robotics, automation, or industrial hardware development, with systems deployed in the real world.
Track record leading the technical direction of a hardware product or subsystem from concept through deployment.
Deep experience designing end-of-arm tooling, grippers, or sensor-integrated robotic payloads.
Strong grasp of how mechanical design affects sensor calibration and performance.
Experience defining interfaces in electromechanical systems, including connectors, cabling, tool changers, and communication protocols.
Familiarity with imitation or demonstration-based learning and how data collection design affects model results.
Proficiency in SolidWorks or equivalent CAD with PDM-based release workflows.

Responsibilities

Own the technical roadmap for sensing end-of-arm tooling, physical interfaces, and training task design.
Translate product goals and model-training needs into hardware requirements and interface specifications.
Lead design reviews and set standards for robustness, serviceability, and manufacturability.
Identify technical risks early and address them before they reach the field.
Lead the design of end-of-arm tooling integrating cameras, 3D, force/torque, tactile, and proximity sensors.
Define sensor placement, calibration, and mounting to maintain accuracy under vibration, heat, spatter, dust, and repeated contact.
Drive tooling from concept through production release.
Define mechanical, electrical, and data interfaces between robots, tools, tool changers, sensors, fixtures, and workpieces.
Establish standards that enable tools and sensors to be swapped, serviced, and reused across platforms.
Align physical interfaces with hardware abstraction, calibration, and control architecture.
Design tasks, fixtures, parts, and environments for collecting demonstration and training data.
Define task variation, difficulty, and success criteria that represent real industrial work.
Partner with ML engineers to connect task design to model performance.
Own the full lifecycle from requirements, design, prototyping, and validation through deployment and improvement.
Align hardware with product goals across mechanical, electrical, software, and ML teams.
Mentor engineers and develop sound engineering judgment across the team.
Work with vendors, suppliers, and the shop to turn designs into hardware quickly.
Drive root cause analysis and design improvements using field and reliability data.