Mechanical Engineer
Field AI
Mechanical Engineer
Field AI
Builds AI that guides robots through changing sites
Salary Range: 100000 to 200000 (Currency: USD) (Pay period: per-year-salary)
Hardware Team: The Hardware Team at FieldAI develops perception and compute payloads that power autonomous robotics systems in complex real world environments. Our work spans the full hardware stack designing and integrating sensing systems (LiDAR, camera, TOF, IMU, GPS), embedded compute (CPUs, GPUs, microcontrollers, Linux, ROS), electrical systems (power distribution, communication), and mechanical components (structures, thermal regulation, ingress protection). The team focuses on both development (research, design, prototyping, testing) and operations (production, testing, QA, debugging). We’re a small, fast-moving team, and we care deeply about improving: 1) core capabilities, 2) system reliability, 3) system scalability. As a growing team we are also building operational systems and procedures from the ground up.
Mechanical Systems Role: As a Mechanical Engineer on the Hardware Team at FieldAI, you will contribute to the design and implementation of mechanical systems that house and support sensing and compute platforms in real-world environments. From ruggedized enclosures to thermal management to manufacturability, your work will be critical to ensuring our systems operate reliably in the field. Responsibilities may span the full lifecycle from CAD through production to field support. You will collaborate closely with electrical, compute, and systems engineers to build tightly integrated solutions ready for deployment in challenging field environments. Additionally while your focus will be on mechanical systems you will likely contribute across all hardware domains.
1. Mechanical System Design
Structures: Design and model mechanical structures including external enclosures, internal compute frames, and load-bearing chassis.
Mounts: Design and validate robust sensor mounts, payload attachment points, and mechanical interfaces.
Ingress Protection: Implement IP-rated solutions with gaskets, seals, membranes, and coatings to meet water/dust ingress standards.
Thermal Management: Incorporate thermal mitigation strategies such as fans, heat sinks, conductive paths, and airflow guides.
Mass & Volume Budgets: Ensure adherence to payload constraints, including tight volumetric envelopes and weight limitations.
2. Mechanical System Implementation
CAD & Simulation: Build detailed SolidWorks CAD assemblies. Run FEA and thermal simulations to validate strength, durability, and heat dissipation.
Material & Component Selection: Choose materials and components to meet mass, strength, thermal, and manufacturability constraints.
Design for Production: Apply DFM, DFA, DFS principles throughout the design lifecycle.
System Testing: Conduct mechanical load testing (shock, vibration), thermal validation, ingress tests, and sensor alignment assessments.
Prototyping: Rapidly iterate on prototypes for fit checks, thermal evaluations, and integration trials.
Documentation & Budgets: Generate mechanical drawings, GD&T annotations, BOMs, and assembly instructions for fabrication and QA. Manage weight, volume, and thermal budgets.
3. Mechanical System Production & Servicing
Build: Work with vendors and contract manufacturers to procure mechanical hardware. Develop QA checks for incoming units. Support payload integration and scaling.
Debug: Investigate mechanical failures, deformation, and environmental weaknesses during testing and deployments.
Monitor: Develop protocols for monitoring the system mechanical health and loads.
Education: B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, or related field.
Experience Level: We are recruiting across a wide range of experience levels from entry level engineers to senior and staff engineers.
CAD Expertise: Proficient with SolidWorks or equivalent mechanical CAD platforms.
Thermal & Structural Analysis: Familiarity with FEA and thermal modeling tools.
Field-Ready Design: Experience designing hardware that survives vibration, shock, thermal cycling, and environmental exposure.
Manufacturing Knowledge: Experience designing for CNC, sheet metal, additive manufacturing, and assembly workflows.
Mechanical Systems Integration: Experience working across teams to integrate mechanical systems with compute, sensors, and power electronics.
Lab Skills: Comfort with mechanical debugging, thermal test setups, vibration tables, and ingress testing.
Cross Functional Robotic Skills: Ability to contribute electrical, sensing, and embedded computing work to deliver robust integrated systems.
Scaling: Experience taking systems from prototype to large scale production.
Field Environments: Experience developing systems for harsh field environments.
Deployed Robotics: Experience working on robotics deployed in real world settings such as autonomous vehicles, drones, or ruggedized robots.
Systems Level Robotics: Fluency across mechanical, electrical, and software systems.
Reliability Engineering: Experience designing to meet IP ratings, MIL-STD, or equivalent ruggedness standards.
Field AI builds autonomy software that lets mobile robots inspect and work in changing environments, including construction sites and industrial facilities. Its Field Foundation Models act as a shared control system for different machines, bringing perception, navigation and task planning together on the robot. Cameras and other sensors feed the system, while the platform sends site data into customers' project tools to track progress, record conditions and identify deviations from plans. The company sells commercial autonomy solutions and deployment services, integrating its software with robot manufacturers' equipment. Field AI was founded in 2023 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.
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