Mechanical Design Engineer

About the Company

The datacenter buildout is the largest industrial project in human history. Gradient builds the autonomous robots that make it possible.

Partnered with the world's largest AI infrastructure companies and backed by the industry's best investors, we move fast and build full-stack systems that matter.

About the role

This is a hands-on individual contributor role. We're looking for a mechanical design engineer with 2–4 years of experience to develop a core subsystem at a fast-moving company building robots for AI infrastructure.

You get a goal, not a spec, and take the subsystem from there: requirements, concepts, prototypes, testing and release to production. You'll design a part, do the analysis to back it up, make it, test it on the robot, and turn a failed test into a revised part the same week, backed by an in-house shop that turns parts around in days.

Responsibilities

• Develop a subsystem end-to-end: design, manufacturing and validation, working closely with the engineers who own the systems around it.

• Back your design with analysis: hand calcs, tolerance stack-ups, fastener and material selection, and FEA.

• Build, assemble and test your own parts on test fixtures and on the robot.

• Iterate fast: turn each test result into the next revision in days, not weeks.

Minimum Qualifications

• 2–4 years of professional mechanical design experience, ideally on moving electromechanical mechanisms (robotics, aerospace or automotive)

• Designed actuated mechanisms that move accurately and repeatably (linear actuators, motors, drives)

• Working knowledge of precision motion components: ball screws, linear guides, bearings

• Solid fundamentals: statics, materials, tolerance analysis, fasteners and FEA, backed by first-principles hand calcs

• Designs for steel and aluminum fabrication (machining, sheet metal, welding)

• Hands-on machining experience: as a small team, engineers make their own parts at times

• Authorized to work in the US; we support visa transfers only, not new sponsorships

• Able to work on-site in San Francisco 5 days/week (6 days/week near key deadlines), embedded in the team

Preferred Qualifications

• Developed a mechanical subsystem at a fast-moving hardware company; concept to production is a plus

• Robotics experience, including operating or controlling a robot

• CAM experience or comfort programming your own toolpaths

• Comfort using AI tools to multiply your own output