Founding Mechanical Engineer

About the company
We're an early-stage robotics startup building aerial robots that perform physical maintenance tasks in the field — work that today requires sending skilled crews to remote or hazardous sites. We're pre-seed, assembling our founding team, and moving fast toward our first paying pilot with a utility customer.

About the role
We're looking for a founding mechanical engineer to own the physical design of our robotic platform end to end — airframe, actuation, and the mechanisms that let the system physically interact with its environment. You'll work closely with the CEO (hardware background) and CTO (software/autonomy background) to take the platform from prototype to field-ready.

What you'll do

• Design and iterate on airframe structure, actuator integration, and end-effector mechanisms

• Own DFM/DFA decisions as we move from prototype to small-batch production

• Run structural, thermal, and environmental analysis to validate designs for field conditions

• Source and manage relationships with fabrication and manufacturing vendors

• Collaborate with electrical and controls engineers to integrate sensors, wiring, and compute

What we're seeking

Must have

• 5+ years mechanical engineering experience, ideally on robotics, aerospace, or field hardware

• Hands-on CAD proficiency (SolidWorks, Fusion 360, or similar) and experience taking designs from concept to physical prototype

• Experience designing for harsh/outdoor operating environments

• Comfortable working in a small team where you'll do design, prototyping, and testing yourself

Nice to have

• Experience with actuated/robotic arms or manipulators

• Background in drone, aerospace, or other weight-constrained platform design

• Experience with rapid prototyping (3D printing, machining) in-house

• Experience designing hardware for grid, utility, or other critical infrastructure environments