Mechanical Engineer, Robotics Hardware

FieldAI’s Irvine team is where embodied AI meets real robots, real sensors, and real field deployments. Based in the heart of Southern California’s robotics ecosystem, we build risk-aware, reliable, field-ready AI systems that solve the hardest problems in robotics and unlock the full potential of embodied intelligence. If you want your work to ship, get tested on hardware, and improve through real deployments, Irvine is the place. We go beyond typical data-driven approaches or pure transformer-only architectures, combining rigorous engineering with learning systems proven in globally deployed solutions that deliver results today and get better every time our robots run in the field. 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. What You Will Get To Do

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.
  

What You Have

• 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.

What Will Set You Apart

• 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.

Our salary range is generous and we consider each individual’s background and experience when determining final compensation. Base pay may vary based on role scope, job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and the Irvine, California market.   Why Join FieldAI in Irvine? In Irvine, you will work where the robots are. Our local team builds and tests systems on real hardware with real sensors, then ships them to operate in unstructured, previously unknown environments around the world. We are solving one of robotics’ hardest challenges: reliable deployment outside the lab. Our Field Foundational Models™ raise the bar for perception, planning, localization, and manipulation, with an emphasis on explainability and safety for real-world use. You will collaborate with a world-class team that thrives on creativity, resilience, and bold thinking. We bring deep experience from organizations such as DeepMind, NASA JPL, Boston Dynamics, NVIDIA, Amazon, Tesla Autopilot, Cruise, Zoox, Toyota Research Institute, and SpaceX, along with a track record of field deployments and strong performance in DARPA challenge segments.   Be Part of the Next Robotics Revolution We are looking for builders who want their work to leave the whiteboard and show up on robots. If you enjoy tackling tough, uncharted questions and working across disciplines, you will find your people here. Our teams span AI, software, robotics engineering, product, field deployment, and technical communication, all focused on shipping systems that perform in the real world.   Our headquarters is in Irvine, and we partner closely with teams there as well as colleagues across the US and around the world. Join us in Southern California and help define what dependable, field-ready autonomy looks like.   We value diverse perspectives and are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace. We evaluate candidates and employees based on merit, qualifications, and performance, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or any other legally protected status.