Actuator Gear Design Engineer

OpenAI, Inc.

Job Overview

Location

San Francisco

Job Type

Full-time

Full Job Description

📋 Description

• Lead the architecture, design, and integration of custom robotic actuator gearing.
• Define actuator requirements and system-level trade studies around torque density, bandwidth, efficiency, thermal performance, back drivability, inertia, reliability, manufacturability, and cost.
• Design precision electromechanical assemblies with strong attention to tolerances, alignment, load paths, thermal expansion, sealing, wear, and serviceability.
• Drive actuator integration into robotic systems, partnering closely with controls, firmware, electrical, and robotics software teams to optimize closed-loop performance.
• Develop and evaluate architectures with integrated sensing and encoder strategies.
• Build and validate prototypes through hands-on bring-up, debugging, characterization, and iterative refinement.
• Develop test methodologies and characterization infrastructure for actuator performance, reliability, durability, and failure analysis.
• Analyze test data to identify limitations, failure modes, and opportunities for design improvement.
• Collaborate with manufacturing and supplier partners to transition designs from prototype to scalable production-ready assemblies.
• Support DFM, DFA, DFT, calibration, and assembly strategies for electromechanical subsystems.
• Contribute to actuator sourcing strategy, vendor qualification, prototype builds, and supply-chain development.
• Document designs, interfaces, validation results, and engineering decisions to support long-term maintainability and production readiness.
• Help establish engineering standards, integration practices, and development workflows for future robotic platforms.
• You might thrive in this role if you:
• Have strong intuition for designing high-performance gearing systems and understanding the tradeoffs between performance, robustness, manufacturability, and cost.
• Enjoy operating at both subsystem and system levels, balancing actuator-level optimization with overall robot integration needs.
• Are highly hands-on and enjoy building, debugging, instrumenting, and testing hardware directly.
• Can move fluidly between first-principles analysis, rapid prototyping, and production-oriented engineering decisions.
• Are comfortable working in fast-moving environments with evolving requirements and aggressive technical goals.
• Have a strong sense of ownership and proactively drive cross-functional alignment to unblock progress.
• Communicate clearly across disciplines and can collaborate effectively with research, controls, manufacturing, and operations teams.
• Care deeply about engineering rigor while maintaining the ability to iterate quickly.
• Are motivated by enabling the next generation of intelligent robotic systems through differentiated hardware capabilities.
• Preferred qualifications:
• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience designing gears systems, robotic actuators, or precision mechatronic hardware.
• Experience developing transmission elements for robotics, automation, aerospace, automotive, or other high-performance dynamic systems.
• Strong understanding of motors, transmissions, bearings, encoders, structural design, thermal management, and precision mechanical integration.
• Familiarity with actuator sensing architectures, including encoder integration and calibration strategies.
• Experience designing for prototype and production manufacturing processes including machining, casting, molding, and assembly.
• Proficiency with CAD and PLM tools such as NX and Teamcenter or equivalent systems.
• Experience developing validation plans, reliability testing, and failure analysis workflows.
• Experience scaling hardware systems from prototype through high volume production.

🎯 Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience designing gears systems, robotic actuators, or precision mechatronic hardware.
• Experience developing transmission elements for robotics, automation, aerospace, automotive, or other high-performance dynamic systems.
• Strong understanding of motors, transmissions, bearings, encoders, structural design, thermal management, and precision mechanical integration.
• Familiarity with actuator sensing architectures, including encoder integration and calibration strategies.
• Experience designing for prototype and production manufacturing processes including machining, casting, molding, and assembly.
• Proficiency with CAD and PLM tools such as NX and Teamcenter or equivalent systems.
• Experience developing validation plans, reliability testing, and failure analysis workflows.
• Experience scaling hardware systems from prototype through high volume production.

🏖️ Benefits

• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Opportunity to work on cutting-edge robotics projects.
• Collaborative and dynamic work environment.
• Professional development and growth opportunities.

Skills & Technologies

Onsite

Degree Required

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OpenAI, Inc.

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About OpenAI, Inc.

OpenAI is a San Francisco-based artificial intelligence research and deployment company founded in 2015. It develops large-scale AI models such as GPT, DALL-E, and Codex, providing cloud APIs and consumer applications like ChatGPT. Originally established as a non-profit, it later created a capped-profit subsidiary to attract capital while maintaining its mission to ensure artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.

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