Senior Mechanical Engineer - Hands

We are currently seeking a highly skilled and motivated Mechanical Engineer to join our team. In this role, you will be responsible for optimizing and helping to design the hands for our next-generation bipedal humanoid robot (NEO). Collaborating closely with other hardware- and software-teams, you will play a vital role in everything from design to mass manufacturing. The ideal candidate will have a background in mechanical engineering for robotics, with extensive expertise and experience in optimization for strength and weight, and design for manufacturing and assembly principles. We are looking for individuals with hands-on experience, and a proactive "get-things-done" attitude, who excel in both long-term strategic planning and day-to-day execution of practical tasks.

1X's mission is to create an abundant supply of physical labor through safe, intelligent androids that work alongside humans. Since 2014, we’ve designed our products with large-scale manufacturing in mind, so we can produce androids at a high enough volume to meet the world’s labor demand. Our wheeled Android EVE, is engineered to work with you, from guarding to logistics, and our bipedal model, NEO, is designed to become a household android with broad deployment in various applications. Our products will understand both natural language and physical space, so they can complete useful tasks in any environment.

We’ve established our dual HQ in San Francisco and Norway. Our positions require in-person presence to ensure effective execution and seamless collaboration in our hardware-focused environment. We value passion for our work and encourage candidates who share our dedication to join our team.

Why this job is exciting

Every day is different! You will get to

• Work on the design of a high DoF, anthropomorphic robot hand

• Work in a nascent industry and shape the future of humanoid robots
  

• Gain experience with cutting edge technology and improve all aspects of your technical skills

• Collaborate with engineers from different robotics disciplines 

• Thrive in an inclusive, supportive, and global culture

Within one month, you will…

• Contribute to the design of a high DoF, anthropomorphic robot hand

• Begin optimizing the design of the robot hand for strength, weight, manufacturing, and assembly

• Familiarize yourself with internal processes and development methodologies

• Get familiar with our bipedal humanoid platform (NEO)

Within three months, you will…

• Own one or several sub-systems and/or aspects of the robot hand

• Send your optimized designs for mid to high volume manufacturing

• Optimize for assembly of your designs with the production team

• Help implement best practices and methodologies that you have learned

Within one year, you will…

• Own several aspects and components of the robot hand

• Evaluate and deduce requirements for the robot hand in close collaboration with other teams

• Contribute to the whole robot hand design process from early design to integration, manufacturing, and assembly

• Conception, design, prototyping, and testing for subsystems of the robot hand
• Collaboration with electrical design teams for integration of electric motors and production teams for manufacturing and assembly
  
• Continuous optimization of parts and assemblies for simplicity, weight, and cost
• Create quality drawings for manufacturing and production
• Author concise documentation of design details, requirements, and test plan

Interview process 

Introduction Stage - we have initial conversations to get to know you better

Team Interview Stage - we then dive into your experience in more depth and introduce you to members of the team. This is also when you will do a take-home challenge

Final Interview Stage - we move you to our final round

You are welcome to request additional conversations with anyone you would like to meet, but didn’t get to meet during the interview process.