Mechanical Engineer, Robotics

About Menlo

Menlo Research is an Applied R&D lab building Asimov, an open-source humanoid robot platform, and the full software stack that powers it. Our mission is to make humanoid labor economically viable - turning software into physical labor at scale. We build across the full stack: hardware architecture, locomotion, autonomy, simulation, and infrastructure. We move fast, ship to real robots, and open-source everything we can. If you want your work to matter beyond a paper or a demo, this is the place.

The Role

As a Mechanical Engineer, you will own the design, analysis, and validation of the structural and kinematic systems that make Asimov move. You will take components from concept through production-ready hardware - working across joints, actuators, enclosures, and structural members - ensuring every design holds up mechanically and integrates cleanly with the broader electromechanical system.

What You'll Do

• Design and develop mechanical assemblies across the full humanoid body, including joints, actuators, sensor mounts, and structural members
• Develop detailed 3D part, drawings and assembly models across plastics, metal, and composite materials in Solidworks or equivalent CAD tools
• Run hands-on test rigs: load testing, fatigue cycling, thermal soak, and kinematic validation across body segments
• Execute DFM reviews alongside contract manufacturers, going to the floor to understand tooling constraints, cycle times, and failure modes firsthand
• Create and maintain production drawings with GD&T and inspection callouts for handoff to CMs and QA
• Set up and instrument test stands, wire sensors, and collect data to analyze failure modes and close the loop on design iterations
• Work across plastics, metals, and composites, selecting materials and joining methods appropriate for the loading conditions and production intent
• Coordinate with firmware and electrical teams to physically integrate actuators, sensors, and PCBs into mechanical assemblies, ensuring cable routing, connector access, and serviceability are accounted for
• Contribute to Menlo's open-source hardware releases, including build guides, BOM documentation, and assembly instructions for the communityContribute to Menlo's open-source design efforts, including CAD releases, manufacturing documentation, and build guides for the broader robotics community

What You'll Bring

• 3 or more years of hands-on mechanical design experience on high-complexity electromechanical products
• Strong proficiency in Solidworks, across both detailed parts, multibody assemblies, surfaces and drawings
• Proven track record with sheet metal fabrication and traditional/additive manufacturing
• Experience with GD&T and producing 2D engineering drawings for manufacturing and QA
• Ability to run FEA simulations; static, dynamic & thermal as well as interpret results to inform design decisions
• Comfortable working within aggressive cost and weight constraints without sacrificing reliability
• Demonstrated hands-on experience with material selection, actuator selection, fasteners and mechanisms
• Proficient in rapid prototyping methods (FDM, SLA, CNC, laser cutting) and able to support the team on design decisions spanning the full product lifecycle, from concept through end-of-life disassembly and material recovery
• Strong communication skills to drive alignment across suppliers, cross-disciplinary engineers, and leadership

Bonus points for:

• Experience with bipedal or humanoid robot hardware, legged locomotion platforms, or high DOF manipulators
• Participated in robotics competitions
• Familiarity with parallel mechanisms and non-standard joint configurations such as RSU ankle designs or parallel actuation
• Knowledge of plastics engineering including material selection, shrinkage factors, and mechanical property optimization
• Scripting or automation experience in Python to streamline CAD workflows and data analysis