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Mechanical Design Engineer, Tactile Sensing
Mindrobotics
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About this role
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Design and develop mechanical components, assemblies, and skins for tactile sensors integrated into robotic end effectors (fingertips, palms, gripper surfaces) , data collection gloves and other contact-rich subsystems.
- Own the tactile sensor stack mechanically from transducer packaging and skin/elastomer design through integration into volume-constrained, cable-routed assemblies.
- Develop and tune elastomer / compliant materials (silicone, urethane, gels) including durometer selection, embedded markers or particles, surface texturing, and durability under shear and cyclic loading.
- Rapidly build, test, and break prototypes. Use 3D printing and manual fabrication to validate designs.
- Perform analyses (FEA, contact mechanics, tolerance, thermal) to validate sensor performance, predict failure modes, and guide design decisions.
- Design characterization fixtures and accelerated test plans — indenters, force/torque ground truth setups, shear testers, life-cycle rigs — to validate tactile performance under realistic contact conditions.
- Contribute to DFM/DFA efforts so sensor designs scale from low-volume prototypes to high-volume production.
- Source components and work closely with machine shops, materials suppliers, and contract manufacturers to ensure parts are manufactured and shipped to spec and on time.
- Develop specifications and accelerated test plans to validate the product for its lifetime.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with electrical, firmware, controls, and ML teams to translate raw sensor signals into usable manipulation feedback.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Exceptional Mechanical Intuition. You understand how forces, materials, and contact mechanics behave instinctively.
- 5+ years of experience (or equivalent "hard tech" projects) building complex electromechanical systems, sensors, or tactile/haptic devices.
- Direct experience with at least one tactile sensing modality — capacitive, resistive, optical/vision-based, magnetic, , piezoelectric, MEMS, or barometric.
- Strong materials intuition, particularly with elastomers - hands-on experience with casting, molding, surface treatments, and characterization.
- Familiarity with rapid prototyping techniques such as 3D printing, machining, soft lithography, etc.
- High proficiency in SolidWorks, Catia, or similar CAD tools.
- Hands-on problem-solving approach with ability to iterate quickly.
- Experience designing for volume processes (injection molding, casting, CNC, etc.) and working with contract manufacturers.
- You are comfortable with ambiguity, move fast, and have an "engineering curiosity" that drives you to understand how the entire system works, not just your part.
BONUS
- PhD or research experience in tactile / haptic sensing, soft robotics, or contact-rich manipulation.
- Experience designing sensor characterization rigs and analyzing the resulting data.
- Working knowledge of sensor electronics and analog front-ends sufficient to collaborate deeply with EE.
- Prior work on humanoid hands, dexterous grippers, or prosthetics.
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