Mechanical Engineer, Robotics

About Asimov

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 and assembly models across plastics, sheet metal, die cast, and composite materials in CATIA or equivalent CAD tools
• Perform tolerance studies, FEA, and kinematic simulations to validate stiffness, strength, and lifetime requirements
• Create production drawings with GD&T annotations and inspection call-outs for manufacturing and QA handoff
• Conduct DFM reviews with contract manufacturers and tooling partners, refining designs for cost, cycle time, and quality
• Define and run mechanical and system-level test protocols, analyze failure modes, and iterate based on test data
• Work closely with firmware, controls, and electrical teams to ensure mechanical design choices support stable, low-latency control loops
• Contribute 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 CAD, ideally CATIA V5/V6, across both detailed parts and multibody assemblies
• Proven track record with plastic injection molding, sheet metal fabrication, and die casting processes
• Experience with GD&T and producing 2D engineering drawings for manufacturing and QA
• Ability to run FEA simulations and interpret results to inform design decisions
• Comfortable working within aggressive cost and weight constraints without sacrificing reliability
• 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
• 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
• Familiarity with MATLAB for system-level modeling and tolerance stack-ups
• Familiarity with sim-to-real workflows and how hardware decisions affect locomotion policy training and transfer
• Prior involvement in robotics or wearable systems where mechanical tolerances and ergonomics are critical

Why Join Menlo?

You will be part of a tight-knit team defining the next generation of humanoid robots. With genuine ownership of the mechanical systems that bring Asimov to life, you will see your designs go from CAD to real-world deployments. If you thrive in fast-paced, open-collaborative environments, let's build the future of robotics together.