Mechanical Engineer, Soft Goods Design (Robotics)

TL;DR

Mechanical Engineer, Soft Goods Design (Robotics): Designing and productionizing flexible and compliant components for robotic platforms with an accent on material behavior and structural integrity. Focus on integrating elastomers, foams, and textiles with rigid hardware and optimizing for durability and scalability.

Location: Must be based in San Francisco, CA (requires in-person presence 4 days a week)

Company

hirify.global is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity.

What you will do

• Design and integrate compliant materials such as elastomers, foams, and textiles into mechanical subsystems and rigid hardware interfaces.
• Leverage FEA tools to characterize material behavior under operational loads, including tension, compression, and fatigue.
• Develop test methods and validation protocols to evaluate durability and failure modes of soft components.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to transition early prototypes into manufacturable designs.
• Partner with contract manufacturers on fabrication methods like bonding, lamination, molding, and composite layups.
• Document material specifications and iterate designs based on field failure analysis and observed wear patterns.

Requirements

• Degree in mechanical engineering or equivalent.
• Experience integrating soft or compliant components into robotic, wearable, medical, automotive, or industrial hardware systems.
• Proficiency with material characterization methods and environmental/durability testing (abrasion, cyclic loading, UV).
• Experience working with contract manufacturers or specialty fabricators.
• Must be based in San Francisco, CA.

Nice to have

• Experience with A-surface and cosmetic component development.

Culture & Benefits

• Opportunity to work on general-purpose robotics and push towards AGI-level intelligence.
• Highly collaborative environment across the entire model stack, integrating hardware and software.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion as an equal opportunity employer.