Senior Gear Design Engineer (Robotics)

Location: San Jose, CA; 5 days per week in-office

Salary: $160,000–$250,000 annually

Company

hirify.global develops autonomous, general-purpose humanoid robots with AI-driven human-level intelligence for home and commercial applications.

What you will do

• Own gear and transmission design from system-level sizing and geometry definition through validation and mass production.
• Perform gear rating, contact and bending stress analysis, life analysis, and micro-geometry optimization in KISSsoft.
• Design gears, shafts, and transmission assemblies in CATIA for high-DOF robotic hands with extreme packaging, load, and durability requirements.
• Define manufacturing strategies across cutting, grinding, powder metal, MIM, and plastics, and drive DFM with suppliers.
• Create 2D drawings with gear data tables and GD&T, and define inspection and metrology plans.
• Build test rigs to measure efficiency, backlash, wear, and fatigue life, correlating results with analytical models while collaborating with actuator, structures, EE, and manufacturing teams.

Requirements

• 7+ years of experience designing gears and geared transmissions.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics, or a related field.
• End-to-end ownership of gear designs from initial sizing through mass manufacturing.
• Proficiency in KISSsoft or an equivalent tool and CATIA or equivalent high-end 3D CAD.
• Working knowledge of AGMA/ISO gear rating standards, gear metrology, tolerancing, and gear manufacturing processes.
• Strong ownership, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Nice to have

• Experience with small-module, high-ratio, or high-power-density planetary, cycloidal, or strain-wave gearing.
• Background in robotics, surgical devices, aerospace actuation, or automotive e-drive transmissions.
• Knowledge of lubrication, grease DOE, tribology, fatigue modeling, bearing life characterization, or accelerated life testing.
• Experience with NPI builds such as EVT, DVT, PVT, and FATP at volume.

Culture & Benefits

• Close collaboration across actuator, structures, electrical engineering, and manufacturing functions.
• Work on power-dense, space-constrained actuators for humanoid robots.
• Full-time employment with additional compensation and benefits potentially included in the total package.