Mechanical Engineer

About the Role

As a Mechanical Engineer, you will design, build, and test the mechanisms within a robotic pharmacy. This is a hands-on role where you will take parts and subassemblies from a sketch and a hand calculation to hardware running on the bench, then iterate based on learning. The role requires individuals who build things and can explain design principles from first principles. You will work alongside senior engineers and gain increasing ownership as your judgment grows. Your hardware will handle real medication for real patients, offering an opportunity to design, build, test, and refine mechanisms for nationwide deployment.

Key Responsibilities

• Build and Iterate
• Design, fabricate, and assemble prototype mechanisms, fixtures, and test rigs.
• Utilize the fastest method for fabrication: 3D printing, laser cutting, manual and CNC machining, or hand tools.
• Assemble, debug, and rework hardware on the bench alongside technicians.
• Engage in short iteration loops: build, learn, and improve in days.
• Engineering Judgment from First Principles
• Start designs with a sketch, free-body diagram, and hand calculation before CAD or simulation.
• Size components like springs, motors, bearings, shafts, and fasteners based on loads, energy, and duty cycle.
• Select materials and finishes based on strength, stiffness, wear, fatigue, and cost.
• Perform tolerance stack-ups on critical interfaces.
• State assumptions and determine acceptable performance levels, validating predictions against hardware.
• Test and Learn
• Write simple test plans, instrument builds, and collect reliable data.
• Compare results to calculations and explain discrepancies.
• Identify root causes of failures.
• Document learnings for future reference.
• Grow into Production Design
• Create parts in CAD and release drawings for manufacturing.
• Learn design for manufacturing (DFM) by collaborating with senior engineers and suppliers on machined, molded, and sheet metal parts.
• Integrate motors, sensors, and harnesses with electrical and software engineers.
• Assist in transitioning designs from prototype to reliable 24/7 production systems.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Builder first: A portfolio showcasing hardware designed and physically made (projects, internships, research, personal projects).
• 0–3 years of hands-on mechanical or mechatronic engineering experience.
• First-principles fundamentals: Working command of statics, dynamics, mechanics of materials, and machine design. Ability to derive and defend quantitative results from sketches and free-body diagrams.
• Engineering judgment: Ability to articulate design choices, trade-offs, and justifications for materials, mechanisms, or tolerances.
• Hands-on fabrication: Proficiency in a shop environment with 3D printers, hand tools, and basic machining. Debugging skills using tools like a caliper and multimeter.
• CAD proficiency: Solid part and assembly modeling in a 3D CAD platform (OnShape, SolidWorks, Creo) with clear, buildable drawings.
• Ownership: Ability to complete tasks, acknowledge knowledge gaps, and learn quickly from feedback.

Nice to Have

• Experience with mechanisms such as linkages, cams, gear trains, linear stages, grippers, and dispensers.
• Mechatronics basics: Understanding of motors, sensors, and microcontroller wiring and programming.
• Tolerance analysis and GD&T.
• Exposure to manufacturing methods like machining, injection molding, sheet metal, or casting.
• Experience with Python or MATLAB for data analysis or calculations.
• Use of simulation (FEA) for verification of hand calculations.

What We Offer

• Early-stage equity.
• Direct impact on hardware used by real patients.
• Small team, low bureaucracy, high trust.
• Challenging technical problems.
• Competitive salary.
• Meaningful early-stage equity.
• Health, 401(k).