Lead Robotics Actuator Engineer

Location: On-site - Greater Chicago area, IL

Employer: Confidential

Employment Type: Full-time

Salary: $140k - $160k+ USD base/year (based on experience and fit).

Industry: Robotics hardware (AI and research robotics)

About the Company

Our client is an established US robotics manufacturer whose robotic arms, mobile platforms and teleoperation systems are used by leading AI labs and research institutions to train the next generation of robots. With more than two decades in robotics and fast-growing demand from the Physical AI field, the company is scaling its engineering team and bringing more of its core technology in-house.

They are hiring a Lead Robotics Actuator Engineer to lead the development of a new family of robotic servo actuators, from architecture and component design through testing, supplier qualification and production. Reporting to the Founder & CTO, this person owns the mechanical and electromechanical design of the actuator line, with particular responsibility for the gearbox and the motor. It is a hands-on technical leadership role on a small, collaborative product team.

Responsibilities

Translate robotic joint requirements into complete actuator designs, balancing torque, speed, size, weight, efficiency, backlash, stiffness, backdrivability, thermal performance, service life and cost.
Design compact precision gearboxes, especially low-backlash planetary reductions with small-module gearing, including gear geometry, strength and life calculations, and backlash and tolerance budgets.
Develop brushless permanent-magnet motors with motor manufacturers: stator and rotor geometry, windings, magnetic performance, losses and defensible thermal ratings.
Integrate the full actuator (housings, bearings, encoders) with the electrical, firmware and controls engineers, and build the prototypes, test rigs and endurance tests that validate it, leading failure analysis when something breaks.
Find, qualify and develop gear and motor suppliers, many of them in Asia: write the specifications, review gear inspection reports and motor test data, resolve quality issues directly with the manufacturers, and take the actuator line from pilot builds into repeatable production.

Requirements

6+ years developing precision electromechanical products (actuators, gearboxes, electric motors, robotics or closely related hardware), including lead-level ownership.
Deep expertise in gearbox or motor development, and real design experience in the other.
Ownership of a custom gearbox or geared actuator design that went beyond prototypes into manufacturing, including applying gear rating and accuracy standards (AGMA, ISO) and turning them into supplier specifications.
Motor design experience beyond selecting catalog motors: electromagnetic geometry, winding specifications, performance analysis or custom motor development.
A hands-on design portfolio: mechanisms and products you designed from scratch, built, iterated and took through several manufacturing processes (CNC, sheet metal, 3D printing).
Strong fundamentals in machine design, materials, fatigue, tribology, electromagnetics and heat transfer, plus GD&T and tolerance stack-ups for rotating assemblies.
Proficiency in parametric 3D CAD and production drawings (Autodesk Fusion and SolidWorks).
Hands-on prototype assembly, testing and root-cause analysis, and direct work with manufacturers to resolve technical and quality problems.
A degree in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, mechatronics or a related field, or equivalent demonstrated expertise.

Nice To Have

Compact robotic joint actuators, low-backlash planetary gearboxes and backdrivable, high-cycle reversing designs.
Frameless, outer-rotor or high-torque-density brushless motors.
Electromagnetic and gear design tools such as Ansys Maxwell, Motor-CAD, JMAG, KISSsoft or Romax.
Scaling actuator designs into volume production.
Robotics competitions in school (FIRST, FRC or similar) or other hands-on build projects.

Soft Skills

Hands-on builder who prototypes, tests and iterates quickly, rather than spending months analyzing a single component.
Quick, clear thinker who explains engineering decisions concisely.
Collaborative, and enjoys mentoring younger engineers on a small, growing team.
Owns problems end to end, from the first calculation to the production line.

Why This Role

Own a core technology used across the company's next generation of robots.
Work directly with the Founder & CTO at a company that is growing its engineering team fast.
See your actuators ship as real products to the teams building Physical AI.
Medical, dental and vision benefits, relocation support for senior hires, and visa sponsorship for exceptional candidates.