
Founding Mechanical Engineer
San Francisco, CA at a glance
- Rent
- #2 of 51$2,680/mo+46% vs US avg
- Weather
- #17 of 51295 mild days0 hot · 0 cold
- Income tax
- #1 of 5113.3% top rateCalifornia
What you need
- 2-4+ yrs mechanical engineering experience
- Strong sheet metal manufacturing experience
- Proficiency in CAD (OnShape) and rapid prototyping
- Understanding of DFM/DFA principles
- Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering
What you'll do
- Design mechanical components for humanoid arm and data devices
- Rapidly prototype and test designs for reliability
- Contribute to DFM/DFA for production scaling
- Work with vendors on prototyping and tooling
- Perform basic analyses like tolerance and thermal
Almond is building America's critical robot factory.
We are looking for a Mechanical Engineer to design, test, and implement key components for Axol and our data collection systems. You will turn prototypes into reliable, manufacturable products by iterating on early designs and key suppliers to ensure quality and reliability.
This role is ideal for an engineer excited about working across the full product lifecycle from whiteboard sketches and 3D CAD to testing, validation, and manufacturing.
What you’ll do:
- Support the design and development of mechanical components and assemblies for our humanoid arm and data collection devices
- Rapidly prototype, test, and iterate on designs to improve performance and reliability
- Contribute to DFM/DFA efforts to ensure designs can scale from low-volume prototypes to production
- Work with vendors and suppliers on prototyping, tooling, and production readiness
- Perform basic analyses (tolerance, structural, thermal) to validate design decisions
- Assist in documentation for design reviews, testing, and production release
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams (electrical, software, industrial design) to integrate mechanical systems
Requirements:
- Strong passion to build in America
- Strong experience with sheet metal manufacturing (we rely heavily on SendCutSend).
- 2–4+ years of mechanical engineering experience (internships and project work considered)
- Strong skills in CAD (we use OnShape) and a familiarity with rapid prototyping techniques (3D printing, machining, etc.)
- Understanding of DFM/DFA principles and interest in scaling prototypes to production
- Hands-on problem-solving approach with ability to iterate quickly
- Strong collaboration skills and comfort working in fast-paced startup environments
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field (Master’s a plus, but not required)
- Have strong conviction in the idea that general purpose robots (humanoid-esque + AI) are inevitable and will soon take over the physical world
We are taking on a problem that requires extreme ownership and urgency.
Interview Process
- Introductory call
- Phone Screen
- On-site interview
To apply, please submit:
- Why you want to work at Almond
- Your resume
- The coolest thing you made out of sheet metal
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About Almond
We build robots for physical AI. Meet Axol - A dual-arm robot designed for real-world tasks using AI.
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