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OpenAI's Robotics team is seeking a senior mechanical engineer to lead the design and deployment of printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) test fixtures and infrastructure for advanced robotic systems. This is a senior individual-contributor role combining lab development with on-site work at contract manufacturers.
You will independently own the mechanical architecture of PCBA test stations from concept through reliable daily operation. This includes designing and building precision mechanical systems for board programming, functional testing, and characterization—such as board nests, probe plates, connector interfaces, alignment features, clamps, enclosures, and thermal interfaces. You will use first-principles analysis and simulation to assess stiffness, probe insertion forces, board deflection, tolerance stacks, thermal growth, and fixture life, validating predictions on hardware.
Key responsibilities include:
- Owning the full mechanical architecture of test stations: frames, board nests, datum schemes, access, guarding, ergonomics, and serviceability
- Designing probe and bed-of-nails fixtures, connector-mating mechanisms, board supports, and interchangeable tooling
- Developing locating and compliance features that accommodate board variation, protect components, and preserve contact repeatability
- Partnering with electrical, firmware, software, manufacturing, and reliability teams on test-point access, probe selection, connector engagement, ESD provisions, cable routing, cooling, and interlocks
- Building, assembling, instrumenting, and debugging fixtures in the lab; establishing acceptance checks for alignment, force, board strain, contact repeatability, and cycle life
- Designing safe loading, pinch-point protection, hard stops, and operator access for manual or actuated fixtures
- Managing fabrication partners and component vendors; releasing CAD, drawings, bills of materials, tolerance analyses, assembly instructions, inspection plans, and maintenance procedures
- Owning fixture deployment and acceptance at contract manufacturers, including assembly checks, correlation with lab fixtures, operator training, and troubleshooting
You will work in San Francisco with 4 days per week in-office presence. Travel to contract-manufacturer sites is required based on build and deployment needs.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Demonstrated ability to independently deliver significant precision-fixture or equipment projects from ambiguous requirements through detailed design, fabrication, validation, and sustained use
- Strong 3D CAD and released-drawing capability, including complete fabrication and assembly packages, bills of materials, and revision control
- Strong fundamentals in GD&T, tolerance analysis, locating schemes, stiffness, compliance, contact forces, and load paths
- Hands-on ability to work with fabrication partners, assemble and measure fixtures, diagnose failures, and iterate hardware in a lab or manufacturing environment
- Ability to define and execute fixture acceptance checks for alignment, force, repeatability, wear, and safe operation
- Ability to communicate interfaces and tradeoffs across electrical, software, manufacturing, and operations teams and support deployment at contract manufacturers
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Robotics, or related field, or equivalent practical experience
- Prior PCBA test-fixture experience with board nests, probe or bed-of-nails fixtures, connector mating, and protection of delicate electronic assemblies
- Experience with ESD-aware tooling, thermal interfaces, actuated fixtures, interlocks, or structural and thermal simulation
- Experience with NX, SolidWorks, Creo, or equivalent tools; robotics hardware; or fixture replication and new-product builds at contract manufacturers
