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Machina Labs is building intelligent, software-defined factories that produce complex metal structures directly from digital design. By integrating advanced metal forming, robotics, and automated production, the company enables customers to move from prototype to production in weeks rather than years. Backed by Lockheed Martin, Toyota, and NVIDIA, Machina Labs serves defense, aerospace, and advanced mobility programs.
As Senior Mechanical Engineer for Robotics Hardware, you will own the mechanical hardware design for robotic sheet forming cells, taking designs from concept through release and into production. You will own the design of machine subsystems, make and defend design decisions that set hardware performance, durability, and serviceability, and work closely with Robotics, Forming Process, Electrical, Controls, and Production teams to get hardware built and running reliably.
Key responsibilities include:
**Mechanical Hardware Design:** Own the design of machine hardware through release, including robot end-of-arm tooling (forming end effectors, spindle assemblies, heated forming end effectors, tool mounts), machine frame and structural hardware, and robot-mounted cell subsystems. Define mechanical, fluid, and electrical interfaces to the robot and machine under change control. Design integrated fluid and thermal systems for cooling, lubrication, material transport, vacuum, and actuation. Integrate sensing (load, pressure, temperature) with electrical and controls teams. Set manufacturability approaches and lead design and manufacturability reviews with Manufacturing Engineering, Quality, and Production.
**Analysis, Verification, and Documentation:** Perform and document analyses for release (tolerance, structural, thermal). Write and execute design verification plans, using test data to drive designs to performance, life, and serviceability targets. Produce and maintain release documentation including CAD, fabrication-ready drawings with GD&T, BOMs, revision history, and capability specs. Own engineering changes for your hardware. Lead design reviews and evaluate safety and technical risk across assemblies you own.
**Production and Suppliers:** Act as the engineering point of contact for fabrication suppliers, managing release packages, answering technical questions, approving deviations, and driving quality issues to root cause. Lead investigation of production and field failures, deliver root cause analysis, and implement durable fixes. Improve reliability, serviceability, and cost as production scales.
As the machine and company grow, the areas you own will grow and shift accordingly.
**Requirements:**
- B.S. in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering or related field
- 4+ years of mechanical design for robotics, industrial machinery, or automation equipment, with ownership of a complex assembly or subsystem from concept through release and into deployment/production
- Design of mechatronic hardware such as actuated mechanisms, dynamic kinematic assemblies, or robotic end-of-arm tooling
- Structural, tolerance, or thermal analysis (hand calculations or FEA) applied to design decisions and documented for release
- Strong fundamentals in material selection and failure modes (fatigue, wear, thermal effects)
- Strong CAD skills and ability to produce fabrication-ready drawings with GD&T for machined, welded, and sheet metal parts
- Design verification experience: writing test plans, running tests, and iterating designs from data
- Experience in one or more of: fluid systems (cooling, lubrication, vacuum, pneumatic, hydraulic), sensor integration (load, pressure, temperature), or heated hardware
- Strong documentation and change control discipline (SolidWorks PDM or similar ECM)
- Must be a U.S. person as defined under ITAR due to access to export-controlled information
- Able to work onsite in Chatsworth, CA, with occasional travel to suppliers, customers, or additional Machina factory sites
**Preferred Qualifications:**
- Spindles, bearings, or other rotating hardware under high or cyclic load
- Heated tooling or thermal management at elevated temperature
- FEA proficiency (ANSYS, SolidWorks Simulation, or similar) for structural and thermal analysis
- Robot tool interfaces and tool changers (KUKA, Fanuc, or similar)
- Working with machine shops and fabrication suppliers as the engineering owner
- Weld design and fabrication processes
- Preparing CAD models for simulation or offline programming
- Formal engineering review and release gates
- Cable, hose, or harness routing on dynamic kinematic systems
