OpenAI
Actuator Design Engineer
About this role
Lead the design and integration of custom electromechanical actuators for advanced robotic systems, owning development from concept through prototype validation. Partner across mechanical, electrical, controls, and manufacturing teams to establish scalable design practices for next-generation robotics.
What you'll do
- Design and architect custom robotic actuators including motors, transmissions, sensing, and thermal systems
- Define actuator requirements and conduct system-level trade studies on performance, efficiency, and manufacturability
- Build and validate prototypes through hands-on testing, characterization, and iterative refinement
- Develop test methodologies and analyze data to identify failure modes and design improvements
- Integrate actuators into robotic systems in collaboration with controls, firmware, and robotics software teams
- Transition designs from prototype to production-ready assemblies with manufacturing partners
What they're looking for
- Electromechanical system design
- Motor and transmission design
- Precision mechanical design and tolerancing
- Prototype testing and validation
- Systems integration and cross-functional collaboration
- Manufacturing and supply chain strategy
- Thermal and structural analysis
- Encoder and sensing architecture
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OpenAI
OpenAI builds AI infrastructure and products, including large-scale data center campuses for AI computing and generative AI applications for enterprise customers. The company is hiring civil engineers, project engineers, electrical design engineers, data center R&D engineers, and AI deployment engineers to expand its infrastructure capabilities and help customers deploy AI solutions.
View all jobs at OpenAILikely interview questions
- Walk us through a custom actuator or electromechanical system you designed from concept to prototype. What were the key design tradeoffs you made around torque density, thermal performance, and manufacturability?
- How do you approach defining actuator requirements when integrating with a broader robotic system? Can you describe a time when controls or firmware feedback changed your mechanical design?