Rhoda AI
Senior Actuator Engineer (Hands Team)
$175K–$280K
Mountain View · Senior · Full-time · Posted Jul 28, 2026
About the job
Design and develop compact motor-and-gearbox actuators for a robotic hand, from concept through production, and test their performance and durability.
What you'll do
- Design finger and wrist motor-gearbox units and miniaturized geartrains to meet torque, backlash, and packaging targets.
- Size and select motors for torque, speed, power draw, thermal performance, and efficiency.
- Run bench and dyno tests, and collaborate on packaging, thermal paths, drive, and sensing integration.
What they ask for
- Track record designing and shipping gearboxes, especially planetary gearboxes.
- Experience miniaturizing geartrains for tightly packaged, weight- and volume-constrained applications.
- Strong command of motor sizing and selection, including power draw, torque density, and efficiency analysis.
Nice to have
- Gear design experience, including tooth profiles, materials, and manufacturing methods.
- Experience with tendon- or linkage-driven finger actuation, or familiarity with backdrivability and transparency requirements for teleoperation.
Pay
$175K – $280K USD base salary
Tools
planetary gearboxes
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative