Actuator Systems Engineer, Fauna

Every motion our robots make starts with an actuator, and we’re looking for an Actuator Systems Engineer to help us build better ones. This role is for someone who enjoys the full loop: building a model of how a motor or transmission should behave, rigorously testing this around other industry standards, and then iterating on the hardware or firmware until the desired specification is met.

You’ll work across electrical, mechanical, and firmware design, and you’ll own actuator performance from the bench all the way to robots running in people’s homes. The things you learn and build will directly shape how safe, reliable, efficient, quiet, and strong our robots are.

Key job responsibilities

• Plan and run characterization testing on our actuators, covering things like torque constant, friction, efficiency, thermal behavior, and wear over time, and turn those results into models and specs the rest of the team can rely on
• Build and maintain electromechanical and thermal models of our actuators that help us predict robot performance, set safe operating limits, and support the controls and simulation teams
• Contribute to the electrical design of the actuator, including motor selection, motor drivers, sensing, and protection, working closely with our EE team and suppliers
• Contribute to the mechanical design of the actuator, including transmissions, bearings, housings, and thermal paths, with an eye toward torque density, efficiency, and manufacturability
• Write and tune motor control firmware, including current and position control, current and thermal limiting, calibration, and fault detection

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