Actuator Design Engineer
AI research and deployment company building and deploying frontier AI products, including ChatGPT, Codex, and its API platform.
Maintainer signals as of 9/25/2026
Projects
About OpenAI
OpenAI’s mission is to ensure artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. It consists of the nonprofit OpenAI Foundation and OpenAI Group, a public benefit corporation governed by the Foundation.
Skills
Candidate Availability
Required and preferred rules are kept separate and reflect the wording in the original posting.
About the Role
You will lead actuator architecture, design, integration, and validation from concept through production-ready assemblies. You will define requirements and trade studies, build and test prototypes, analyze failures, and optimize closed-loop performance. You will collaborate on manufacturing, supplier qualification, documentation, and scalable engineering practices for electromechanical robotic systems.
Requirements
- 7+ years designing electromechanical systems, robotic actuators, or precision mechatronic hardware
- Experience developing actuators for high-performance dynamic systems
- Knowledge of motors, transmissions, bearings, encoders, structural design, thermal management, and precision mechanical integration
- Knowledge of actuator sensing and encoder calibration
- Experience with machining, casting, molding, and assembly manufacturing processes
- Proficiency with CAD and PLM tools such as NX and Teamcenter
- Experience with validation plans, reliability testing, and failure analysis workflows
Responsibilities
- Lead architecture, design, and integration of custom robotic actuators
- Define actuator requirements and system-level trade studies
- Design precision electromechanical assemblies
- Drive actuator integration and optimize closed-loop performance
- Develop sensing and encoder architectures
- Build, debug, characterize, and refine prototypes
- Develop test methodologies and characterization infrastructure
- Analyze test data and failure modes
- Transition designs to scalable production-ready assemblies
- Support DFM, DFA, DFT, calibration, and assembly strategies
- Contribute to sourcing, vendor qualification, and supply-chain development
- Document designs, interfaces, validation results, and engineering decisions
- Establish engineering standards and development workflows
Benefits
- Equity
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance with employer Health Savings Account contributions
- Pre-tax Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, and commuter accounts
- 401(k) plan with employer match
- Paid parental, medical, and caregiver leave
- Flexible PTO for exempt employees or up to 15 days annually for non-exempt employees
- Paid company holidays, office closures, and sick or safe time
- Mental health and wellness support
- Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage
- Annual learning and development stipend
- Daily office meals and eligible meal-delivery credits
- Relocation support for eligible employees
- Charitable donation matching and wellness stipends may be provided