Mechanical Design Engineer, Plastics
Design and own the mechanical aspects of plastic components for robotics at a startup focused on Physical AI.
Posted by employer 3 days ago
First seen on Joblaze 2 days ago
Last verified on the company career page 4 hours ago
Skills & Technologies
What you'll build
- Own the mechanical design of A-surface plastic components
- Develop Class-A surfaces and translate ID surfacing into manufacturable parts
- Select polymers and processes across the cosmetic stack
- Define and own GD&T, tolerance stack-ups, and datum schemes
- Drive DFM and DFA for injection molding and secondary operations
Must have
- 5+ years designing injection-molded plastic parts
- Deep, hands-on knowledge of polymer materials science
- Fluent in GD&T and tolerance analysis
- Proven experience owning cosmetic A-surface parts
- Strong surfacing skills in SolidWorks, CATIA, NX, Creo
Requirements
- Experience
- 5+ years
Not disclosed in this posting: compensation, visa sponsorship.
Joblaze summary
The Mechanical Design Engineer at Mind Robotics focuses on the mechanical design of A-surface plastic components for robots, overseeing the process from initial design to production tooling. Key skills include expertise in polymer materials, GD&T, and experience with injection-molded parts, particularly in high-volume settings. This role is suited for a seasoned engineer with a strong background in plastics and a hands-on approach to problem-solving. Mind Robotics emphasizes practical engagement with physical systems, fostering a collaborative environment for tackling complex engineering challenges.
Joblaze insights
- Listed 2 days ago — first seen on Joblaze October 1, 2026. Last confirmed on Mind Robotics's careers page October 3, 2026.
- Solidworks appears in 1.6% of 2440 comparable senior other roles in United States; Creo appears in 0.3% of 2440 comparable senior other roles in United States.
Quick facts
- Is the Mechanical Design Engineer, Plastics role remote?
- No — this is an on-site role in Palo Alto.
- How much experience is required?
- At least 5 years of relevant experience for this Mechanical Design Engineer, Plastics role.
- Where is the role based?
- Mind Robotics is hiring for this position in Palo Alto.
- What's the tech stack?
- Joblaze extracted these technologies from the posting: CATIA, Creo, NX, Solidworks.
- What seniority level is this role?
- Mind Robotics targets senior candidates for this position.
- Is this full-time or contract?
- Full-time for this Mechanical Design Engineer, Plastics role at Mind Robotics.
From the original posting
About Mind:
Mind Robotics is building Physical AI for real-world industrial deployment, starting with the factory floor. We believe the hardest problems in AI are solved when researchers and engineers are hands-on with the physical world every day - and we're looking for people who are passionate about robotics, value ownership, and are excited to tackle difficult problems.
Responsibilities
Own the mechanical design of A-surface plastic components for the robot — covers, skins, shrouds, bezels, and cosmetic enclosures — from industrial design intent through production tooling.
Develop Class-A surfaces and translate ID surfacing into manufacturable parts, holding gap-and-flush, parting line, draft, and aesthetic intent across the full assembly.
Select polymers and processes across the cosmetic stack: ABS, PC, PC/ABS, PA and glass-filled grades, TPU/TPE, and specialty resins — balancing appearance, impact and creep behavior, chemical and UV resistance, flammability, and cost.
Define and own GD&T, tolerance stack-ups, and datum schemes across multi-part plastic assemblies and their interfaces to structures, actuators, and electronics.
Drive DFM and DFA for injection molding, insert molding, overmolding, and secondary operations — gate and ejector strategy, wall thickness, ribbing and boss design, warp and sink mitigation, and shutoff design.
Own cosmetic specification: textures, gloss levels, color matching, painting, plating, laser etching, and in-mold decoration, plus the defect standards and limit samples that go with them.
Work directly with tool shops, molders, and CMs through tool kickoff, T0/T1 sampling, tuning, and PPAP — reviewing mold flow, tool design, and first-shot parts, and driving corrective action.
Build and test prototypes using 3D printing, urethane casting, CNC, and soft tooling, then validate with drop, structural, and environmental testing.
Qualifications
Exceptional mechanical intuition. You understand how polymers flow, shrink, warp, and fail — and you can predict it before the tool is cut.
5+ years designing injection-molded plastic parts for high-volume consumer, automotive, or robotics products, with parts you took from CAD through production tooling.
Deep, hands-on knowledge of polymer materials science: resin families, fillers and additives, anisotropy, moisture sensitivity, and how process conditions change part behavior.
Fluent in GD&T (ASME Y14.5 or ISO GPS) and tolerance analysis, including worst-case and statistical stack-ups on compliant plastic parts.
Proven experience owning cosmetic A-surface parts and defending appearance standards with vendors.
Strong surfacing skills in SolidWorks, CATIA, NX, Creo, or similar; comfort reading mold flow results and tool drawings.
Comfortable with ambiguity, moves fast, and curious about how the whole system works.