Senior Mechanical Engineer

Root AI is a tech company solving the biggest challenges facing agriculture today. We’re on a mission to rebuild farming from the ground up, starting with advanced robotic systems that can see, care for, and harvest crops. As an early stage start-up, Root is assembling a foundational team of passionate and talented professionals. Every member of the team has a critical role, and every decision we make matters, so we hire with that in mind. We are an early stage start-up assembling a foundational team of passionate and talented professionals with openings in mechanical engineering, software development, and embedded development.  Join us as we build the future of farming.

As the Senior Mechanical Engineer, you will be responsible for the development of critical system architecture and subsystem designs of the robotic Virgo platform, supporting projects from the brainstorming phase through to integration and testing

Responsibilities 

• Leading development of novel fruit harvesting, handling, and payload management systems for harvesting robots and associated agricultural automation systems
• Selection, qualification, and integration of motion controllers, gearmotors, linear actuators, navigational sensors, and other critical system control components
• Support team members’ mechanical design needs in constructing mobile powered platforms, drive systems, embedded computers, charging systems, and navigational systems
• Lead design reviews and participate in detailed review and analysis with an interdisciplinary team

Core Skills

• The ability to think about systems at multiple levels of abstraction, and to plan the details of implementation to achieve higher level architectural goals
• Capable of achieving fast-paced milestones by constantly assessing the tradeoffs between
  speed of implementation, cost, and alignment with engineering requirements
• Strong analytical thinking and organizational skills, with attention to detail and documentation
• 5+ years experience in mechanical design and development of complex electro-mechanical systems
• Mastery of SolidWorks or similar MCAD suite
• Extensive rapid prototyping skills and experience transitioning early concepts to product development
• BS or MS in mechanical engineering or related field

Familiar with several of the following

• Experience with pneumatic control systems and actuators
• Experience with sheet metal, weldments, and rapid prototyping methods
• Experience selecting or integrating motion control systems a plus
• Familiarity with product design management tools and processes