Mechanical Design Engineer, Hands Thermal Systems

ABOUT 1X

We’re building humanoid robots that work in home - doing the chores, handling the tasks, and giving people their time back. Simple, but it’s not.

To do this right, we have to solve robotics, AI, manufacturing - at the same time, at scale, in a form factor that has to be safe enough to live with your family. If you’re inspired by this, you’ll thrive here. We’ve been at this since 2014 and we’re at the point where the hard problems are behind us and the hard work is in front of us.

NEO is our flagship - a home robot designed to move, learn, and operate in the real world alongside real people. We’re not demoing it - we’re shipping it. We’re excited to meet you, if this excites you.

If you’ve spent your career working on problems that matter and want to see them actually reach the world - this is that moment. We’re scaling, we’re hiring with intention, and we need people who want to build something that will genuinely change how humans spend their time - safely creating abundance for all.

ABOUT THE TEAM

The Hardware Engineering team designs and delivers the electromechanical systems that allow NEO to move, manipulate, and interact safely with the world. From structural components and precision mechanisms to complete robotic subsystems, the team owns hardware development from concept through production.

Working closely with electrical, controls, firmware, manufacturing, and robotics engineers, you'll help transform ambitious ideas into robust, manufacturable products that operate reliably in real-world environments.

YOUR CHARTER

Design and develop the thermal systems that enable NEO’s hands to operate reliably across demanding operating conditions.

You will develop active and passive thermal-management solutions for highly integrated electromechanical systems, balancing thermal performance with packaging, power, acoustics, reliability, manufacturability, and cost.

You will use first-principles analysis, prototyping and physical testing to understand system behavior, optimize thermal designs, and validate solutions in hardware.

KEY OUTCOMES

- Design and optimize active and passive thermal-management systems for NEO’s hands, from early concepts through detailed design, prototyping, validation, and production release

- Use first-principles thermal analysis, experimental data, and simulation results to select and size components, evaluate design trade-offs, and optimize system performance

- Design, build, and instrument prototypes and test setups to evaluate thermal concepts and validate performance under representative operating conditions

- Develop thermal architectures and solutions that effectively manage heat across motors, electronics, structures, materials, and the surrounding environment

- Work closely with CFD and simulation engineers to evaluate design concepts and correlate simulation models with physical test data

- Work closely with mechanical, materials, and electrical engineers to integrate thermal solutions within tight packaging, structural, electrical, and manufacturing constraints

KEY COMPETENCIES

- Strong mechanical engineering fundamentals with a solid understanding of heat transfer and thermal systems

- Hands-on engineering mindset with experience building, testing, and refining physical prototypes

- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to make sound engineering trade-offs

- Excellent collaboration skills across multidisciplinary engineering teams

- High attention to detail with a commitment to delivering reliable, validated engineering solutions

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Robotics, or a related engineering discipline

- 2+ years of experience designing highly integrated active and passive thermal-management systems in a product development environment

- Strong understanding of heat transfer fundamentals and experience using first-principles thermal analysis to evaluate design trade-off …