Senior Mechanical Engineer- Robot Head and Neck

At Rhoda AI, we’re building the next generation of generalist intelligent robots. We own the full robotics stack from high-performance hardware and robot systems to the infrastructure and state-of-the-art foundation world models that control our robots. Our robots are designed to be generalists capable of operating in complex, real-world environments and handling long-tail edge cases, made possible by our cutting edge research and end-to-end system design. We've raised over $450M and are investing aggressively in model research, infrastructure, hardware development, and manufacturing scale-up to make generalist robotics a reality. We're looking for a Senior Mechanical Engineer to own the design of the head for our humanoid robot platform. The head is one of the most constrained and cross-functional subsystems on the robot — it packages cameras, speakers, and sensors into a tight envelope that must satisfy industrial design intent, thermal and structural requirements, and the dynamic demands of an actuated neck. You'll drive architecture-level decisions on actuation, mass properties, and stabilization while working shoulder-to-shoulder with perception, industrial design, and cladding teams. This is a high-ownership role where your decisions define what our robot sees, hears, and looks like. What You'll Do Own the mechanical architecture and packaging of the robot head, including cameras, speakers, microphones, and supporting electronics, within a tightly constrained envelope Drive compatibility between the internal packaging and the industrial design surfaces, negotiating trade-offs between ID intent, sensor fields of view, thermal performance, and serviceability Lead actuation selection and packaging for the neck — evaluating motor, gearbox, and transmission options against torque, bandwidth, backdrivability, acoustic, and packaging requirements Manage the mass properties of the head, minimizing and positioning the center of gravity to reduce neck actuator loads and enable responsive, stable head motion Work closely with the cladding team to define interfaces, attachment schemes, tolerances, and assembly sequences between the head structure and exterior cladding Drive finalization of sensor requirements with perception and systems teams — locking placement, alignment, thermal, and mounting specifications for cameras and other head-mounted sensors Create and maintain CAD models, drawings, tolerance stacks, and BOMs to support design reviews, prototyping, and manufacturing handoffs Plan and execute prototype builds and test campaigns — structural, thermal, acoustic, and dynamic — and lead root cause analysis when issues arise Mentor junior engineers and raise the bar on design practices, documentation, and design review rigor across the team What We're Looking For BS in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related field (MS preferred) 5+ years of experience in mechanical design of complex electromechanical products — robotics, consumer electronics, camera systems, or similar Demonstrated experience packaging sensors, cameras, or dense electronics in tightly constrained, thermally challenging envelopes Experience selecting and integrating actuators — motors, gearboxes, and transmissions — including sizing against dynamic requirements Strong command of mass properties analysis, structural design, and tolerance analysis for precision assemblies Expert-level proficiency with CAD software (Catia, SolidWorks, Fusion 360, Onshape, or similar) for complex part and assembly design Deep familiarity with manufacturing processes — machining, injection molding, die casting, sheet metal, 3D printing — and design-for-manufacture principles Comfort working hands-on with hardware: building prototypes, running tests, and troubleshooting physical systems Strong communication skills and the ability to drive requirements to closure across mechanical, electrical, software, and design disciplines Nice to Have (But Not Required) Experience designing actuated camera platforms, gimbals, or vision systems with image stabilization requirements Experience with humanoid robots, animatronics, or other systems where expressive motion and aesthetics matter alongside function Background in acoustic design — speaker enclosures, microphone placement, or noise/vibration mitigation Familiarity with thermal design and simulation for sealed or semi-sealed electronics enclosures Experience defining sensor requirements alongside perception or computer vision teams Working knowledge of GD&T (ASME Y14.5) applied to optical and precision mechanical assemblies Experience taking a subsystem from concept through DVT/PVT into production Why This Role Own an entire subsystem — the head is yours, from architecture and actuation through sensor packaging and cladding integration, on a robot people will interact with face-to-face Work at the intersection of perception, industrial design, and dynamics — few mechanical roles combine optical packaging, actuation design, and aesthetic collaboration in one subsystem Join at a foundational moment and make architecture-level decisions that define the physical identity of a next-generation humanoid robot