Principal Mechanical Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

Pickle Robot is on the hunt for a Principal Mechanical Engineer to help shape the next generation of warehouse automation. Our robots do the toughest job on the dock: unloading trucks. We’re scaling fast, and at this level, you won’t just execute designs. You’ll own major parts of our truck unloading robot platform from concept through production, with direct responsibility for performance, reliability, manufacturability, and sustained field operation. You’ll set the technical bar and collaborate closely with software, electrical, and manufacturing teams to build hardware that’s rugged, reliable, and ready for the realities of warehouse life.

If you’re excited about owning a complex robotic platform end-to-end, designing hardware tough enough for the warehouse dock and elegant enough to manufacture at scale, we’d love to meet you.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the mechanical design of major robotic platforms across the full product lifecycle, from concept and prototyping through NPI and sustained field deployment.

• Set the technical direction for how the Robot platforms are architected, packaged, and manufactured; make system-level decisions that hold up through production and deployment, not just during design review.

• Define design requirements, perform tolerance stack-ups, and drive interface decisions across complex assemblies integrating actuators, sensors, and electronics.

• Ensure structural integrity of mechanical assemblies: define load cases, run or direct finite element analysis (FEA), select materials, and validate through physical test.

• Conduct simulations, testing, and prototyping to validate designs.

• Create detailed technical drawings, CAD models, and documentation.

• Troubleshoot and resolve issues during design, production, and deployment.

• Drive design solutions through sketches and CAD, gather cross-functional input early, and build alignment across stakeholders before committing to a direction.

• Ensure compliance with industry standards, safety regulations, and quality control processes.

• Support production teams in scaling and improving manufacturing processes for robotics hardware.

• Serve as a technical anchor for the mechanical engineering team, setting the bar for design rigor, documentation quality, and engineering judgment.

• Mentor and develop junior and mid-level engineers through design reviews, hands-on guidance, DFM coaching, and best-practice modeling.

• Lead and participate in cross-functional design reviews, identifying risks early and driving alignment across hardware, software, and manufacturing stakeholders.

• Lead continuous improvement efforts in robot performance and reliability.

Requirements:

• A bachelor’s or master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field.

• A Mechanical Engineer with 10+ years of experience, ideally in robotics, automation, consumer electronics, aerospace, or EV, with a strong structural design background and a track record of technical ownership at the system level.

• FEA experience that goes beyond the resume line. Has worked through real structural problems. The candidate should be able to set up their own analyses, sanity-check results with hand calculations, and close the loop with physical test data rather than trusting the model.

• Must have experience designing machined, sheet metal, and welded parts in OnShape and submitting documentation through ECO’s and deviations in Arena or other similar tools.

• Comfortable ordering and building prototypes by hand to validate their ideas through prototyping and testing.

• Must have performed tolerance stackups, reviewed FAI’s, PPAP’s, and worked on DFMEA’s throughout their career.

• Has followed designs through the production line, diagnosing and fixing issues in engineering or production builds, as well as in the field.

• Strong engineering judgment across both design and hands-on execution, with the ability to move between CAD, simulation, building, testing, and debugging real hardware.

• Adept at communicating complex concepts and writing technical documents.

• Experience evaluating design, performance, and logistical tradeoffs for hardware systems.

• Experienced in designing for a range of manufacturing processes, including CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, welding, and 3D printing.

• Able to work in a fast-paced, collaborative environment

• Comfortable thinking at the product level, seeing how mechanical subsystems connect, package, and are manufactured together, and can make system-level architecture calls that hold up through production and deployment, not just through the design review.

• Experience mentoring or technically guiding junior and mid-level engineers on design reviews, DFM, and best practices.

• Willing and able to work from our Charlestown, MA office at least 4 days per week.

Pay at Pickle

At Pickle Robot Company, we believe transparency builds trust. The salary range listed here is provided in accordance with Massachusetts law and reflects what we reasonably and in good faith expect to offer for this role. We often consider candidates at different levels of seniority, and final compensation will reflect the level at which a candidate is hired, along with factors like experience and location.

About Pickle Robot

Want to get in on the ground floor of a fast-growing, VC-backed robotics company? Join Pickle Robot! We build systems that companies and their teams love.

Pickle robots unload trucks. Every day, millions of trucks and containers are loaded and unloaded, often requiring manual labor—tough, dirty, dangerous, and hard to staff. Pickle automates this process using AI, machine learning, and robotics to deliver reliable products. Our Unload Systems work with teams on loading docks to make the job safer, faster, and more efficient.

Pickle provides best-in-class benefits including health, dental, & vision insurance; unlimited vacation, along with all federal and state holidays; 401K contributions of 5% your salary, travel supplies, and other items to make your working life more fun, comfortable, and productive.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.