Robotics Hardware Engineer, Large Behavior Models

Cambridge - USA

Monthly Salary: Not Disclosed

Posted on: 19-09-2025

Vacancies: 1 Vacancy

Job Summary

At Toyota Research Institute (TRI) were on a mission to improve the quality of human life. Were developing new tools and capabilities to amplify the human experience. To lead this transformative shift in mobility weve built a world-class team in Automated Driving Energy & Materials Human-Centered AI Human Interactive Driving Large Behavior Models and Robotics.

The Mission

Make general-purpose robots a reality.

The Challenge

We envision a future where robots assist with household chores and cooking aid the older population in maintaining their independence and enable people to spend more time on the activities they enjoy most. To achieve this robots need to be able to operate reliably in messy unstructured environments. Our mission is to answer the question What will it take to create truly general-purpose robots that can accomplish a wide variety of tasks in settings like human homes with minimal human supervision. We believe that the answer lies in cultivating large-scale datasets of physical interaction from a variety of sources and building on the latest advances in machine learning to learn general-purpose robot behaviors from this data.

Robotics

The mission of TRI Robotics is to invent and prove new robotic capabilities required to enable home robots to solve the challenges faced by an aging society. As part of that mission we are developing a sophisticated suite of open-source robotics software called Drake ( ( for use in our internal robotics projects and the wider community of advanced robotics researchers.

The Team

Join Toyota Research Institutes LBM-C division to change the world by creating and shipping useful general-purpose AI-driven robots. Within this division the hardware teams mission is to build a highly scalable fleet of robots capable of performing the same general mobile manipulation tasks as humans in human-like ways and at human-like speeds via shared autonomy. Help turn cutting-edge R&D into deployed products!

The Opportunity

This role will support the electromechanical design manufacturing and testing of custom robotic particular it is responsible for building complex multi-degree-of-freedom assemblies with structural components actuators sensors and cabling while considering cost reliability maintainability performance and ultimately scalability.

Responsibilities

Mechanical design: Design multi-degree-of-freedom electromechanical assemblies and test fixtures and environments; generate rough and detailed CAD FEA analysis and clear drawings with GD&T; and specify materials and fabrication processes.
Actuation Sensing and Power: Design and build drivetrains (e.g. motors gearboxes belts bearings) select and integrate sensors (encoders torque sensors cameras etc) and power and communication cabling.
Ownership: Follow what you build through its lifecycle including fit/finish debugging tolerance stack checks failure analysis continuous improvement and engaging with end users.
Rapid Prototyping and Rapid Experimentation: Build and test ideas quickly using 3D printers waterjet CNCs and rapid fabrication services. Design instrumented lab experiments and test rigs log and analyze data and feed results back into designs.
Develop the Team: Help develop our growing team through mentorship leading by example building consensus and culture and contributing to work planning and milestone definitions. Youll work with and through others.
Collaborate Cross-Functionally: Partner with Software AI Product and Deployment teams to move from prototype to production.
Manage External Hardware Contracts: For projects that we can not staff internally clearly scope and guide external resources collaboratively and communicatively.

Requirements

B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Robotics or related field.
3 years of industry experience
Experience with robotic manipulation and/or mobile robot applications.
Proficiency with CAD tools (SolidWorks/Onshape) and drawing standards (GD&T tolerances fits).
Comfortable in the shop: basic machining tapping threading and rapid fabrication tools.
Proficiency with mechatronics (actuators sensors wiring cable routing) and practical DFM/DFS instincts.
Clear communication meticulous documentation and a bias for fast iteration.
A great collaborator who can take the lead on relationships with adjacent and external teams.

Bonus Qualifications

Experience with tendon and/or back-drivable actuation.
MATLAB/Python for creating scripts and analyzing data.
Exposure to PLM/version control
Bringing assemblies from research prototypes to low-volume production.

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