---
title: 'Mechanical Design Engineer, Robotic Actuators at Dexmate'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-design-engineer-robotic-actuators-dexmate-fremont-gh6tjne887yn'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-08'
---

# Mechanical Design Engineer, Robotic Actuators at Dexmate

- **Company:** Dexmate
- **Location:** Fremont, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-11-06
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-08
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/dexmate/a778a888-08ae-40f2-97bb-3fd9378ac408

## Job description

## About Dexmate

Dexmate is building robot platforms and a universal Physical AI OS to make robots easier to build and deploy. We combine hardware and software into a plug-and-play platform for developers, researchers and enterprises, with an open ecosystem that supports the development of physical AI.

## The Role

We are looking for a hands-on mechanical or mechatronics engineer to own the architecture of integrated actuators for Dexmate robots. You will translate robot requirements into an actuator design that balances torque, speed, mass, efficiency, backdrivability, thermal capacity and manufacturability. You will make technical trade-offs, build and test hardware, and bring specialists together around a verified design.

## Responsibilities

- Define actuator requirements from robot loads and duty cycles, including peak and continuous torque, speed, stiffness, life, packaging and thermal limits.
- Own trade studies across motor topology, transmission ratio, bearings, cooling, sensing and drive constraints; use measured performance to resolve competing requirements.
- Set mechanical, electrical and firmware interfaces, including voltage and current limits, sensor placement, allowable temperatures and fault responses.
- Lead prototype builds and hands-on debugging. Maintain direct ownership of CAD and analysis reviews, bench debugging and technical decisions.
- Develop characterization plans with motor, drive, controls and test engineers; correlate torque-speed, efficiency, thermal, friction and backdrivability results to models.
- Drive design reviews, supplier decisions, DFM and corrective actions through production release, with clear requirements and acceptance criteria.

## Minimum Qualifications

- Delivered an integrated actuator, servo or electromechanical drive into a production or deployed product, with direct ownership of architecture and hardware decisions.
- Strong depth in mechanical or mechatronic design and working understanding of motors, transmissions, thermal behavior, sensors and drive limitations.
- Ability to quantify system trade-offs and explain how analysis, bench data and failure investigation changed a design.
- Hands-on experience with prototyping, validation, supplier collaboration and manufacturing release; ability to lead across engineering disciplines.

## Preferred Qualifications

- Experience in robot joints, industrial drives, EV drive units or aerospace electromechanical actuators.
- Experience with high torque-density or backdrivable actuators and compact liquid-cooled assemblies.
- Technical mentorship and ownership of a subsystem roadmap without losing direct design and test involvement.

## About Dexmate

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Dexmate builds general-purpose robots with manipulation capabilities, integrating custom hardware with AI models for robotic operation.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed Stage)
- **Headquarters**: Santa Clara, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2024
- **Founders**: Tao Chen (Co-Founder, CEO), Yuzhe Qin (Co-Founder, CTO), Chongyang Wang (Co-Founder)

## Core Business
- Primary industry/industries: Robotics Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Automation
- Target customers: B2B (enterprise, logistics, manufacturing, and research organizations)
- Mission or purpose statement: "Building tomorrow's intelligence and automation."

## Products & Services
- **[Vega]**: A general-purpose mobile robot with high-payload arms, dexterous hands, a foldable torso, and an omnidirectional base. The robot is powered by custom-built hardware integrated with AI models for physical robotic operation.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available
- **Key Metric**: Total Funding raised via a Seed Round (closed ~March 2026) with participation from LG Technology Ventures as a lead investor.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: LG Technology Ventures (lead investor), LG CNS (strategic partner for building Physical AI infrastructure for smart logistics).
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew +328.6% year-over-year (from ~4 to 18 employees). LinkedIn followers grew +67.8% yearly. In April 2026, launched the "Dexmate Build with Vega U Research Grant Program," selecting six research teams to receive a Vega robot. Strong hiring momentum with 11 active job postings as of mid-2026.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Integrated Hardware + AI Stack**: Designs custom high-payload arms, dexterous hands, and omnidirectional bases specifically for AI-driven manipulation, creating a tight hardware-software moat.
- **Physical AI Focus**: Differentiating by building "Physical AI" that moves beyond lab settings into real-world logistics and manufacturing, as evidenced by the partnership with LG CNS.
- **Rapid Scaling**: Demonstrated ability to grow headcount and attract top-tier talent from institutions like Carnegie Mellon University, UC San Diego, and companies like NVIDIA and Bosch.

## Strategic Focus
- **Physical AI Infrastructure**: Partnering with LG CNS to build the infrastructure that enables Physical AI to operate in smart logistics and manufacturing environments.
- **Research & Ecosystem**: Grant programs to seed the research community with Vega robots, driving platform adoption and innovation.
- **Talent Acquisition**: Aggressively hiring across engineering (AI, robotics, embedded systems), design, product management, and business development to scale the team.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-Driven**: Opportunity to work on cutting-edge general-purpose robotics and Physical AI, moving technology from labs to real-world impact.
- **Engineering-Heavy Culture**: 60% of employees are in technical roles (AI, robotics, software, hardware), with a strong emphasis on hands-on building.
- **Fast-Growing Startup**: ~328% headcount growth in one year, indicating high trajectory and opportunity for early employees to have outsized impact.
- **Location**: HQ in Santa Clara, CA (Silicon Valley), with an in-office work policy (on-site workspace).
- **Compensation**: Engineering roles list salary ranges like $100K–$300K, competitive for the robotics/AI space.
- **Notable Culture Signals**: "Build with us" hiring language, active LinkedIn community (4,273 followers), and a focus on "smile, reach out, and instantly connect" suggests a collaborative, builder-oriented environment.

## Sources
1. [dexmate.ai](https://www.dexmate.ai/)
2. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/dexmate](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/dexmate)
3. [builtin.com/company/dexmate](https://builtin.com/company/dexmate)
4. [craft.co/dexmate](https://craft.co/dexmate)
5. [linkedin.com/company/dexmate](https://www.linkedin.com/company/dexmate)

## Other roles at Dexmate

- [Motor Electromagnetic Design Engineer, Robotics](https://feeny.ai/job/motor-electromagnetic-design-engineer-robotics-dexmate-fremont-agz51zepyg16) — Fremont, CA
- [Senior Electrical Engineer, Robot Controller Hardware](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-electrical-engineer-robot-controller-hardware-dexmate-fremont-5638zmeqk5q5) — Fremont, CA
- [Motor Drive & Power Electronics Engineer, Robotics](https://feeny.ai/job/motor-drive-power-electronics-engineer-robotics-dexmate-fremont-vfpzntz7n7mz) — Fremont, CA
- [Embedded Motor Controls Engineer, Robotics](https://feeny.ai/job/embedded-motor-controls-engineer-robotics-dexmate-fremont-amak6sek2jrg) — Fremont, CA
- [Thermal Engineer, Robotic Actuators](https://feeny.ai/job/thermal-engineer-robotic-actuators-dexmate-fremont-6c218eftfjt4) — Fremont, CA
- [Senior Manufacturing Engineer, Robotics](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-manufacturing-engineer-robotics-dexmate-fremont-n5djqvgfd8xw) — Fremont, CA
- [Robotics Field Engineer, Physical AI](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-field-engineer-physical-ai-dexmate-fremont-05awzkx7ytby) — Fremont, CA
- [Electrical Test & Validation Engineer, Robotics](https://feeny.ai/job/electrical-test-validation-engineer-robotics-dexmate-fremont-mmb5v8xrhqda) — Fremont, CA
- [Embedded Systems Engineer, Robotics](https://feeny.ai/job/embedded-systems-engineer-robotics-dexmate-fremont-ecqss4dfys92) — Fremont, CA
- [Marketing Campaign and Event Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/marketing-campaign-and-event-manager-dexmate-fremont-x6bk8d8m99b4) — Fremont, CA