---
title: 'Mechatronics Engineer at Astera Institute'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/mechatronics-engineer-astera-institute-emeryville-dk0cpax05798'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-27'
---

# Mechatronics Engineer at Astera Institute

- **Company:** Astera Institute
- **Location:** Emeryville, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Posted:** 2026-10-26
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-27
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/astera/80e3f654-0be6-431f-8c1e-7a7d317b7591

## Job description

## About Astera

Astera Institute is a private foundation supporting ambitious work in science and technology through grants, investments, and in-house research. Its research programs combine the pace and autonomy of a startup with the freedom to pursue difficult scientific questions. Learn more about Astera’s mission at [astera.org/vision](http://astera.org/vision).

## About the Robotics Lab

We are building a frontier robotics lab at Astera Institute. We believe neuroscience and AI will converge in embodied intelligence: animals and robots face shared challenges of perceiving their surroundings, navigating, manipulating objects, and using memory and reasoning to accomplish tasks in the physical world. Robotics provides a powerful testbed for investigating how biological neural circuits solve these challenges and for developing AI systems that turn perception, learning, and cognition into effective action. Our strategy starts with making robots useful, while developing a mechanistic understanding of how neural circuits can generate intelligent behavior. We aim to continually expand the repertoire of behaviors a robot can perform reliably in real environments, while improving its ability to learn new skills, adapt to changing conditions, and recover from failure. These practical capabilities provide both measurable outcomes and a foundation for investigating deeper principles of intelligence. Position Summary We are looking for a hands-on mechatronics engineer to design and build the mechanisms, electronics, and sensing systems our robots use to interact with the world. You will take hardware from concept and CAD through fabrication, board bring-up, integration, and testing on physical robots. Based in our Robotics Lab in Emeryville, California, you will work closely with learning and control researchers on manipulators, dexterous hands, and humanoids. The role combines mechanical and electrical engineering with careful physical experimentation: understanding how a design behaves under load, finding the source of a failure, and improving the hardware. Core Responsibilities

- Design and build robot mechanisms. Design mechanisms, end-effectors, arm–hand interfaces, and experimental fixtures; create CAD assemblies, fabrication drawings, and working prototypes.
- Develop robot electronics. Design and bring up PCBs for sensing, embedded interfaces, and power distribution, including component selection, schematic capture, layout, and board debugging.
- Integrate actuation and sensing. Integrate motors, drives, encoders, force/torque sensors, and tactile sensors with embedded firmware and robot control systems.
- Characterize and troubleshoot hardware. Measure and troubleshoot backlash, compliance, friction, drift, latency, thermal behavior, and other effects that influence robot motion and manipulation.
- Collaborate on robot design. Work with learning and control researchers to improve geometry, actuation, and sensor placement based on experiments with real robots.
- Make hardware reproducible and maintainable. Build repeatable bench and robot tests, document design decisions, and maintain the CAD, PCB, firmware, and assembly files needed to reproduce and service the hardware.
- Explore AI-assisted engineering. Explore AI-assisted CAD scripting, firmware development, and test automation, with engineering review and physical validation.

Desired Qualifications

- Electromechanical systems experience. Experience delivering complete electromechanical systems, with substantial personal responsibility for design, integration, and debugging.
- Mechanical design and prototyping. Strong CAD and mechanical design skills, including tolerancing, fabrication, assembly, and hands-on prototyping.
- PCB design and bring-up. Hands-on PCB experience from schematic capture and layout through board bring-up and troubleshooting.
- Actuation and electronics. Practical knowledge of motors, encoders, sensor electronics, power distribution, and embedded interfaces.
- Programming and firmware. Python, C/C++, or microcontroller programming skills for hardware integration, testing, and data collection.
- Experimental judgment and collaboration. A careful, measurement-driven approach to debugging and the ability to collaborate across hardware, controls, and machine learning.
- Robotics hardware experience. Robot manipulators, dexterous hands, compliant mechanisms, or contact-rich manipulation. Helpful, but not required.
- Sensing and test experience. Force/torque or tactile sensing, actuator characterization, and instrumented test fixtures. Helpful, but not required.
- Hardware and learning integration. Hardware iteration informed by control or learning experiments, and AI-assisted engineering workflows. Helpful, but not required.

Why Join Us? Shape the physical systems through which robots learn and interact with the world. Your work will connect mechanical design, electronics, and sensing directly to the capabilities of manipulators, dexterous hands, and humanoids. You will work closely with learning and control researchers, using real robot experiments to inform hardware decisions. This is an opportunity to build complete systems and explore how the robot’s body and its intelligence can be developed together.

## About Astera Institute

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Astera Institute is a nonprofit organization that funds and conducts high-impact scientific research and engineering projects focused on neuroscience, artificial general intelligence (AGI), and open science to accelerate positive futures for humanity.
- **Entity Type**: Private nonprofit (501(c)(3) private foundation)
- **Headquarters**: Berkeley, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2020
- **Founders**: Jed McCaleb (also co-founder of Stellar Development Foundation and founder of Vast)

## Core Business
- **Primary industries**: Research services, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, life sciences, grantmaking
- **Target customers**: Not applicable (nonprofit; serves the research community and the public through open science and foundational advances)
- **Mission / purpose**: Empower visionary, high-leverage science and technology projects with the capacity to create transformative progress for human civilization. Focus on areas like AGI, science, and climate that lack natural homes in the existing innovation ecosystem.

## Products & Services
Astera operates three main divisions (not commercial products):
- **Neuro & AGI**: Directed neuroscience and AI research effort to understand biological intelligence and engineer safe, successful general intelligence systems. [astera.org](https://astera.org/)
- **Radial**: Life sciences research division that funds and runs high-impact fundamental scientific challenges, testing new models for how science is conducted. [astera.org](https://astera.org/)
- **Foundation**: Centralized operational, financial support, and ecosystem-building for Neuro-AI, Science, and Strategic Investments. Also leads Residency and Fellowship programs. [astera.org](https://astera.org/)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not applicable (nonprofit)
- **Key Metrics**: 
  - **Total assets** (2023): $2,003,858,714 [causeiq.com](https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/astera-institute,845162617/)
  - **Total expenses** (2023): $27,504,754 [causeiq.com](https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/astera-institute,845162617/)
  - **Investment income and dividends** (2023): $58,598,494 [causeiq.com](https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/astera-institute,845162617/)
  - **Headcount**: 55 employees (+63.4% YoY) [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/astera-institute)
- **Notable Investors / Partners**: Funded primarily by founder Jed McCaleb (grants contributed $131M in 2022). Key leaders include Prachee Avasthi (Head of Open Science), Doris Tsao (Chief Scientist – Neuro), Seemay Chou (CEO – Radial), and Dileep George (Co-Founder, Neuro & AGI). [astera.org](https://astera.org/team/)
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - 63.4% employee growth year-over-year (55 people) [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/astera-institute)
  - 23 active job postings (up 1050% YoY) [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/astera-institute)
  - LinkedIn followers grew 128.9% yearly [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/astera-institute)
  - Presence in Netherlands and United Kingdom [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/astera-institute)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Unique model**: Nonprofit foundation that internally incubates and directly funds high-risk, high-leverage research across neuroscience, AI, and life sciences — without the pressure of commercial returns.
- **Top-tier leadership**: Led by accomplished scientists (e.g., Doris Tsao, Dileep George) and experienced operators from organizations like Stellar, Google, and Arcadia Science. [astera.org](https://astera.org/team/)
- **Open science focus**: Strong commitment to open access research and new models for scientific collaboration, attracting talent who value transparency and impact.
- **Substantial capital base**: Over $2B in assets provides long-term runway for ambitious, multi-year projects.

## Strategic Focus
- Deepen understanding of biological intelligence through large-scale neural circuit analysis and causal manipulation (Neuro & AGI). [astera.org](https://astera.org/)
- Continue incubation of radical science projects via Radial, particularly in aging, biotech, and platforms. [causeiq.com](https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/astera-institute,845162617/)
- Expand the Residency and Fellowship programs to attract diverse scientific and engineering talent. [astera.org](https://astera.org/)
- Scale operations and hiring: current job postings span roles from vivarium operations manager to research scientists in energy-based models and distributed simulation systems. [jobs.ashbyhq.com](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/astera)

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven work**: Directly contribute to foundational research that could reshape humanity’s future with AGI and novel science.
- **Benefits**: Full-time W2 employees receive top-tier medical/dental/vision insurance, 403(b) retirement plans, long-term disability plan, health/dependent-care FSAs, and commuter pre-tax accounts. [astera.org](https://astera.org/careers/)
- **Culture**: Described as an equal opportunity employer committed to equity and inclusion, encouraging diverse applicants. Emphasis on open science, experimentation, and high-leverage impact. [astera.org](https://astera.org/careers/)
- **Work setup**: Headquarters in Berkeley, CA; also has staff in the Netherlands and UK. Specific remote/hybrid policy not disclosed but multiple job postings suggest flexible arrangements.
- **Team composition**: Highly technical and research-oriented (21 researchers, 10 technical staff, 6 medical). Staff previously from Google, Stanford, UCSF, Arcadia Science, Relay Therapeutics. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/astera-institute)
- **Rapid growth**: 63% YoY headcount increase and 1050% growth in job postings signal an expanding organization with ample career opportunities.

## Sources
1. [astera.org](https://astera.org/) – Homepage and division descriptions
2. [astera.org](https://astera.org/team/) – Leadership team details
3. [astera.org](https://astera.org/careers/) – Benefits and culture
4. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/astera-institute) – Company page with headcount, growth, job postings, and talent sources
5. [causeiq.com](https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/astera-institute,845162617/) – Financials (990-PF: revenues, expenses, assets, program areas)
6. [jobs.ashbyhq.com](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/astera) – Active open positions list

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