--- title: 'Test Engineer, Actuation at Mind Robotics' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/test-engineer-actuation-mind-robotics-palo-alto-fpcjggcme83d' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-11' --- # Test Engineer, Actuation at Mind Robotics - **Company:** Mind Robotics - **Location:** Palo Alto, CA - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-09-01 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/mindrobotics/8b46f28a-cbbc-4317-9a72-dda49e9f3530 ## Job description ## About Mind Mind Robotics is building Physical AI for real-world industrial deployment, starting with the factory floor. We believe the hardest problems in AI are solved when researchers and engineers are hands-on with the physical world every day - and we're looking for people who are passionate about robotics, value ownership, and are excited to tackle difficult problems. Join us if you want to move beyond digital intelligence and put intelligence into motion. ## About the Role As an Actuator Test Engineer on our team, you will build the dynamometer test infrastructure to verify how every actuator we put on the robot actually performs. You will move fluidly between designing test fixtures, building test stands, and running the characterization tests that drive our actuator selection and sizing decisions. ## Responsibilities - Design and build the dynamometer test systems, including mechanical driveline, load application, and sensor integration (torque, position, thermal). - Design and fabricate test fixtures and stands for actuator, gearbox, and driveline validation, producing accurate 2D drawings with GD&T (ASME Y14.5) for tight tolerances and proper fits. - Run tests on actuators to characterize torque, speed, efficiency, thermal performance, stiffness, friction, bandwidth, life-cycle, backlash, and torque sensor accuracy. - Support electromechanical integration of motors, encoders, torque sensors, and other components onto test rigs. - Generate and visualize the data that drives actuator selection and sizing decisions - Build repeatable test procedures and data pipelines that scale from a single actuator on a bench to characterizing units across the fleet. - Quantify unit-to-unit variation, track drift and wear over time, and flag outlier units. - Perform post-test teardown inspections (gear wear, bearing wear, lubrication condition, wiring/sensor integrity) and document findings rigorously. ## Qualifications - 3+ years of hands-on experience testing and characterizing real electromechanical or robotic hardware. - Demonstrated ability to design and build test hardware such as fixtures, stands, and drivelines from concept through fabrication. - Proficiency with 3D CAD and the ability to generate 2D drawings with GD&T per ASME Y14.5. - Solid grasp of actuator fundamentals: motors, gear transmissions (planetary, harmonic/strain-wave, cycloidal), encoders, torque/force sensors, and thermal behavior. - Experience with dynamometer setups or equivalent custom test rigs, from concept through fabrication. - Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, or a related field — or equivalent hands-on experience. - Ability to write and maintain clean test documentation and procedures. Bonus Qualifications: - Experience with planetary, harmonic/strain-wave, and cycloidal actuators specifically, and familiarity with the tradeoffs between them. - Experience scaling test or calibration pipelines across a large fleet of test systems. - Manufacturing process familiarity and first-article inspection experience. - Experience with CATIA V6 ## About Mind Robotics ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Mind Robotics builds AI-driven robotic systems for industrial deployment, focusing on creating general-purpose physical intelligence for the world's most demanding manufacturing challenges. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series A) - **Headquarters**: Palo Alto, California, United States - **Founded**: 2025 - **Founders**: Not publicly disclosed (founding technical team includes Sriramana Sankar, Ruijie He, Vishal J., and Ury Zhilinsky as Founding Technical Members) ## Core Business - **Primary industry/industries**: Robotics Engineering, Industrial Automation, Artificial Intelligence - **Target customers**: B2B, Enterprise (industrial manufacturing, factory floors) - **Mission or purpose statement**: "Building the generalized physical intelligence required to solve the world’s most demanding industrial challenges." The company believes the path to general-purpose robotics begins where the need is most acute and the environment is most structured: the factory floor. ## Products & Services - **AI-Enabled Industrial Robots**: Intelligent robotic systems designed for industrial deployment, focusing on creating collaborative platforms for manufacturing environments. The company builds "physical AI" for real-world industrial challenges, emphasizing hardware-in-the-loop development where researchers and engineers work hands-on with hardware. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed - **Key Metric**: Total Funding of **$615M** across two rounds - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Andreessen Horowitz (co-lead Series A), Accel (co-lead Series A), Kleiner Perkins (led most recent round), Eclipse (seed), Prysm Capital, Menlo Ventures. Partners include Silicon Valley Robotics. - **Growth Signals**: - Raised a $115M seed round in late 2025, followed by a massive $500M Series A in March 2026 co-led by Accel and Andreessen Horowitz - Closed an additional funding round in May 2026 led by Kleiner Perkins - Headcount of ~21 employees with a monthly growth rate of +42.9% - LinkedIn following of 9,654 with +38.5% monthly growth - Talent sourced from top companies including Tesla, Rivian, Databricks, and Physical Intelligence ## Competitive Advantages - **Massive capital advantage**: With $615M in total funding raised within its first year, Mind Robotics is one of the best-capitalized early-stage robotics startups, enabling aggressive hiring and R&D investment. - **Top-tier investor backing**: Backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, and Kleiner Perkins — some of the most prestigious venture firms in the world. - **Hardware-in-the-loop philosophy**: The company emphasizes that the hardest problems in AI are solved when researchers and engineers are hands-on with hardware, creating a unique engineering culture focused on real-world deployment. - **Lean, high-impact team**: With only ~21 employees and massive funding, each individual has outsized ownership and impact. ## Strategic Focus - **Industrial deployment first**: Targeting factory floors as the most structured environment for deploying general-purpose robotics, believing this is the fastest path to broadly capable robots. - **Physical AI development**: Building the intelligence layer for robots that can operate in messy, complex real-world environments. - **Aggressive scaling**: With $615M in funding, the company is rapidly expanding its team across hardware engineering, software, and data platform roles. ## Why Work Here - **Massive impact per person**: The company explicitly states it is "building a lean, collaborative team where every individual has a massive impact" — a rare promise for a company with over half a billion in funding. - **Hardware-in-the-loop culture**: Engineers and researchers work directly with physical hardware daily, solving real-world problems rather than just simulation. - **Top-tier team**: Colleagues include alumni from Tesla, Rivian, Databricks, and Physical Intelligence, creating a high-caliber peer group. - **Work policy**: Hybrid workspace (combination of remote and on-site work) with a strong in-office presence in Palo Alto, CA. Most roles appear to be on-site or hybrid. - **Open roles**: 22 active positions across hardware engineering (actuation, motor design, electrical design, tactile sensing), software engineering (robotics, firmware, controls, ML infrastructure), and data platform roles. - **Culture highlights**: The company looks for "builders who are passionate about robotics and live for the challenge of making systems work in messy, complex environments." They emphasize a lean, collaborative team where every individual has massive impact. ## Sources 1. [mindrobotics.com](https://www.mindrobotics.com/) 2. [mindrobotics.com/careers](https://www.mindrobotics.com/careers) 3. [LinkedIn - Mind Robotics](https://www.linkedin.com/company/mindrobotics) 4. [Built In - Mind Robotics](https://builtin.com/company/mind-robotics) 5. [Ashby Jobs - Mind Robotics](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/mindrobotics) ## Other roles at Mind Robotics - [Actuation Engineer, Motor Design](https://feeny.ai/job/actuation-engineer-motor-design-mind-robotics-palo-alto-gxcwzjckdh2e) — Palo Alto, CA - [Tech Lead, Robotics Runtime & Middleware](https://feeny.ai/job/tech-lead-robotics-runtime-middleware-mind-robotics-palo-alto-0nmtyyhy7tad) — Palo Alto, CA - [IT Operations Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/it-operations-lead-mind-robotics-palo-alto-nnxhw00ffje8) — Palo Alto, CA - [Supplier Industrialization Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/supplier-industrialization-engineer-mind-robotics-palo-alto-v7csa9tpt7ys) — Palo Alto, CA - [System Integration Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/system-integration-engineer-mind-robotics-palo-alto-fbfk3r1bw99s) — Palo Alto, CA - [Tech Lead, Software Infrastructure and Fleet Management](https://feeny.ai/job/tech-lead-software-infrastructure-and-fleet-management-mind-robotics-palo-alto-1pdhevhnevhm) — Palo Alto, CA - [Hardware Lab Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/hardware-lab-technician-mind-robotics-palo-alto-wrdf1ybv7y4g) — Palo Alto, CA - [Simulation and Validation Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/simulation-and-validation-software-engineer-mind-robotics-palo-alto-byck56jcmcar) — Palo Alto, CA - [DevOps Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/devops-engineer-mind-robotics-palo-alto-7v1ppafsxmdy) — Palo Alto, CA - [Manager, Electrical Engineering](https://feeny.ai/job/manager-electrical-engineering-mind-robotics-palo-alto-k03w66gd0cp8) — Palo Alto, CA