Mechanical Engineer - Sensor Cleaning

As a Mechanical Engineer on the Sensor Cleaning team, you will design, validate and launch hardware systems that keep our camera, lidar, radar and other autonomy sensors operating at their best regardless of the environmental conditions we operate in.

You will own components and systems end to end: from developing proofs of concept, vehicle integration, design and release, to validation in our climatic wind tunnel and across our fleet. You will drive solutions that maximize sensor performance, improve vehicle availability, and support scalable deployment of Zoox autonomous vehicles.

In this role, you will:

Design and development

• Develop sensor cleaning components and systems to manage debris, rain, and snow across our global operations.
• Design and build mockups, proofs of concept and functional prototypes; develop packaging studies to support vehicle integration.
• Develop and release CAD, engineering drawings and BOMs supported by tolerance analysis, DFMEA, DFM/DFA and reliability assessments.

Validation and testing

• Collaborate with our validation team on test plans, test fixtures design, and testing failure analysis.
• Support wind tunnel and fleet testing of sensor cleaning functionality.

Fleet support and production

• Own your hardware performance in the field. Diagnose and troubleshoot fleet issues affecting sensor cleaning performance.
• Collaborate with manufacturing and quality engineers to ramp production processes and meet build objectives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Mechanical Engineering or Mechatronics
• Strong mechanical design fundamentals: plastic injection-molded components, sheet metal and machined parts, fluid and pneumatic systems, or thermal and heating system integration.
• Proficiency with 3D CAD (CATIA, NX, Creo or SolidWorks).
• Familiarity with data acquisition tools. Inquisitive
• Hands-on experience troubleshooting mechanical and electrical failures.
• Basic understanding of Python or another scripting language.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams to drive new ideas and solutions into products.

Bonus qualifications

• Experience with automotive sensors (camera, lidar) or optical sensor/ADAS systems.
• Experience with hydraulic and pneumatic systems.
• Fluid simulation and CFD for liquid or airflow analysis.
• Familiarity with automotive test standards such as FMVSS, ISO and IEC.
• Hands-on experience with thermocouples, strain gauges, pressure transducers and accelerometers.
• Able to use CAN tools (PCAN, Vector) to troubleshoot vehicle faults.