Mechanical Designer
About Build AI
Build AI is the data hyperscaler for Physical AI. We co-design hardware, collection, infrastructure, and research to scale the in-the-wild physical labor dataset by orders of magnitude. We learn from humans doing the real job, in real environments. Inflecting revenue, backed by top-tier investors and staffed by leading engineers, Build is becoming the bottleneck to solving physical labor.
Job Summary
We're hiring mechanical design in Shenzhen for the structures that make collection hardware real: enclosures, mounts, wearability, thermal, drop, and the parts a factory can tool. A generalist who can also do industrial design is strongly preferred.
Key Responsibilities
Own mechanical design of collection devices: enclosure, mount, stackup, fasteners, gaskets, how it survives a job site
CAD through DFM/DFA, drawings, tooling, and incoming quality with Shenzhen vendors
Apply DFM so designs scale from prototype to volume; own soft and hard tooling conversations with vendors
Work with PCB on keepouts, connectors, and how the board lives in the object; work with ID on form
Design for wear: a device that is uncomfortable does not get hours of data. Validate with drop, shock, and field failures
Iterate in the factory. Close loops on yield, rework, and field returns
Translate industrial design into manufacturable parts (plastics, sheet metal, as needed)
You may be a good fit if you have (Must-have qualifications)
You've shipped mechanical parts into manufacturing: CAD (SolidWorks, Onshape, or equivalent), drawings, vendors, revisions
Understanding of DFM/DFA and of plastics and/or sheet metal at cheap, high-volume hardware
Fine in Shenzhen and in factories. You measure success in devices that stay on people and keep recording
You resist overbuilt mechanisms that cut how many units we can field
Strong candidates may also have experience with (Nice-to-have qualifications)
Industrial design skill (form, CMF, wearability). We would rather hire a generalist than a CAD-only specialist
GD&T, injection molding, or experience with wearables / compact consumer hardware
Tolerance, structural, or thermal analysis when it actually changes the design
Experience working with ID on appearance surfaces
Benefits
Medical, dental, and vision packages with generous premium coverage
$500 per month credit for waiving medical benefits
Housing subsidy of $2k per month for those living within walking distance of the office
Relocation support for those moving to San Francisco (Financial District) or Shenzhen (Nanshan)
Various wellness benefits covering fitness, mental health, and more
Daily lunch and dinner in our office
Unlimited compute budget subject to ROI justification
Travel
How we're different
Build believes in the Bitter Lesson. We are betting early on learning from real human work at massive scale, and that the economies of scale of collection beat extra sensors and extra fidelity. Our addressable market is all physical labor, unlike many of our competitors.
We are a fully in-person team in San Francisco (Financial District) and Shenzhen (Nanshan), and greatly value engineering skills. We do not have boundaries between engineering and research, and we expect all of our technical staff to contribute to both and work across disciplines as needed.
Build AI is an equal opportunity employer. We review every application. If you do not meet every bullet, still apply. Questions: research@build.ai