Robotics careers · Career guide

Mechanical engineerwhat the job involves, pay and who’s hiring

There are 418 open mechanical engineer roles on Robotics Connected today, at 136 employers. Where roles give pay, the middle figure is $178K a year. Below is what the work involves, the skills employers ask for, how people get in, and the roles open now.

By Olivier Ayache · Figures from the jobs board, updated
418
open mechanical engineer roles
136
employers hiring
$178K
middle pay a year, from 44 roles
0%
can be done remotely

What does a mechanical engineer do?

Mechanical engineers design the physical robot: its structure, joints, gearboxes, grippers, housings and the parts that keep it cool and protected. In robotics the design has to be light, strong, precise and possible to build at a sensible cost.

Their work runs from early concepts and prototypes through to detailed designs that can be manufactured in volume.

Also advertised as: Mechanical design engineer, Robotics mechanical engineer, Hardware engineer.

A typical week

  • Designing parts and assemblies in CAD
  • Running calculations and simulations for strength, stiffness and heat
  • Building and testing prototypes, then improving the design
  • Working with suppliers and manufacturing to get parts made

Skills employers ask for

  • CAD (SolidWorks, Creo, NX or Onshape) and engineering drawings
  • Mechanism and drivetrain design
  • Finite element analysis
  • Design for manufacture: machining, moulding, sheet metal
  • Materials and tolerancing

How much do mechanical engineers earn?

  • $167K to $213K a year for the middle half, $178K in the middle, from 44 roles paid in USD

These figures come from the 49 of 418 open roles that give pay, taking the middle of each role’s range. Most are in US states where job adverts have to show pay, so they lean towards American salaries; roles in the UK and Europe rarely publish a figure.

Who is hiring mechanical engineers?

The employers with the most open mechanical engineer roles today:

Where are the jobs?

The cities with the most open mechanical engineer roles, each with its own page of robotics jobs:

And by country:

What levels are open?

242 of the 418 roles say their level in the title. They split like this:

Entry-level roles are scarce across robotics, not only in this one. I looked at why, and what I’d suggest if you’re starting out, in this article on the entry-level gap.

How to become a mechanical engineer

A mechanical engineering degree is the usual route. I'd suggest showing designs you have actually built and tested, from a student competition or a personal project, since robotics teams care a lot about whether a design works in practice.

If you’re early on, the robotics internships and entry-level and graduate roles are the places to start.

Open mechanical engineer jobs

The newest, one an employer:

Search the jobs board for “mechanical”All Mechanical, Mechatronics & Actuation roles

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