Mechanical Engineer - End Effectors & Gripper Design

Droyd builds autonomous robots for data center operations — GPU repairs, precision cabling, SSD replacements — solving genuinely hard dexterous tasks in controlled industrial environments. The company designs and manufactures its hardware in-house, meaning iteration, fabrication, and execution all happen under one roof.

 Droyd's bet is that general grippers and humanoid hands won't win in industrial automation — purpose-built, swappable end effectors will. The target customers are hyperscalers like Meta, Google, Oracle, and Microsoft who are racing to build massive data centers as fast as possible. The mission is to make robots stop being demos and start being infrastructure.

 The team is tight-knit, in-person, and operates with a sprint-based intensity — ownership and autonomy are the norm, and everyone has skin in the game.

The Opportunity

This is the role that owns the core thesis of the company. Droyd needs a mechanical engineer who lives and breathes gripper and hand design to take early prototypes to a full library of 30-40 task-specific end effectors.

You will design tools for precise data center tasks — gripping and plugging ethernet cables, manipulating SFP connectors, swapping SSDs — where millimeters and grams matter. The arm's actuators limit payload, so every gripper must be lightweight yet functional. You will crank out a new design iteration roughly every six hours using in-house CNC machines and 3D printers. This is not a submit-to-vendor-and-wait role. You will work directly alongside the Head of Hardware and own the end effector system end-to-end.

What You'll Do

• •      Design end effectors for precise data center manipulation tasks where weight and geometry constraints are real and unforgiving
• •      Iterate rapidly on designs — roughly one new iteration every six hours — using in-house CNC machines and 3D printers
• •      Apply deep materials knowledge and weight-conscious design approaches to stay within payload limits while maintaining full functionality
• •      Work in SolidWorks designing compact, integrated mechanical systems from concept through physical testing
• •      Own the end effector system alongside the Head of Hardware, from early concept to a production library of 30-40 task-specific tools

You Should Have

• •      3-8 years of experience designing end effectors, grippers, or robotic hands professionally
• •      Experience at a humanoid, manipulation robotics, or similar company
• •      BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering or Robotics
• •      SolidWorks CAD proficiency for compact mechanism design
• •      Experience with rapid prototyping including 3D printing and CNC machining
• •      Knowledge of actuation systems including tendon-driven, gear-driven, and similar approaches
• •      Ability to iterate fast and produce new designs quickly
• •      A portfolio of physical hardware projects to share

Nice to Have

• •      Experience working at a startup or high-intensity environment where iteration speed was a competitive advantage
• •      Background in data center hardware or precision electromechanical systems