Rhoda AI

Rhoda AI

Senior Actuator Modeling Engineer

Mountain View · Senior

Sponsorship not specifiedDetected 60 days ago
PythonMATLABPandasNumPyThermal AnalysisRoboticsMechanical DesignElectrical EngineeringHardware DesignSimulinkResearchCommunicationThermodynamicsActuators

About the role

  • Keep it correlated to bench and robot data, and evolve it as new physics, components, and use cases emerge.
  • Attribute Monetization: Assign a data-driven monetary value to each actuator attribute (torque density, efficiency, mass, cost, life, thermal headroom, etc.) so trade-offs become rigorous business decisions rather than opinions.
  • Your models are only valuable if they change decisions - make sure they do.

Responsibilities

  • 1D System Modeling: Develop and maintain the 1D actuator model that serves as the team's source of truth for performance prediction. Keep it correlated to bench and robot data, and evolve it as new physics, components, and use cases emerge.
  • Duty Cycle Development: Synthesize the statistical population of customer use cases into representative duty cycles that drive sizing, validation, and life prediction. Defend assumptions with data.
  • Optimization & Sensitivity Analysis: Build optimization models that identify the highest-leverage design changes.
  • Define which attributes matter most based on the statistical distribution of what robots actually do in the field, and quantify the sensitivities that connect design parameters to system outcomes.
  • Trade-Off Simulation: Develop simulations that inform actuator architecture trade-offs early - before tooling, before prototyping - and feed optimized targets back into the design team.
  • Thermal Modeling: Build thermal models that drive motor cooling decisions, from passive conduction paths to active cooling strategies, and correlate them against test data.
  • Fatigue & Life Modeling: Develop fatigue models for proper gear and bearing sizing, grounded in the duty cycles you've built. Connect B-life targets to design margin and validation strategy.
  • Efficiency Modeling: Build efficiency models that capture electromagnetic, mechanical, and thermal losses across the full operating envelope, and use them to guide both design and control strategy.
  • Cross-Functional Influence: Partner closely with actuator design, controls, reliability, and systems engineering. Your models are only valuable if they change decisions - make sure they do.

Requirements

  • Strong grasp of electromechanical actuator physics - electromagnetics, gear mechanics, bearing life, heat transfer, and rotor dynamics - and the ability to know which physics matter for which question.
  • Technical "Superpower": Deep proficiency in 1D system modeling and multi-domain simulation.
  • Proficiency in MATLAB/Simulink, Python (NumPy, SciPy, pandas), or equivalent.
  • Familiarity with tools like Simcenter Amesim, GT-SUITE, Motor-CAD, or similar 1D/system simulation environments.
  • Experience with Weibull analysis, B-life specification, and reliability-as-a-time-bound-probability framing.
  • Familiarity with IEC 61508 or ISO 13849 (SIL/PL, PFD/PFH) for safety-critical actuator contexts.
  • Hands-on experience with PMSM/BLDC motor design, planetary or harmonic gear sizing, or bearing life modeling.
  • You must be a strong generalist across actuator physics, but your superpower for this role is building rigorous, data-driven models that turn ambiguous customer needs into prioritized, monetized design targets.
  • Core Fundamentals: Strong grasp of electromechanical actuator physics - electromagnetics, gear mechanics, bearing life, heat transfer, and rotor dynamics - and the ability to know which physics matter for which question.
  • Software: Proficiency in MATLAB/Simulink, Python (NumPy, SciPy, pandas), or equivalent.

Nice to have

  • Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Applied Physics, or a related field.
  • Advanced degree a plus.

Benefits

  • BONUS POINTS (THE "PLUS" LIST)
  • Education: Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Applied Physics, or a related field.
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