Deft AI

Deft AI

Senior Electrical Design Engineer

San Francisco · Senior

Sponsorship not specified$120k-$250kDetected 97 days ago
PythonC++MATLABPCB DesignAltiumKiCadEmbedded SystemsEMI/EMCMechanical DesignElectrical EngineeringPower ElectronicsCommunicationProblem Solving

About the role

  • This information will be shared if an employment offer is extended.

Responsibilities

  • Design schematics and high-density, multi-layer PCB layouts (Altium, KiCad) for motor driver boards, sensor interface boards, and power distribution systems that fit within the tight form factor of a robotic hand.
  • Develop compact motor drive circuits for miniature BLDC or servo motors, including current sensing, protection, and thermal management.
  • Build and execute hardware-in-the-loop test setups - validate boards with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and power analyzers, and debug issues at the bench alongside the mechanical engineer.
  • Write and maintain basic embedded firmware (C/C++) on STM32 or similar microcontrollers for real-time motor control loops, sensor data acquisition, and communication bus interfaces (CAN, SPI, I²C).
  • Collaborate with mechanical engineering and firmware engineering to solve integration challenges - cable routing, connector selection, EMI shielding, thermal dissipation, firmware-hardware co-debugging, and communication protocol bring-up within a compact hand assembly.
  • Strong PCB design skills - schematic capture, multi-layer layout, and DFM review in Altium, KiCad, or equivalent.
  • You will own the end-to-end electrical design of new robotic humanoid hand/end-effector designs for Deft's next generation wheeled humanoid robot, cooperating with and reporting directly to the CEO.

Requirements

  • Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics or equivalent degree.
  • 3+ years of experience designing mixed-signal electronics for robotic, mechatronic, or embedded systems.
  • Proficiency in embedded C/C++ firmware development targeting ARM Cortex-M microcontrollers (STM32, NXP, etc.).
  • Hands-on experience with motor driver design (BLDC, brushed DC, or stepper) and power electronics fundamentals.
  • Working knowledge of serial communication protocols (CAN bus, SPI, I²C, UART) and real-time control concepts.
  • Excellent communication skills and ability to work in unstructured and high-pressure environments

Nice to have

  • Prior experience designing electronics for robotic hands, grippers, or prosthetic devices.
  • Experience with EtherCAT or CANopen for deterministic, low-latency actuator networks.
  • Familiarity with battery management systems (BMS) and compact power regulation for mobile/embedded robotics.
  • Knowledge of EMI/EMC mitigation techniques and compliance testing.
  • Experience with Python or MATLAB for automated hardware testing and data analysis.

Compensation

  • Expected Compensation

Benefits

  • Medical, dental & vision plans ($0 payroll deduction)
  • Daily meals stipend
  • $120,000 - $250,000 annually + equity + benefits
  • The total compensation package may also include additional components/benefits depending on the specific role.
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This listing is sourced directly from Deft AI's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.