As a Mechanical Engineer, Plastics and Polymers, you will aid in the development of durable surfaces for robotic payloads and end-effector modules, ranging from hard plastic shells and compliant substrates with integrated electronics. You are a hands-in-the-goop engineer who understands material properties, design, surface modeling, 3D printing, molding, bonding, and mixing. You will sit shoulder to shoulder with structural, electrical, and robotics engineers to create surfaces that survive rigorous and repetitive mechanical loads. You will create proof-of-concept prototypes in the lab, with an eye towards scalable manufacturing processes. You will work with suppliers to source the right materials and processes, and with test engineers to ensure comprehensive validation testing.
Artificial intelligence will be one of humanity’s most transformative inventions. At Google DeepMind, we are a pioneering AI lab with exceptional interdisciplinary teams focused on advancing AI development to solve complex global challenges and accelerate high-quality product innovation for billions of users. We use our technologies for widespread public benefit and scientific discovery, ensuring safety and ethics are always our highest priority.
We are pushing the boundaries across multiple domains. Our global teams offer diverse learning opportunities and varied career pathways for those driven to achieve exceptional results through collective effort.
Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.
US: $151,000 - $218,000 (USD) + 15% bonus target + equity + benefits
Responsibilities:
- Work with sensing engineers to embed conformal, flexible sensing modalities directly within plastic and polymer based matrices to detect contact mechanics, strain, and slip without compromising material compliance.
- Evaluate and select engineering plastics, elastomers, and advanced polymers based on mechanical strength, friction, thermal limits, wear characteristics, and environmental resistance.
- Design and prototype of complex plastic enclosures, structural components, and compliant polymer surfaces for specialized robotic accessories and payload modules.
- Partner directly with toolmakers, molders, and suppliers to manage tool design reviews, moldflow analysis, DFM feedback, tooling qualification, and first article inspection sign-offs.
- Apply rigorous Design for Manufacturability/Assembly principles to ensure yield and scalable production.
Minimum qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
- 4 years of experience creating both rigid and compliant plastics and polymer based parts.
- Experience in manufacturing processes, including single/multi-shot injection molding, overmolding, insert molding, resin selection, and tooling design constraints.
- Experience analyzing and solving wear, fatigue, and degradation tests across joints or high-cycle mechanical interfaces.
- Experience with polymer fabrication techniques (3D printing, silicone casting) and executing test setups to evaluate mechanical properties, compliant joint performance, and fatigue life.
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience embedding sensors or functional elements inside elastomeric substrates or flexible matrix composites.
- Experience with micro-molding, precision lithography, casting, or additive manufacturing techniques.
- Understanding of the supplier landscape for sourcing, scale manufacturing, and if necessary, customizing materials.
- Demonstrated ability to thrive in an ambiguous, fast-paced research environment and collaborate effectively across multidisciplinary engineering teams while maintaining discipline best practices to provide scalable designs.
