Mechanical Engineer (f/m/d)

<h2><strong>About TACTILIA</strong></h2><p style="min-height:1.5em">At TACTILIA, we are building the industry-ready robotic hand that closes one of the biggest gaps in Physical AI. Spun out of SCHUNK, the global market leader in gripping technology, we combine a decade of robotic-hand expertise and real industrial access with the speed and ambition of a deep-tech startup.</p><p style="min-height:1.5em">This isn't a research project waiting for its first customer. We already have a product, customers are ready to use it, and we are launching now. Your work will directly shape the electronics, actuators, and embedded systems that make that possible.</p><p style="min-height:1.5em">You will join at the moment when the hard engineering questions become real product decisions: how do we make a highly capable robotic hand reliable, manufacturable, serviceable, and simple enough to deploy on a real shop floor?</p><p style="min-height:1.5em"></p><h2><strong>The Role</strong></h2><p style="min-height:1.5em">You design the mechanics of our robotic hands — from the kinematics of a single finger to a complete hand ready for series production.</p><p style="min-height:1.5em">Multiple drives, gear trains, tendons, tactile sensors and electronics have to fit into a human-sized envelope while surviving hundreds of thousands of cycles. Every millimetre matters, and almost every design decision affects another discipline.</p><p style="min-height:1.5em">You work hands-on between CAD, test rig and workshop, and report to the CTO.</p><p style="min-height:1.5em"></p><h2><strong>What you will do:</strong></h2><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>CAD design.</strong> Design components, mechanisms and assemblies within tightly constrained envelopes, owning the design from concept through production release.</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>Mechanism &amp; kinematics.</strong> Design finger and thumb kinematics, tendon and spindle drives, joints and bearings. Calculate motion envelopes, trajectories, gripping forces and transmission ratios.</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>Calculation &amp; validation.</strong> Validate designs through structural and fatigue calculations, FEA, tolerance stack-ups and GD&amp;T before parts are manufactured.</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>Material selection.</strong> Select and qualify materials for lightweight structures, wear surfaces, tendons and elastomeric gripping surfaces, and characterise their behaviour under real loads and contact conditions.</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>Assembly design.</strong> Design assemblies for efficient assembly, adjustment-free interfaces, serviceability and repair. Specify the required fixtures and tooling.</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>Design for manufacturing.</strong> Design for the intended manufacturing process from the outset — machining, injection moulding, sheet metal, additive manufacturing — balancing cost, tolerances and production volumes.</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>Prototyping &amp; testing.</strong> Build prototypes, design test rigs and endurance setups, run cycle and load tests, and drive failures to root cause.</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>Documentation &amp; release.</strong> Create drawings and BOMs, manage design changes and configuration, and support product development reviews.</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>Suppliers &amp; production.</strong> Work with machine shops, material suppliers and manufacturing partners from first prototype through pilot series and production ramp-up.</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>Cross-functional integration.</strong> Work closely with Electronics, Sensors and Software to align packaging, interfaces and load paths across the complete system.</p></li></ul><h2><strong>What you bring:</strong></h2><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Degree in mechanical engineering, mechatronics, precision engineering, or a comparable qualification.</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">5–10 years of experience in mechanical design of precision mechatronic products, including at least one product taken through to series production.</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Advanced 3D CAD skills in CATIA, NX, SolidWorks, Creo or comparable systems, with confident 2D drawing creation and GD&amp;T.</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Strong understanding of mechanism design: linkages, gear trains, bearings, shafts, power transmission, backlash and stiffness.</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Experience with FEA, structural and fatigue analysis, and tolerance calculations as part of everyday design work.</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Strong knowledge of material selection for lightweight, high-load and wear-critical components.</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Practical DFM/DFA experience across multiple manufacturing processes.</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Hands-on mentality — you build the prototype, run the test and analyse the broken part yourself.</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Fluent in English and German.</p></li></ul><h2><strong>Bonus:</strong></h2><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Experience with robotic hands, grippers, prosthetics or similarly highly integrated mechanisms.</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Experience with compact drive trains, including planetary, harmonic or cycloidal gearing, spindle drives and actuator integration.</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Experience with elastomers, soft goods, injection moulding of complex geometries or compliant structures.</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Experience integrating tactile or force sensors into mechanical structures.</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Experience with multi-body simulation or topology optimisation.</p></li><li><p style="min-height:1.5em">Knowledge of Machinery Regulation, ISO/TS 15066 and mechanical design for collaborative applications.</p></li></ul><p style="min-height:1.5em"></p><p style="min-height:1.5em">The next chapter of robotics won't be built in a lab. It will be built by people who care about what happens when technology meets the real world.</p><p style="min-height:1.5em">At TACTILIA, you'll work on one of the hardest open problems in robotics: giving machines the dexterity, reliability and robustness to interact with the physical world at industrial scale.</p><p style="min-height:1.5em">The technology is taking shape, the team is being built, and the standards around robotic hands and their skills are still open. That means your decisions will have a lasting impact — not just on a product, but on what comes next for Physical AI.</p><p style="min-height:1.5em"><strong>Build the hand. Define the standard. Shape what comes next.</strong></p><p style="min-height:1.5em">If you're excited by the challenge of building robotic hands that works reliably in the real world, we'd love to hear from you.</p><div style="min-height:1.2em;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0"> </div><h2></h2><p>Find <a href="https://www.arbeitnow.com">Jobs in Germany</a> on Arbeitnow</a>