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Mechanical Engineer - Sensor Cleaning

Zoox

Foster City, CAFull-time$157–216K/yrPosted 2 days agoStill listed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$157–216K/yr
Location
Foster City, CA
Schedule
Full-time
Work Authorization
Not specified

Olive focuses on jobs in the United States, including remote roles you can work from there.

Job overview

The Mechanical Engineer on Zoox’s Sensor Cleaning team designs, validates, and launches hardware systems that keep autonomy sensors operating in varied environmental conditions. The role owns components and systems from proof of concept through vehicle integration, design release, and validation. It also supports fleet troubleshooting and production ramp-up, collaborating with validation, manufacturing, and quality teams to improve sensor performance and vehicle availability.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Mechanical Design, requiredPlastic Injection Molding, requiredSheet Metal, requiredMachined Parts, requiredFluid Systems, requiredPneumatic Systems, requiredThermal Systems, requiredHeating System Integration, required3D CAD, requiredData Acquisition, requiredInquisitiveness, requiredMechanical Troubleshooting, requiredElectrical Troubleshooting, requiredPython, requiredScripting, requiredCross-Functional Leadership, requiredAutomotive Thermal Systems, requiredAutomotive Glazings, requiredAutomotive Closures, requiredAutomotive Exteriors, requiredADAS, requiredAutomotive Sensors, nice to haveOptical Sensor Systems, nice to haveHydraulic Systems, nice to haveFluid Simulation, nice to haveComputational Fluid Dynamics, nice to haveAutomotive Test Standards, nice to haveThermocouples, nice to haveStrain Gauges, nice to havePressure Transducers, nice to haveAccelerometers, nice to haveCAN Tools, nice to haveVehicle Fault Troubleshooting, nice to have

Qualifications

Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Mechanical Engineering or Mechatronics, requiredAutomotive Product Experience, required

Full job description

As a Mechanical Engineer on the Sensor Cleaning team, you will design, validate and launch hardware systems that keep our camera, lidar, radar and other autonomy sensors operating at their best regardless of the environmental conditions we operate in.

You will own components and systems end to end: from developing proofs of concept, vehicle integration, design and release, to validation in our climatic wind tunnel and across our fleet. You will drive solutions that maximize sensor performance, improve vehicle availability, and support scalable deployment of Zoox autonomous vehicles.

In this role, you will:

Design and development

  • Develop sensor cleaning components and systems to manage debris, rain, and snow across our global operations.

  • Design and build mockups, proofs of concept and functional prototypes; develop packaging studies to support vehicle integration.

  • Develop and release CAD, engineering drawings and BOMs supported by tolerance analysis, DFMEA, DFM/DFA and reliability assessments.

Validation and testing

  • Collaborate with our validation team on test plans, test fixtures design, and testing failure analysis.

  • Support wind tunnel and fleet testing of sensor cleaning functionality.

Fleet support and production

  • Own your hardware performance in the field. Diagnose and troubleshoot fleet issues affecting sensor cleaning performance.

  • Collaborate with manufacturing and quality engineers to ramp production processes and meet build objectives.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Mechanical Engineering or Mechatronics

  • Strong mechanical design fundamentals: plastic injection-molded components, sheet metal and machined parts, fluid and pneumatic systems, or thermal and heating system integration.

  • Proficiency with 3D CAD (CATIA, NX, Creo or SolidWorks).

  • Familiarity with data acquisition tools.

  • Inquisitive

  • Hands-on experience troubleshooting mechanical and electrical failures.

  • Basic understanding of Python or another scripting language.

  • Experience leading cross-functional teams to drive new ideas and solutions into products.

  • Experience with automotive thermal or glazings/closures/exteriors/ADAS

Bonus qualifications

  • Experience with automotive sensors (camera, lidar) or optical sensor/ADAS systems.

  • Experience with hydraulic and pneumatic systems.

  • Fluid simulation and CFD for liquid or airflow analysis.

  • Familiarity with automotive test standards such as FMVSS, ISO and IEC.

  • Hands-on experience with thermocouples, strain gauges, pressure transducers and accelerometers.

  • Able to use CAN tools (PCAN, Vector) to troubleshoot vehicle faults.

How this job compares

Set against the 1,802 open Mechanical Engineering jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 13, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$157–216K/yr
  • California median$138–200K/yr185 salary ranges
  • US median$114–187K/yr975 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $187K, is 8% above the California median midpoint ($173K) — in the middle half of Mechanical Engineering salary ranges in California.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 273 open Mechanical Engineering jobs in California and 1,802 across the US. 2% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in California
Experience
Mechanical Engineering postings that state a minimum ask for 5 years of experience at the median; the middle half ask for 3 to 8 years (1,028 postings).
Education
810 of the 1,802 open Mechanical Engineering jobs (45%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 13, 2026. Figures based on too few postings are left out.

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