Actuator Systems Engineer, Fauna

Full Job Description

Every motion our robots make starts with an actuator, and we’re looking for an Actuator Systems Engineer to help us build better ones. This role is for someone who enjoys the full loop: building a model of how a motor or transmission should behave, rigorously testing this around other industry standards, and then iterating on the hardware or firmware until the desired specification is met.

You’ll work across electrical, mechanical, and firmware design, and you’ll own actuator performance from the bench all the way to robots running in people’s homes. The things you learn and build will directly shape how safe, reliable, efficient, quiet, and strong our robots are.

Key job responsibilities

• Plan and run characterization testing on our actuators, covering things like torque constant, friction, efficiency, thermal behavior, and wear over time, and turn those results into models and specs the rest of the team can rely on

• Build and maintain electromechanical and thermal models of our actuators that help us predict robot performance, set safe operating limits, and support the controls and simulation teams

• Contribute to the electrical design of the actuator, including motor selection, motor drivers, sensing, and protection, working closely with our EE team and suppliers

• Contribute to the mechanical design of the actuator, including transmissions, bearings, housings, and thermal paths, with an eye toward torque density, efficiency, and manufacturability

• Write and tune motor control firmware, including current and position control, current and thermal limiting, calibration, and fault detection

About the team Fauna Robotics, an Amazon company, is building capable, safe, and genuinely delightful robots for everyday life. Our goal is simple: make robots people actually want to live and interact with in everyday human spaces. We believe that future won’t arrive until building for robotics becomes far more accessible. Today, too much effort is spent reinventing the fundamentals. We’re changing that by developing tightly integrated hardware and software systems that make it faster, safer, and more intuitive to create real-world robotic products. Our work spans the full stack: mechanical design, control systems, dynamic modeling, and intelligent software. The focus is not just functionality, but experience. We’re building robots that feel responsive, expressive, and genuinely useful. At Fauna, you’ll work at the frontier of this space, helping define how robots move, manipulate, and interact with people in natural environments. It’s an opportunity to solve hard problems across hardware and software with a team focused on making robotics accessible and joyful to build. If you care about making robotics real for everyone and building systems that are as delightful as they are capable, we’re interested in hearing from you.

Basic Qualifications

• Experience in developing functional specifications, design verification plans and functional test procedures
• PhD in EE, ME, Robotics, Physics, or a related field, or a Master’s degree in one of these fields and 4+ years of industry experience developing actuators, motors, or other electromechanical systems
• Experience building models of electromechanical or thermal systems and validating them against test data
• Hands-on experience testing and characterizing motors or actuators
• Experience writing embedded motor control firmware in C or C++, and analyzing data in Python
• Experience leading a technical project from early concept through validation

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing actuators for robots
• Experience with brushless motor design, field-oriented control, or power electronics
• Experience designing gear trains such as planetary, cycloidal, or harmonic drives
• Experience with thermal modeling and with reliability or life testing
• Experience taking an actuator design from prototype into production with suppliers
• Publications or patents related to actuation, motor control, or electromechanical design

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

USA, NY, New York - 157,100.00 - 212,600.00 USD annually

Experience in developing functional specifications, design verification plans and functional test procedures PhD in EE, ME, Robotics, Physics, or a related field, or a Master’s degree in one of these fields and 4+ years of industry experience developing actuators, motors, or other electromechanical systems Experience building models of electromechanical or thermal systems and validating them against test data Hands-on experience testing and characterizing motors or actuators Experience writing embedded motor control firmware in C or C++, and analyzing data in Python Experience leading a technical project from early concept through validation