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Trossen Robotics · Downers Grove, Illinois
Director of Product Engineering — Robotics Hardware
Trossen Robotics
Downers Grove, IL — On-site
Employment Type:
Full-time
Website:
www.trossenrobotics.com
Trossen Robotics is looking for an exceptional
Director of Product Engineering
to lead the engineering organization responsible for turning new robotics concepts into production-ready products.
This is a senior, hands-on engineering leadership role for someone who has repeatedly taken complex electromechanical products from concept through engineering, prototyping, supplier development, validation, tooling, and production.
We are looking for a product builder — someone with the technical depth and judgment to help determine how a product should be designed, how it should be manufactured, who should manufacture its critical components, and how to move it successfully from R&D into production.
The Role
Turning that product vision into reality.
You will lead our mechanical and product engineering team through the complete hardware development lifecycle — from initial architecture and prototypes through DFM/DFA, supplier qualification, tooling, validation, pilot builds, and production release.
You will work directly with the Founder & CTO and serve as the senior engineering leader responsible for determining
how we build the product .
This is not a purely managerial role. You will be expected to work directly with engineers, participate deeply in technical decisions, challenge designs, solve difficult engineering problems, engage directly with manufacturers, and remain close to both the prototype bench and the production floor.
What You'll Own - Product Engineering & Technical Leadership
Lead the engineering execution of new robotics products from concept through production.
Translate product requirements into technical architectures, specifications, development plans, and manufacturable products.
Drive major engineering decisions involving mechanisms, structures, actuators, motors, transmissions, gears, bearings, materials, sensors, cabling, packaging, thermal management, and system integration.
Lead architecture reviews, design reviews, prototype reviews, and production-readiness reviews.
Help engineers solve difficult technical problems while building a culture of strong engineering judgment, rapid iteration, disciplined testing, and continuous improvement.
New Product Development
Own the engineering process from early prototypes through production release.
Establish appropriate development stages, engineering milestones, prototype builds, and validation plans.
Identify technical risks early and drive them to resolution.
Make informed tradeoffs between performance, reliability, product cost, schedule, manufacturability, serviceability, and technical risk.
Ensure that products do not simply work as prototypes — they must be capable of being manufactured repeatedly, reliably, and economically.
DFM, DFA & Manufacturing Engineering
Drive Design for Manufacturing and Design for Assembly throughout the development process.
CNC machining
precision gears and gearboxes
motors and electromechanical assemblies
die casting
injection molding
extrusion
sheet metal and fabrication
additive manufacturing
bearings and rotating assemblies
fastening and joining methods
cable routing and harnessing
finishes and coatings
tolerance strategy and stack-up analysis
Continuously reduce unnecessary complexity, part count, assembly time, manufacturing risk, cost, and potential failure modes.
Global Supplier Development & Strategic Sourcing
Own the
technical establishment of the supply chain for new products
in partnership with Trossen's Supply Chain and Operations teams. Identify, evaluate, and qualify manufacturers capable of producing technically challenging components and assemblies.
We strongly value candidates with significant experience sourcing directly from manufacturers in
China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and other major manufacturing regions , particularly those who already have a network of trusted suppliers and manufacturing relationships.
precision gears and gearboxes
electric motors and actuators
bearings
CNC-machined components
castings
injection-molded parts
fabricated assemblies
custom electromechanical components
This role goes well beyond sending out RFQs. You should know how to identify capable manufacturers, distinguish excellent suppliers from mediocre ones, visit and evaluate factories, understand manufacturing equipment and processes, assess process capability, negotiate technical requirements, review tooling strategies, qualify first articles and samples, and work directly with suppliers to solve manufacturing problems. You will help determine
who should manufacture critical components and how they should be manufactured.
Once suppliers, processes, specifications, quality requirements, pricing structures, tooling, and production methods have been established and validated, ongoing purchasing, production planning, logistics, inventory, and commercial supplier management transition to our Procurement, Supply Chain, and Operations teams. Product Engineering remains engaged when technical supplier, quality, or manufacturing problems require engineering involvement.
Production Introduction
12+ years of mechanical, hardware, robotics, or electromechanical product-development experience
A Bachelor's or advanced degree in Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics, or a related engineering discipline
A demonstrated history of taking multiple complex physical products from concept through production
Deep mechanical engineering fundamentals and strong engineering intuition
Extensive experience with DFM, DFA, tolerance analysis, manufacturing processes, materials, mechanisms, structures, transmissions, motors, and actuators
Significant experience identifying, evaluating, qualifying, and developing suppliers
Experience establishing supply chains for technically demanding hardware products
Strong familiarity with Asian manufacturing and supplier ecosystems
Experience with prototype builds, engineering validation, design validation, pilot production, and production ramp
Strong understanding of cost engineering, make-vs-buy decisions, tooling investment, BOM cost, manufacturing yield, and volume-dependent manufacturing decisions
Ability to operate at both the product architecture level and deep within individual engineering problems
Comfort making consequential engineering decisions with incomplete information
Existing relationships with high-quality manufacturers and component suppliers are a significant advantage.
Experience in robotics, industrial automation, autonomous systems, aerospace, advanced machinery, medical devices, or sophisticated consumer hardware is highly desirable.
Why Trossen
Trossen Robotics builds hardware for the emerging Physical AI industry.
For more than two decades, we have developed robotics platforms used by universities, research laboratories, startups, Fortune 500 companies, and some of the world's leading AI organizations.
As AI moves from computers into the physical world, we are developing a new generation of robotics platforms designed specifically for AI research, training, and deployment.
This role offers an unusual amount of influence over the products themselves. You will work directly with Trossen's Founder & CTO, lead a talented engineering team, establish critical manufacturing relationships, and help define how our next generation of robots are engineered and produced.
For the right person, we are prepared to offer a highly competitive compensation package including meaningful equity.
Details
| Company | Trossen Robotics |
| Location | Downers Grove, Illinois |
| Type | FULL TIME |
| Niche | Full-time |