Mechanical Engineer

Apply for Mechanical Engineer

As a mechanical engineer, you'll be hands-on with all the facilities and systems that constitute our automated greenhouses-of-the-future. You'll design elegant solutions to problems both large and small involving industrial greenhouse automation, our robot fleet, fertigation systems, etc. You help us conceive of and build new specialized capabilities in our robotics fleet, and you'll be an integral part of scaling our operation: hardening our systems, re-designing components for maintainability and manufacturability, and thinking multiple steps ahead about what can go wrong and how to mitigate risk.

Description

Overview

In a world increasingly impacted by climate change, pollution, and population growth, conventional production of fresh/fruiting vegetables is unsustainable. Compared to field production, greenhouse hydroponic methods use 90% less water, increase yields, reduce food waste, use fewer pesticides, eliminate fertilizer runoff, and allow crops to be grown locally. However, greenhouse producers make up only a small part of today's market due to high capital/labor costs and operational complexity. To close this gap, Hippo Harvest uses new methods of hydroponics, robotics, and machine intelligence to re-imagine greenhouses and build the sustainable, economical, and scalable production systems of the future.

As a mechanical engineer, you'll be hands-on with all the facilities and systems that constitute our automated greenhouses-of-the-future. You'll design elegant solutions to problems both large and small involving industrial greenhouse automation, our robot fleet, fertigation systems, etc. You help us conceive of and build new specialized capabilities in our robotics fleet, and you'll be an integral part of scaling our operation: hardening our systems, re-designing components for maintainability and manufacturability, and thinking multiple steps ahead about what can go wrong and how to mitigate risk.

You Will

• Design, build, and productionalize novel mechanical and electrical systems for greenhouse and robotic automation, and work with software engineers to fully deploy the systems

• Engage in hands-on problem solving of issues encountered in our facilities

• Create and document maintenance procedures for handover to our operations team

• Engage in design for manufacturing exercises and be an integral part of scaling our facilities 10-100x over the coming years

You Have

• Formal training in mechanical or electrical engineering, or equivalent knowledge through substantial experience in one or more of these areas

• A well-established history of hands-on systems problem solving, whether professionally or in a hobbyist capacity, e.g. as a maker, or by doing substantial home improvements.

• Some capability for mechanical and electrical design

• Some familiarity with embedded hardware development on microprocessors such as Arduinos or Raspberry Pis

• Some experience with programming, in Python or a compiled language

We Offer

• An exciting and fun work environment where your contributions will make a true difference

• A hybrid work environment, with 3-4 days a week in person at our Pescadero facility, and 1-2 days a week working from home

• Competitive salary from $95,000 - $183,000 based on level

• Full benefits package including six weeks of paid vacation, medical/dental/vision/life insurance, twelve weeks of paid parental leave, 401k with company match, company stock options

Salary

$95,000 - $183,000 per year