# Mechanical Engineer at Kovari

> Onsite · United States · Unspecified · Software engineering · open. Source: https://alderhq.app/jobs/ashby%3Akovari%3A9331c227-aece-442d-89cb-596bd850f8dc (read 2026-11-11).

## Facts (observed)

- Company: [Kovari](https://alderhq.app/companies/kovari)
- Location text: San Francisco
- Where it can be done from (inferred): Onsite · United States (evidence: "Location: San Francisco")
- Posted: 2026-09-27 (45 days ago)
- First seen by alder: 2026-11-07 · last verified: 2026-11-08
- Reposted: 0 times · edited: 0 times
- Apply on the employer's site: https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/kovari/9331c227-aece-442d-89cb-596bd850f8dc

## Pay and sponsorship

- Posted pay: not posted
- Market band for similar posted roles (SF Bay Area, n 2119): p25 $162k, median $200k, p75 $240k

## Description (the employer's text)

### About Kovari

Kovari develops frontier technology to transform physical businesses. We partner with established operators to change how they run, and we build and operate businesses of our own through our subsidiaries.

We are a small team of builders, operators, and researchers. We deploy on site, alongside the businesses we serve, and iterate in the field. We have raised over $6M from leading investors.

We are based in San Francisco and work in person.

### The Role

You will own the mechanical design of our robots, from actuator selection and structure to drivetrain, linkages, and field-ready assembly. You design it, machine it, assemble it, and fix it on robots running in live operations.

This is not a bench role. Your designs face real constraints: variable floors, tight corridors, elevator transitions, and duty cycles that push hardware hard.

### What You'll Do

Design mechanical systems: drivetrain, structure, actuation, linkages, enclosures

Select and integrate motors, gearboxes, bearings, and actuators

Run load, stress, and tolerance analysis to size parts and predict failure

Build prototypes in our in-house shop (mill, lathe, welding, 3D printing, laser cutting)

Design for manufacturing, serviceability, and field reliability

Debug mechanical failures on deployed robots and drive fixes back into the design

Manage vendors for machined, sheet metal, and molded parts

### What You Bring

Strong mechanical fundamentals: material selection, GD&T, tolerance analysis, DFM

Experience designing actuated or mobile mechanisms

CAD fluency in SolidWorks, Fusion, or Onshape

Hands-on fabrication: you've run a mill and lathe, bent sheet metal, and welded

Bonus: FIRST, FSAE, combat robotics, or similar build teams

A portfolio of things you've built on your own time

Bias toward action: prototype fast, test early, fix what breaks

### Values

Pace of learning trumps everything.

Relentless refinement of our craft.

Low ego, high ownership.

All-in on the mission. We work in person, and this isn't a 9-to-5.

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Data: alder (https://alderhq.app). Cite https://alderhq.app/jobs/ashby%3Akovari%3A9331c227-aece-442d-89cb-596bd850f8dc and the date you read it. Observed facts come from the employer's own listing; location reach, level, family and skills are inferences.