Senior Mechanical Engineer, Vehicle Integration & Validation

Teleo is a robotics startup disrupting a trillion-dollar industry. Teleo converts construction heavy equipment, like loaders, dozers, excavators, trucks, etc. into autonomous robots. This technology allows a single operator to efficiently control multiple machines simultaneously, delivering substantial benefits to our customers while significantly enhancing operator safety and comfort.

Teleo is founded by Vinay Shet and Rom Clément, experienced technology executives who led the development of Lyft’s Self Driving Car and Google Street View. Teleo is backed by YCombinator, Up Partners, F-Prime Capital, and a host of industry luminaries. Teleo’s product is already deployed on several continents and generating revenue.

Teleo is poised for rapid growth. This presents a unique opportunity to be part of a team that is creating a product with a profound impact on our customers, working on cutting-edge 100,000-pound autonomous robots, engineering intricate systems at the intersection of hardware, software, and AI, and joining the early stages of an exciting startup journey.

About the Role

As a Senior Vehicle Systems Integration Engineer, you will own the architectural integrity and field robustness of Teleo’s autonomy retrofit system across multiple heavy equipment platforms.

This is a high-impact position where you will go beyond routine execution to shape hardware architecture, drive environmental qualification strategies, and establish more rigorous standards for integration and validation.

You will collaborate closely with our existing senior engineers to navigate cross-functional design tradeoffs, helping the team evolve our systems for better reusability and certification readiness as we scale.

The role also includes approximately 10% travel within the United States

Responsibilities

• Lead system-level integration architecture for new vehicle platforms
• Define scalable, reusable integration frameworks across equipment types.
• Design and review mechanical structures, enclosures, and compute integration strategies
• Own environmental qualification strategy (IP, thermal, shock/vibration, EMI/EMC)
• Guide sensor and high-power compute integration in demanding environments
• Drive harness architecture, grounding strategy, and connector selection standards
• Establish validation methodologies and qualification test plans
• Mentor engineers in systems thinking and first-principles design
• Troubleshoot complex cross-domain issues in fielded systems

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, or a closely related field
• 7 years of experience in mechanical, mechatronics, or vehicle systems engineering roles
• Demonstrated ownership of complex, multi-disciplinary hardware systems from architecture through deployment
• Strong experience designing systems for harsh environments (automotive, construction, aerospace, military, or similar)
• Experience defining and executing environmental and regulatory qualification strategies, including: ingress protection (IP rating) validation, thermal modeling and test correlation, shock and vibration test design and verification, EMI/EMC qualification and certification
• Extensive experience integrating high-power compute platforms in vehicle environments
• Deep understanding of harness architecture, connector selection, grounding, shielding, and power distribution
• Experience integrating perception sensors (cameras, LiDAR) with awareness of calibration, vibration isolation, thermal drift, and environmental constraints
• Strong CAD proficiency and experience managing BOMs and lifecycle processes
• Ability to operate autonomously and influence cross-functional engineering decisions
• Ability and willingness to travel within the United States (~10%)

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience architecting modular hardware systems designed for deployment across diverse vehicle makes and models, with a focus on maximizing component commonality to reduce platform-specific engineering overhead.
• Proven track record of transitioning hardware from low-volume pilot builds to high-volume production, including DFM (Design for Manufacturing) optimization and the technical management of contract manufacturers (CMs) during production ramp.
• Experience securing and maintaining technical certifications (e.g., ISO 26262, IEC, or relevant DOT/FMVSS standards) within an iterative, high-velocity engineering environment where hardware is evolving rapidly.
• Experience with PLM systems and the discipline required to manage engineering changes (ECOs) for fielded systems without disrupting active operations.