Job description

About Us DoorDash Labs, established in 2018, serves as the innovation hub for DoorDash, focusing on developing automation and robotics solutions to enhance last-mile logistics. The team's mission is to create technologies that support and augment human networks, aiming to improve efficiency for Dashers, merchants, and consumers alike. We’re ruthlessly focused on business impact. We are a highly senior team composed of former pioneers from a variety of different robotics industries. As of 2025, DoorDash has completed 10B lifetime deliveries. We’re focused on how to do the next 10B even better. Role Overview We’re looking for a mechanical engineer who designs and builds connected consumer and enterprise devices, including SmartScale, lockers, POS systems, and hardware for emerging automation and robotics applications. In this role, you will help define what to build and own mechanical development from ambiguous user or business needs through architecture, rapid prototyping, and field pilots. This is a build-heavy role on a small, senior, multidisciplinary team. You'll work directly with suppliers, supported by an NPI/program partner, and provide mechanical leadership during new product introduction (NPI). Specialist reliability expertise can support deeper validation as programs mature. San Francisco-based candidates are preferred; hybrid arrangements are acceptable. The role includes hands-on collaboration around prototypes and lab work. Key Responsibilities Help define product requirements and features from customer needs and business priorities. Explain trade-offs among user experience, performance, cost, reliability, and development time. Build prototypes for new product ideas, partner on pilot design, and turn findings from real use into requirements and designs for larger pilots. Communicate what was learned and what should happen next. Create CAD, drawings, and physical prototypes; choose materials, components, and fabrication methods appropriate to the development stage. Apply mechanical fundamentals, tolerance analysis, and targeted calculations or simulation to the risks that matter. Design and run physical tests to check assumptions. Integrate mechanical designs with electronics, sensors, and firmware, and debug problems across those interfaces with teammates. Serve as the mechanical engineering lead with manufacturing partners during NPI: investigate mechanical and build-quality issues, assess proposed changes, and help define and verify corrective actions. Work directly with suppliers on prototype parts, design feedback, build issues, and readiness for larger pilots. Bring in specialist support for safety, reliability, tooling, or production questions as needed. Required Qualifications Hands-on experience taking a physical product or subsystem from incomplete requirements through mechanical design, prototyping, debugging, and testing, with evidence of learning from users or real operating conditions. Strong mechanical design fundamentals, including materials and process selection, fit and tolerances, assembly, and practical reliability considerations. Proficiency with a mechanical CAD package such as SolidWorks, Creo, NX, or equivalent, and the ability to create drawings and specifications suppliers can use. Product judgment: you can question requirements, understand the customer problem, and explain technical choices in terms of cost, usability, performance, and business value. Ability to operate independently through ambiguity, prioritize work, and communicate decisions and risks clearly. Experience collaborating with suppliers or manufacturing partners and with engineers from other disciplines. Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field, or equivalent practical experience. Must be comfortable regularly exercising discretion and independent judgment in performing job duties, including evaluating options, making informed decisions, and determining appropriate courses of action within the scope of assigned responsibilities. Preferred Qualifications Strongly preferred: experience bringing products into production, supporting NPI, or resolving manufacturing defects, ideally in mass production. This may include design for manufacturing and assembly, tooling, reliability testing, or field failure analysis. Personally leading a high-volume ramp is not required. Experience in a startup, a small hardware team, or another setting where you helped define the problem and owned work across disciplinary boundaries. Basic electrical engineering, firmware, or programming capability that helps you build and debug integrated prototypes. Experience with electromechanical products, mechanisms, enclosures, sensors, or merchant-facing hardware. Compensation The successful candidate’s starting pay will fall within the pay range listed below and is determined based on job-related factors including, but not limited to, skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions. Base salary is localized according to an employee’s work location. Ranges are market-dependent and may be modified in the future. In addition to base salary, the compensation for this role includes opportunities for equity grants. Talk to your recruiter for more information. DoorDash cares about you and your overall well-being. That’s why we offer a comprehensive benefits package to all regular employees, which includes a 401(k) plan with employer matching, 16 weeks of paid parental leave, wellness benefits, commuter benefits match, paid time off and paid sick leave in compliance with applicable laws (e.g. Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act). DoorDash also offers medical, dental, and vision benefits, 11 paid holidays, disability and basic life insurance, family-forming assistance, and a mental health program, among others. To learn more about our benefits, visit our careers page here . See below for paid time off details: For salaried roles: flexible paid time off/vacation, plus 80 hours of paid sick time per year. For hourly roles: vacation accrued at about 1 hour for every 25.97 hours worked (e.g. about 6.7 hours/month if working 40 hours/week; about 3.4 hours/month if working 20 hours/week), and paid sick time accrued at 1 hour for every 30 hours worked (e.g. about 5.8 hours/month if working 40 hours/week; about 2.9 hours/month if working 20 hours/week). The national base pay range for this position within the United States, including Illinois and Colorado. $139,400 — $205,000 USD About DoorDash At DoorDash, our mission to empower local economies shapes how our team members move quickly, learn, and reiterate in order to make impactful decisions that display empathy for our range of users—from Dashers to merchant partners to consumers. We are a technology and logistics company that started by enabling door-to-door delivery, and we are looking for team members who can help us go from a company that is known as the place you order food to a company that people turn to for any and all goods. DoorDash is growing rapidly and changing constantly, which gives our team members the opportunity to share their unique perspectives, solve new challenges, and own their careers. We're committed to supporting employees’ happiness, healthiness, and overall well-being by providing comprehensive benefits and perks including premium healthcare, wellness expense reimbursement, paid parental leave and more. Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion We’re committed to growing and empowering a more inclusive community within our company, industry, and cities. That’s why we hire and cultivate diverse teams of people from all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We believe that true innovation happens when everyone has room at the table and the tools, resources, and opportunity to excel. Statement of Non-Discrimination: In keeping with our beliefs and goals, no employee or applicant will face discrimination or harassment based on: race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, age, gender, marital/domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability status, or veteran status. Above and beyond discrimination and harassment based on “protected categories,” we also strive to prevent other subtler forms of inappropriate behavior (i.e., stereotyping) from ever gaining a foothold in our office. Whether blatant or hidden, barriers to success have no place at DoorDash. We value a diverse workforce – people who identify as women, non-binary or gender non-conforming, LGBTQIA+, American Indian or Native Alaskan, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, differently-abled, caretakers and parents, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. Thank you to the Level Playing Field Institute for this statement of non-discrimination. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, and any other state or local hiring regulations, we will consider for employment any qualified applicant, including those with arrest and conviction records, in a manner consistent with the applicable regulation. If you need any accommodations, please inform your recruiting contact upon initial connection. Notice to Applicants for Jobs Located in NYC or Remote Jobs Associated With Office in NYC Only We used Covey as part of our hiring and/or promotional process for jobs in NYC and certain features may qualify it as an AEDT in NYC. As part of the hiring and/or promotion process, we provided Covey with job requirements and candidate submitted applications. We began using Covey Scout for Inbound from August 21, 2023, through December 21, 2023. We resumed using Covey Scout for Inbound again on June 29, 2024, and ceased using Covey Scout for Inbound on April 30, 2026. The Covey tool has been reviewed by an independent auditor. Results of the audit may be viewed here: getcovey.com . Beware of recruitment scams: DoorDash, Deliveroo, and Wolt will never ask you to pay money or share sensitive financial information during hiring — learn more about our legitimate recruiting process at Recruitment Scam Awareness - DoorDash .

Requirements

Must-haves

Help define product requirements and features from customer needs and business priorities. Explain trade-offs among user experience, performance, cost, reliability, and development time.
Build prototypes for new product ideas, partner on pilot design, and turn findings from real use into requirements and designs for larger pilots. Communicate what was learned and what should happen next.
Create CAD, drawings, and physical prototypes; choose materials, components, and fabrication methods appropriate to the development stage.
Apply mechanical fundamentals, tolerance analysis, and targeted calculations or simulation to the risks that matter. Design and run physical tests to check assumptions.
Integrate mechanical designs with electronics, sensors, and firmware, and debug problems across those interfaces with teammates.
Serve as the mechanical engineering lead with manufacturing partners during NPI: investigate mechanical and build-quality issues, assess proposed changes, and help define and verify corrective actions.
Work directly with suppliers on prototype parts, design feedback, build issues, and readiness for larger pilots. Bring in specialist support for safety, reliability, tooling, or production questions as needed.
Hands-on experience taking a physical product or subsystem from incomplete requirements through mechanical design, prototyping, debugging, and testing, with evidence of learning from users or real operating conditions.
Strong mechanical design fundamentals, including materials and process selection, fit and tolerances, assembly, and practical reliability considerations.
Proficiency with a mechanical CAD package such as SolidWorks, Creo, NX, or equivalent, and the ability to create drawings and specifications suppliers can use.
Product judgment: you can question requirements, understand the customer problem, and explain technical choices in terms of cost, usability, performance, and business value.
Ability to operate independently through ambiguity, prioritize work, and communicate decisions and risks clearly.
Experience collaborating with suppliers or manufacturing partners and with engineers from other disciplines.
Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
If you need any accommodations, please inform your recruiting contact upon initial connection.
Notice to Applicants for Jobs Located in NYC or Remote Jobs Associated With Office in NYC Only

Nice-to-haves

San Francisco-based candidates are preferred; hybrid arrangements are acceptable. The role includes hands-on collaboration around prototypes and lab work.
Experience in a startup, a small hardware team, or another setting where you helped define the problem and owned work across disciplinary boundaries.
Basic electrical engineering, firmware, or programming capability that helps you build and debug integrated prototypes.
Experience with electromechanical products, mechanisms, enclosures, sensors, or merchant-facing hardware.

Application prep

Use the role’s language and application details while tailoring your materials.

Keywords to mirror

Platform: greenhouse
Effort: quick

Benefits

Benefits detected in the listing.

Dental

Vision

401(K)

Paid Time Off

Parental Leave

Wellness