Mechanical Engineer, Robotics & Autonomous Food Systems

About the role

Hit Refresh develops autonomous robotic solutions for food service and operates them in live settings such as hospitals, offices, and commercial campuses. The company creates the full stack internally, spanning mechanical engineering, robotics, motion control, sensing, refrigeration integration, embedded systems, computer vision, fleet software, and operations. These are production systems used daily in real public environments, so the focus is on dependable performance, hygiene, cleaning, maintenance, and field serviceability. The business is now shifting from pilot deployments to scalable manufacturing.

Role overview

This position is for a Mechanical Engineer who will help design, refine, and industrialize the next generation of autonomous food robotics systems. The work is highly hands-on and sits at the intersection of mechanical design, mechatronics, robotics, and product development. You will contribute to mechanisms, movement systems, dispensing units, robotic handling, enclosure design, access systems, cartridge interfaces, collection modules, and service-friendly machine architecture. Because the machines run in refrigerated, food-safe environments and complete hundreds of cycles each day, every mechanical component must be durable, repeatable, easy to clean, easy to service, and suitable for manufacturing.

The ideal candidate is comfortable moving between CAD work, workshop builds, vendor discussions, machine validation, deployed equipment, and manufacturing partners.

Responsibilities

• Own mechanical components end-to-end, from early concepts through CAD, prototyping, validation, field testing, and release for production.
• Engineer robotic mechanisms for dispensing ingredients, movement, access, loading, collection, and user interaction.
• Design motion assemblies using actuators, sensors, motors, guides, linkages, doors, cartridges, and related interfaces.
• Prepare detailed 3D CAD models, assemblies, manufacturing drawings, and technical documentation.
• Coordinate closely with software, electrical, and controls teams to integrate mechanics with sensors, actuators, embedded logic, and machine control.
• Build, assemble, test, and improve prototypes in the workshop.
• Investigate mechanical failures on deployed systems and turn field insights into design enhancements.
• Strengthen reliability, repeatability, service access, cleaning access, and assembly efficiency.
• Choose appropriate materials, fasteners, bearings, motors, actuators, seals, and other mechanical parts.
• Collaborate with suppliers on fabrication, machining, sheet metal, plastics, assembly, and manufacturing processes.
• Help move designs from pilot builds into repeatable production.
• Keep BOMs, drawings, revision history, and design records accurate and up to date.

Requirements

• A degree in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Robotics, Product Design Engineering, or a closely related discipline.
• Strong fundamentals in mechanical design.
• Hands-on experience designing actual mechanisms, motion systems, or electromechanical products.
• Ability to prototype, build, assemble, test, and troubleshoot physical systems.
• Working knowledge of tolerances, materials, manufacturing methods, and assembly practices.
• Comfort using motors, sensors, actuators, and basic control concepts.
• A practical approach to engineering, with attention to buildability, alignment, serviceability, cleanability, and repairability.
• Willingness to work directly with machines in the workshop and on deployed systems.
• Strong communication skills and a sense of ownership.

Good to have

Experience in robotics, automation, autonomous machines, industrial equipment, appliances, kitchen automation, or other electromechanical products is an advantage. Additional experience with sheet metal, plastics, CNC machining, 3D printing, or injection moulding would be valuable. Familiarity with food-safe design, refrigerated systems, product-to-production scaling, PLCs, embedded systems, motion control, sensors, or machine vision is also beneficial.

Why join

This is a chance to work on real autonomous robotics systems that are already in use by customers every day. The role combines robotics, mechanical design, food automation, sensing, embedded control, and industrial design into a single physical product. The next version of these machines will be produced at scale, so the engineering choices made now will directly influence how the product grows.

Location

Singapore, on-site at One-North.

Application note

Applicants should submit a CV and, if available, examples of machines, mechanisms, robotic systems, automation projects, or physical products they have designed or built.