Co-op: Mechanical Engineer

Mechanical Engineer: This student will be a major contributor to the development of new and existing brake and clutch designs. This student is responsible for using existing tools to design custom robotics components to meet customer specifications. They will play pivotal roles in the manufacturing and testing of ESTAT Actuation products.

They will be involved in customer meetings, design custom products, translate these designs into production files, place orders with suppliers and perform incoming and outgoing quality control.

This student will also work to improve existing design tools to quickly deliver custom rotary and linear designs. Side projects may involve developing demos and applications that grab people's attention. This student also has the opportunity to invent or contribute to the invention of new electroadhesive products. This student will support our customers, grow our product line and contribute to our success as a startup.

Past students have become patent authors and this student has an opportunity to do so as well if they are creative and contribute ideas that are novel and industrially relevant. 

Skills that will be utilized and developed during this co-op:

• CAD design
• free body diagrams
• mechanical sketches
• design of experiments
• engineering drawings
• stress analysis and FEA
• MATLAB
• Python
• data analysis
• customer interaction
• supplier interaction
• documentation
• presentation skills.

ESTAT has a preference for Juniors and Seniors, but can consider lower classmen with exceptional hands-on experience. No one comes to ESTAT with experience in electroadhesives. It takes time to learn and become independent.

ESTAT has a strong preference for students who are considering two 6 month rotations as this is the best way to ensure they can make lasting contributions.
 

FAQ

What is it like to work at ESTAT Actuation

Every Monday, the company meets to discuss priorities and tasks for the week. Each team member loads up their schedule for the week with the tasks needed to meet those milestones and discusses the support they need from other team mates.

Wednesdays are typically one-on-one meetings with managers where we discuss

1. progress towards weekly goals
2. present progress metrics
3. discuss roadblocks
4. review the schedule for major projects that span more than a week

On Friday we have a quick team touch base where we all state what critical items need to be completed to stay on schedule and enjoy the weekend without worry.

Throughout your time at ESTAT you may be tasked to: test the newest electroadhesive clutch, assist with patent drafting, machine parts in our machine shop, perform statistical analysis, program a robotic test stand, perform test-to-failure, visit a supplier’s factory, draft CAD models, perform FEA, represent the company at a major conference, or even visit an Air Force Base for acceleration sled testing.

What does ESTAT look for in co-op students?

ESTAT's engine runs on three core values:

1. We tell it as it is, not how we wish it to be.
2. We let the data do the talking and make fact-driven decisions.
3. We give credit and share blame.

We look for self-motivated students who love to make things happen, whose hear is in their work and find passion in the details. We look for students who are team players, who can share stories of trial and error, failure and victory, with humility and positivity (after all, even in failure you've learned something).

Working on the cutting edge requires a good bit of technical know-how. We expect our students to have mastered the basics of their field and be ready to learn more on the job.

What kind of company is ESTAT?

ESTAT is a university startup that spun out of Carnegie Mellon. We have translated basic research on electroadhesives into useful robotic components such as clutches, brakes, locks and latches that are 10x lighter, 10x more compact and 1000x more efficient than conventional options.

Our products promises to redefine what is possible in robotic design. We are at our hockey stick moment. This is an extremely exciting time for us as a company as we have been offering off-the-shelf products for sale for two years and have recently started making sales in large enough volumes to major international corporations.

We sell catalog electroadhesive clutches and brakes, custom clutches and brakes, and R&D services for large companies and the government.