Mechanical Engineer

Monumental is automating on-site construction with robotics and software. Our mission is to make construction primarily software-defined and work towards a future where beautiful, bespoke buildings are built within a single day with minimal labour.

We’re a growing team of about 100 engineers and technicians, with backgrounds from companies like Palantir, Qualcomm, Dyson, Shopify, Tesla, Meta, and 1X. As an early-stage, high-growth startup, this is a unique opportunity to join as an early employee and work directly with an experienced founding team backed by top-tier investors.

Monumental is based near Artis zoo in the Plantage, in the city center of Amsterdam. Our beautiful office includes an in-house workshop and robot testing facility. We are not a hybrid or remote-first company; we value in-person collaboration and work together in the office five days a week.

About You and This Role

We are seeking a mechanical engineer to join our hardware and software engineering team, bringing robotics and automation to the construction industry to create affordable, beautiful, high-quality housing for everyone. You are a maker who enjoys building physical things from start to finish, with a strong bias for speed and simplicity.

You thrive on being involved in the entire engineering process: from scoping problems and performing quick calculations, to fabricating parts in our workshop, testing designs live on construction sites, and iterating to achieve robust, scalable solutions.

Once you demonstrate the ability to own tightly scoped projects at high speed, you’ll have the chance to lead broader, cross-disciplinary problem spaces with a small, multidisciplinary team. We’re tackling some of the hardest challenges in construction robotics: full on-site autonomy, lifting construction-scale payloads, reliable operation at height, and millimetre-level positioning accuracy across our technology stack. We want people who are genuinely excited to lead these efforts alongside a highly capable and supportive team.

Our approach centers on rapid prototyping and de-risking key areas, avoiding lengthy design cycles. This has enabled us to achieve remarkable results in a short time, defying conventional expectations. If this approach excites you, this role could be a great fit for your interests and skills.

We offer an environment where you’ll have high autonomy and minimal bureaucracy—no unnecessary meetings, spending approvals, or slow processes.

What You’ll Be Working On

Imagine a fleet of autonomous robots rolling onto a construction site in the morning and by sundown, a fully built, beautiful home stands ready for a family to move in. That’s the future we’re building.

Today, our robot systems are already constructing real homes across the Netherlands at scale. But we’re just getting started. Your work won’t be about incremental improvements; you’ll tackle broad and novel problems that unlock autonomous construction, such as:

• Pushing toward full robot autonomy for our masonry systems: automated wall-anchor installation and mortar pointing for beautiful brickwork, autonomous lift platforms, and fully automated material supply for uninterrupted operation across large, messy sites.
• Designing for extreme reliability: our robots must survive months of harsh construction conditions, yet be serviceable and redeployable in under 24 hours.
• Building next-generation hardware: higher-precision brick placement, larger payloads, expanded build envelopes, hot-swappable end effectors, and operation in tight spaces like scaffolding.
• Developing lift systems to autonomously and safely lift 1000 kg loads to 10 meters.
• Getting hands-on in the field: joining deployments to build real homes, stress-testing systems, and uncovering edge-case problems only found in the field. This will help you identify new critical features and long-term product needs.

We’re looking for engineers who take end-to-end ownership and love tackling problems that don’t fit neatly into traditional mechanical engineering boundaries. This involves:

• Designing hardware concepts from scratch, identifying and defining key requirements for MVPs, and quickly developing concepts by removing unnecessary constraints.
• Selecting materials and simulating static and dynamic loads, stresses, and vibrations using hand calculations or FEA tools as needed.
• Rapidly fabricating proof-of-concept prototypes:
  • Sourcing all required components.
  • Fabricating parts in our workshop (3D printing, CNC milling, turning).
  • Assembling and bringing up functional prototypes, integrating and validating actuators and electronics (sensors, motors, solenoids, encoders, etc.).
  • Writing or adapting simple embedded code (Arduino, ESP32, etc.) to bring up electronics, run basic tests, and verify mechanisms.
• Building quick, scrappy prototypes independently, while collaborating with the team as needed, and iterating or starting over when necessary.
• Enjoying fast-iteration cycles, including sharing successes and failures in our Friday show-and-tell tradition.
• Working with software and perception engineers to integrate designs into our autonomy stack.
• Spending time on construction sites to observe real-world performance and gain inspiration for future improvements.
• Productizing successful prototypes:
  • Producing clean CADs in OnShape following best practices.
  • Creating technical drawings, documentation, and artifacts for small series production and assembly.
  • Collaborating with assembly technicians to scale up production of your design.

What We’re Looking For

• A strong bias for action: you build fast, iterate in quick sprints, and focus on de-risking what matters most. You’re comfortable developing hardware at software speed, refining requirements through early testing and deployment.
• A proven record of being a builder and working autonomously, with examples of shipped projects where you were the driving force—whether in a professional context, a top student team, or personal side projects.
• Experience designing and delivering products from concept to low-volume production; exposure to high-volume manufacturing is a plus.
• Proficiency in rapid prototyping, 3D printing, machining, and milling to realize product designs.
• Deep knowledge of mechanical systems and structural dynamics (statics, mechanics of materials, dynamics, vibrations, material science, controls).
• Expertise in 3D CAD modeling with complex parts and assemblies (OnShape, Solidworks, or Siemens NX).
• Strong mechanical/structural calculation skills, comfortable with first principles and hand calculations, and disciplined about using simulations only when they add value.
• Experience selecting, sourcing, and integrating electronics components (actuators, sensors, cameras) into hardware designs.
• Experience owning problems across broad problem spaces and the product life cycle, including leading multidisciplinary teams (mechanical, electrical, software, perception) through design, verification, deployment, and iteration.
• Ability to write (embedded) code in C or C++ is a plus.
• B.Sc. in mechanical, mechatronics, or robotics engineering, or similar experience, is a nice to have.

Why Monumental?

Joining Monumental means being at the forefront of a movement to transform the construction industry. Your work will impact not just the company, but the future of how we build. If you’re driven by innovation, eager to tackle complex challenges, and ready to make a tangible difference, we want to hear from you.

For open applications (if you don’t see an exact role match), please reach out to us at: iwanttojoin@monumental.co – share the most interesting or challenging project you’ve worked on, why you want to join, and your CV or portfolio.

If you don’t meet all the qualifications but are excited about Monumental and believe you can help us solve difficult problems, please get in touch. We welcome generalists who focus on outcomes and are eager to learn on the job.