Jim 2 was designed to take advantage of high-strength, light-weight materials. The primary structural components are carbon-fiber honeycomb panels and square carbon-fiber tubes.

The translation mechanisms are oil-filled nylon bushings that slide along aluminum tubes, which are hard-anodized and precision-ground to match the specification of the bushings. The bushings create more friction than linear bearings, but they are considerably lighter.

The robot was designed using Pro-Engineer, a computer-aided engineering program.