Mechatronics Engineer, Robotics Systems

Summary

As a Mechatronics Engineer, Robotics Systems, you work at the boundary where mechanical assemblies, electronics, actuators, and embedded software meet inside a real robot. You design, integrate, and validate the electromechanical subsystems that make our mobile robotics platforms—UAVs, UGVs, USVs—move, sense, and survive in operational environments. You are equally comfortable reading a schematic, modifying a CAD assembly, writing firmware for a motor controller, and standing in a lab with a scope and a soldering iron debugging why a sensor bus just died. If something on the robot involves both atoms and electrons, it is probably yours.

Duties

• Design and integrate electromechanical subsystems—actuator assemblies, sensor mounts, power distribution, cabling and harnessing, thermal management—for mobile robotics platforms
• Select, characterize, and validate components: motors, servos, ESCs, encoders, IMUs, power supplies, connectors, and related hardware
• Develop and maintain CAD models and drawings for mechanical and electromechanical assemblies (SolidWorks, Fusion 360, or equivalent)
• Design or modify PCBs and electrical schematics for interface boards, sensor breakouts, power regulation, and signal conditioning (KiCad, Altium, or equivalent)
• Write embedded firmware and driver-level software in C/C++ for microcontrollers (STM32, ESP32, or similar) to interface with actuators, sensors, and communication buses (CAN, SPI, I2C, UART)
• Build, assemble, and rework prototype hardware—you are hands-on with your own designs from first article through field testing
• Develop and execute test procedures for electromechanical subsystems: bench testing, environmental stress, vibration, EMI/EMC characterization
• Debug cross-domain integration issues where mechanical, electrical, and software failures compound—isolate root causes and drive them to resolution
• Collaborate with embedded software engineers to define hardware-software interfaces, pin mappings, communication protocols, and timing constraints
• Maintain engineering documentation: BOMs, assembly procedures, test reports, and design rationale

Required Skills

• Proficiency in mechanical design and CAD for electromechanical assemblies—you can design a bracket, a housing, or a harnessing route and produce drawings that can be manufactured
• Proficiency in electrical/electronic design—you can read and create schematics, select components, and design or modify PCBs for low-voltage embedded systems
• Proficiency in embedded C/C++ programming for microcontrollers—you have written firmware that talks to real hardware over real buses
• Hands-on fabrication and prototyping skills: soldering (including SMD rework), 3D printing, basic machining, crimping, cable assembly
• Strong diagnostic and debugging instincts across mechanical, electrical, and software domains—you reach for the right tool (caliper, multimeter, oscilloscope, logic analyzer, GDB) depending on where the problem lives
• Working knowledge of common robotics sensors and actuators: BLDC motors, servos, LiDAR, cameras, IMUs, GPS/GNSS receivers
• Familiarity with serial communication protocols: CAN, SPI, I2C, UART, RS-485

Nice to Have

• Prior experience building or integrating UAV, UGV, or USV platforms
• Experience with ROS/ROS2 and bridging microcontroller firmware to linux-based robotics stacks
• Experience with FEA, CFD, or other simulation tools for mechanical or thermal validation
• Familiarity with DFM/DFA principles and working with contract manufacturers to move from prototype to production
• Experience with power system design for battery-powered mobile platforms: battery management, power budgeting, voltage regulation
• Familiarity with environmental and military standards (MIL-STD-810, IP ratings, MIL-STD-461)
• Experience with version control for hardware design files and firmware (Git, PLM systems)