Junior Robotics Engineer (Contract)

ProFound People Pty Ltd; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

ProFound People Pty Ltd in Melbourne is hiring a Junior Robotics Engineer to operate robot arms in the lab and convert real-world practice into training data for the learning team. You will handle hardware setup, assemble rigs, and help extend end effectors and sensing setups.

The ideal candidate has early robotics experience, practical hardware skills, and a degree in mechatronics or related fields, with readiness to learn from founders and engineers.

Qualifications

• Early career robotics experience (up to 2 years) with a real employer or client.
• Hands-on hardware work with robot arms, test rigs, sensors, or embedded boards.
• Practical, workshop-minded approach to fixtures, mounting and cables.

Responsibilities

• Remotely operate robot arms to generate training data and hit weekly volumes.
• Oversee runs and intervene when the robots drift off course.
• Assemble and maintain test rigs, mounting points and cable runs for tasks.
• Create and fit new end effectors, camera positions and sensing setups as needed.
• Keep arms and tooling in good condition through checks and servicing.
• Report faults and assist the learning team, maintaining supporting Python and C++ code.

Skills

Python

C/C++

Linux

Robotics middleware

Version control

Kinematics

Sensing

Education

Bachelor's degree in mechatronics/robotics/mechanical/electrical engineering

Tools

CAD

Robot simulation environments

Job description

An Australian robotics company developing AI enabled robots for industrial construction work is now hiring a Junior Robotics Engineer to work directly with its robot arms in the lab and help turn real world practice into the data its robots learn from.

In this role you will be one of the people closest to the hardware. A large part of the week is spent guiding the robot arms by remote control through practical installation work, so that each run becomes useful training material for the learning team and watching over the robots when they attempt that work independently. Around this, you will look after the physical side of the lab: assembling the test rigs and mounting points the robots work against, keeping the arms and their tooling in good condition, and creating new end effectors and sensing setups when a task calls for something that cannot be bought off the shelf. You will also act as a link between the hardware and the learning team, flagging where things went wrong and helping maintain the code and tooling that sit behind their experiments. Because the team is small, you will be given clear areas of responsibility early and learn quickly from experienced engineers and the founders. It suits a practical engineer who is comfortable spending hours at a time operating equipment, enjoys working out why a piece of hardware is misbehaving, and takes pride in leaving good records behind. The ideal background is one shaped by early career robotics work done for a real employer or client, such as a graduate role, an internship, or a university project run with an industry partner.

This is a 3 month contract with flexible days and the possibility of being extended or converted to a full time role. The position is on site at the company’s Melbourne lab, with the occasional visit to project sites. Applicants need to be based in Melbourne, hold full Australian working rights, and be available to start soon.

Key Responsibilities:

• Remotely operate robot arms through practical installation tasks to generate training data, working towards set weekly volumes.
• Oversee the robots during independent runs and intervene whenever their work drifts off course.
• Assemble and look after the test rigs, mounting points and cable runs that make up each task environment.
• Create and fit new end effectors, camera positions and sensing setups as different tasks require.
• Keep the arms and tooling in good working condition through regular checks and planned servicing.
• Report faults and data problems to the learning team and help maintain the supporting Python and C++ code.

Requirements:

• Early career robotics experience of up to 2 years, gained with a real employer or client rather than only through study or hobby projects.
• Time spent getting physical robotics hardware working, whether arms, mobile platforms, sensors or embedded boards.
• A practical, workshop minded approach to building fixtures and mounting cameras, sensors and grippers.
• Day to day ability in Python and C/C++, along with familiarity with robotics middleware, Linux and version control.
• Exposure to at least one robot simulation environment and a good understanding of kinematics, control and sensing.
• A bachelor’s degree in mechatronics, robotics, or mechanical, electrical or electronic engineering.
• Clear written notes and steady attention over long practical sessions.

Desirable but not essential:

• Programming industrial robot arms, planning arm motion, or building robot models from CAD.
• Fitting industrial cameras or training object detection models.
• Any prior work with remote operation of robots or learning from demonstration.
• Designing in CAD, 3D printing parts, or working with microcontrollers and circuit boards.
• Time spent on construction, electrical or industrial sites.