Automation and Robotics Engineer

Nebula; El Segundo (CA); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity participation in a high-growth

Health, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) with company matching

On-site work with rare work-from-home

Merit-based rewards

Job summary

Nebula in El Segundo is building the first placement cell on a production line, combining mechanical design, end effectors, motion tuning and vision alignment.

You will design and implement a complete automated placement and transport subsystem, from motion platform to safety interlocks, with a focus on precision and cycle-time optimization. This on-site role rewards hands-on engineering impact and equity that mirrors startup growth.

Qualifications

• A degree in mechatronics, robotics, mechanical or electrical engineering, or equivalent experience.
• Hands-on design, build or commissioning of automated production equipment: surface mount placement, precision assembly, robotic cells.
• Fluent with motion control: servo tuning, linear stages, end effectors, and machine vision for alignment.
• Working knowledge of PLC and industrial controls, safety-rated circuits, guarding and risk assessment.
• The judgment to take a placement defect back to the machine, the feeder or the data.
• Ready to build the first placement cell on a line and the procedures operators run from.
• Bonus: CAD design of precision mechanisms, pneumatic and vacuum systems, or commissioning a full line.

Responsibilities

• Placement machine design: motion platform and gantry, linear axes, drives and servo tuning
• End effectors: nozzle selection and changing, vacuum pickup, grippers for parts outside tape
• Component feeding: tape and reel, trays and tubes, splicing and changeover, moisture-sensitive device handling
• Vision and alignment: upward and downward cameras, fiducials, part recognition at pickup, and calibration
• Placement into the build: depth and rotation control, and the handshakes returning the board
• Cycle time and capability: placement sequencing, feeder layout, accuracy and repeatability studies, changeover
• Transport between cells: conveyors, stops and lifts, pallets, buffering, and SMEMA handshaking between stations
• Controls and safety: PLC and motion control, industrial networks, interlocks, light curtains, risk assessment

Skills

Motion control

End effectors

Machine vision

PLC controls

Safety systems

Education

Bachelors in mechatronics/robotics/mechanical/electrical engineering

Job description

What to Expect

Your role is to design and build the machine that places discrete components into and onto each board as it is built, and the transport that carries work between the cells of the line.

That is a placement cell, motion platform through end effectors, feeders and vision, the conveyors and pallets between cells, and the controls and safety underneath both. Parts go into open cavities part-way through a board, so the cell hands work back into the build.

You will build the first placement cell on this line and the transport around it, from mechanical design and end effector through motion tuning and vision alignment to a machine that runs to takt.

We are looking for mechatronics and robotics engineers with experience and interest in precision motion systems, surface mount placement and material handling, machine vision for alignment, and the controls and safety that bring a cell into production.

Every role works with our AI systems daily. What can be deterministic, must be. You need no AI background; we prefer people without one. We hire for your knowledge and experience in the field first, so you can steer the ship; the tooling is a learning curve we expect you to take on.

We work on-site in El Segundo. This is hard work, but you will be rewarded with equity in a company we believe will become one of the world's most valuable.

What You'll Do

• Placement machine design: motion platform and gantry, linear axes, drives and servo tuning
• End effectors: nozzle selection and changing, vacuum pickup, grippers for parts outside tape
• Component feeding: tape and reel, trays and tubes, splicing and changeover, moisture-sensitive device handling
• Vision and alignment: upward and downward cameras, fiducials, part recognition at pickup, and calibration
• Placement into the build: depth and rotation control, and the handshakes returning the board
• Cycle time and capability: placement sequencing, feeder layout, accuracy and repeatability studies, changeover
• Transport between cells: conveyors, stops and lifts, pallets, buffering, and SMEMA handshaking between stations
• Controls and safety: PLC and motion control, industrial networks, interlocks, light curtains, risk assessment

What You'll Bring

• A degree in mechatronics, robotics, mechanical or electrical engineering, or equivalent experience
• Hands-on design, build or commissioning of automated production equipment: surface mount placement, precision assembly, robotic cells
• Fluent with motion control: servo tuning, linear stages, end effectors, and machine vision for alignment
• Working knowledge of PLC and industrial controls, safety-rated circuits, guarding and risk assessment
• The judgment to take a placement defect back to the machine, the feeder or the data
• Ready to build the first placement cell on a line and the procedures operators run from
• Bonus: CAD design of precision mechanisms, pneumatic and vacuum systems, or commissioning a full line

Expected Compensation

$100k to $250k base salary, plus equity

• Equity participation in a high-growth startup
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) with company matching
• Bonus for living within 5 miles of our El Segundo facility
• On-site work with rare work-from-home exceptions
• Merit-based organization where contribution drives reward