Engineering Technician

Generalist AI; San Mateo, Somerville (CA, MA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Generalist AI is seeking an Engineering Technician in San Mateo, CA to assemble mechanical systems and perform basic electrical work, ensuring every build is clean, repeatable, and scalable. You’ll read instructions carefully, use tools precisely, and help identify and fix issues on the line.

You will work closely with engineers to hit build timelines, maintain high quality, and contribute to process improvements as the company scales its robotics hardware efforts.

Qualifications

• Experience assembling mechanical components into robots.
• Basic electrical wiring and connector installation.
• Ability to read and follow build instructions with high accuracy.

Responsibilities

• Assemble mechanical components into fully functioning robotic systems.
• Perform basic electrical work (routing wires, connecting components, installing connectors).
• Read and execute build instructions with high accuracy.
• Use hand tools, power tools, and specialized equipment for precise assembly.
• Inspect and test assemblies to ensure quality and functionality.
• Identify defects, misalignments, or inconsistencies and escalate quickly.
• Follow SOPs, safety standards, and best practices during builds.
• Maintain a clean, organized, and efficient workspace.
• Collaborate with engineers and teammates to hit build timelines.
• Contribute to process improvements to speed up and improve reliability.

Skills

Hardware assembly

Electrical wiring

Quality inspection

Read build docs

Tools

Calipers

Oscilloscope

DMM

Job description

About GeneralistAt Generalist, we are on a mission to build general intelligence for the physical world and make it useful to everyone. We believe the industries and homes of the future will depend on humans and machines working together in new ways. Robots can help us build more and get more done.We build embodied foundation models, starting with a focus on dexterity. This requires advancing the frontiers of data, models, and hardware, to enable robots to intelligently interact with the physical world.The company embraces both large-scale AI and robotics as core to its DNA. Our team of researchers, roboticists, and company builders come from OpenAI, Boston Dynamics, Google DeepMind, and other frontier labs—with a track record of shipping AI breakthroughs. Before Generalist, we pioneered large embodied multimodal models and vision-language-action models (PaLM-E, RT-2, Gemini Robotics), launched and scaled ChatGPT and GPT-4 to hundreds of millions of users, engineered the foundations of autonomous driving, built next-generation robots (Atlas, Spot, Stretch) and pushed the limits of what they can do (from parkour to manipulation, and testing robustness).

We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.

About the Role

This is a hands‑on, execution‑driven role at the center of building our robots. As an Engineering Technician, you’ll be responsible for turning parts into working systems — quickly, precisely, and reliably. You’ll help ensure builds are clean, repeatable, and scalable. In practice, you’ll assemble mechanical systems, perform basic electrical work (wiring, connectors, simple integrations), run checks, catch issues early, and help improve how we build. If something is off — misaligned parts, loose connections, unclear instructions, inefficiencies in the process — you fix it or flag it. This role is about making sure our robots come together correctly, every time.

You’ll be responsible for:

• Assembling mechanical components into fully functioning robotic systems
• Performing basic electrical work (routing wires, connecting components, installing connectors)
• Reading and executing build instructions with high accuracy
• Using hand tools, power tools, and specialized equipment to perform precise assembly work
• Inspecting and testing assemblies to ensure quality and functionality
• Identifying defects, misalignments, or inconsistencies and escalating quickly
• Following SOPs, safety standards, and best practices during all builds
• Maintaining a clean, organized, and efficient workspace
• Collaborating with engineers and teammates to hit build timelines
• Contributing to process improvements to make builds faster and more reliable

You might thrive in this role if you:

• Have hands‑on experience with mechanical assembly or hardware builds
• Have some exposure to basic electrical work (wiring, connectors, harnesses)
• Are detail‑oriented and take pride in clean, precise work
• Are comfortable using tools and working with physical systems
• Catch problems early and don’t ignore small issues
• Like working with your hands and seeing tangible results
• Can follow structured processes but also improve them
• Are reliable, consistent, and move with urgency
• Enjoy being part of a fast‑moving, build‑heavy environment
• Like being the person who makes things actually come together

What This Role Is Not

This is not a purely theoretical or design‑focused role This is not a robotics software or controls engineering position This is not a deep electrical engineering role This is not a passive “follow instructions only” job Instead, this role sits on the front lines of building real robotic systems — where mechanical precision and clean electrical work directly impact what ships.

Growth & Impact

As we scale, this role grows with the complexity and volume of our builds. You’ll have the opportunity to take on more ownership across build processes, quality systems, and production workflows — helping shape how our robots are assembled at scale. If you want to work hands‑on with cutting‑edge robotics and be directly responsible for bringing systems to life, this role has real impact.