Engineering Technician

Actalent; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 48,000 - 76,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision

401(k) Retirement Plan

Life Insurance

Short and long-term disability

Transportation benefits

Employee Assistance Program

PTO/ Vacation

Job summary

Actalent seeks an Engineering Technician to own prototype mechanical assembly and wire harness build-up on bots, subassemblies, and test assets. You will work from drawings, BOMs, and evolving designs, performing maintenance, repair, and rework for in-house testing and field returns.

You will surface build feedback to Design Engineering through tickets, use shop tools, and support validation, with safety and organization as core priorities in a laboratory environment.

Qualifications

• Experience with electro-mechanical hardware in prototype or fast-iterative environments.
• Ability to read drawings and 3D models and interpret tolerances.
• Experience with wire harnessing and PCB soldering is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own prototype mechanical assembly and wire harness build-up from start to finish.
• Perform maintenance, repair, and rework on bots for in-house testing and field subassemblies.
• Troubleshoot electro-mechanical failures and escalate when needed.
• Surface build feedback to Design Engineering via ticketing system.
• Use shop tools to cut, modify, and rework parts as required.
• Support validation and bring-up procedures on bot hardware under direction.
• Contribute to a safe, organized lab and shop environment.
• Assist onboarding of future team members as the team scales.

Skills

Electro-mechanical hardware

Mechanical assembly

Read drawings/3D models

Wire harnessing

Soldering (PCB)

Terminal/SSH

Machine tool operation

Tools

Onshape

Arena

NetSuite

JIRA

Linear

Grafana

Bridgeport

Job description

Job Title: Engineering Technician

Job Description

The Engineering Technician will take ownership of prototype mechanical assembly and wire harness build-up on bots, subassemblies, and test assets from start to finish. This role requires working from drawings, BOMs, or verbal direction, often with evolving designs, ambiguity, and first-article quality issues. The technician will perform routine maintenance, repair, and rework on bots for in-house testing system and field-returned subassemblies, troubleshooting common electro-mechanical failures and escalating when necessary. Additionally, the technician will surface actionable build feedback to Design Engineering through a structured ticketing system, use machine and shop tools to cut, modify, and rework mechanical parts, and support validation and bring-up procedures on bot hardware under engineer direction.

Responsibilities

• Own prototype mechanical assembly and wire harness build-up on bots, subassemblies, and test assets from start to finish.
• Perform routine maintenance, repair, and rework on bots for in-house testing systems and field-returned subassemblies.
• Troubleshoot common electro-mechanical failures and escalating when necessary.
• Surface actionable build feedback to Design Engineering through a structured ticketing system.
• Use machine and shop tools to cut, modify, and rework mechanical parts as required.
• Support validation and bring-up procedures on bot hardware under engineer direction.
• Contribute to a safe, clean, organized, and well-equipped lab and shop environment.
• Support onboarding of future team members as the team scales.

Essential Skills

• Proven experience with electro-mechanical hardware in prototype or fast-iterative environments.
• Comfortable with mechanical assembly, fastener/torque selection, and shop tool use.
• Ability to read and navigate drawings and 3D models, interpret metric/imperial tolerances, and identify revision deltas.
• Solid harnessing fundamentals: wire soldering, connector crimping, cable management, and reading electrical schematics.
• Ability to thrive on changing priorities and recover quickly from blocked builds.
• Clear communication and constructive dissent, proactive updates, and precise questioning.
• Comfortable in an industrial environment, consistently following PPE and shop safety practices.
• Ability to operate independently on routine work using standard procedures and know when to escalating.
• Genuine excitement about robotics and the build/break/fix/prototype cycle, with a desire to grow into more responsibility.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience with PCB soldering and board rework.
• Comfort with terminal/SSH and command-line tools.
• Experience operating manual mills, lathes, or other machine tools (Bridgeport experience a plus).
• Onshape familiarity or comparable 3D CAD experience.
• Exposure to PLM/ERP systems (Arena, NetSuite), ticketing and project management tools (Linear, JIRA), and dashboarding tools (Grafana).

Work Environment

This role operates in an industrial environment working on heavy equipment. The technician will consistently follow PPE and shop safety practices. The lab and shop environment is safe, clean, organized, and well-equipped, fostering a collaborative and innovative atmosphere.

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract position based out of South San Francisco, CA.

Pay And Benefits

The pay range for this position is $35.00 - $55.00/hr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following: Medical, dental & vision Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital 401(k) Retirement Plan Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) Short and long-term disability Health Spending Account (HSA) Transportation benefits Employee Assistance Program Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Nov 13, 2026.

Workplace Type

This is a fully onsite position in South San Francisco,CA.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email [e-mail] for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance:

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector:

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI):

We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.