Fabrication Technician

Kovari; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Kovari, based in San Francisco, is building general-purpose robots for hospitality. You will own the physical heartbeat of the company: the machine shop and our robots, at the intersection of fabrication, assembly, and field readiness.

You will machine prototype parts, manage tooling and CAM, assemble and service robots, and diagnose field deployments to keep units running. Collaboration with engineers helps turn CAD into working hardware, with growth in capabilities over time.

Qualifications

• Strong machining fundamentals across metals and plastics.
• Ability to read engineering drawings and CAD models.
• Experience keeping a shop running: sourcing, upkeep, safety.

Responsibilities

• Machine prototype and production parts on CNC mill, lathe, and 3D printers.
• Own the machine shop end-to-end: tooling, workholding, CAM, equipment maintenance, procurement, shop safety.
• Build, assemble, and service robots, including electromechanical assembly and wiring.

Skills

CNC milling

CNC turning

CAM programming

CAD reading

Electrical troubleshooting

Tools

Fusion 360

3D printing

Job description

At Kovari, we're rethinking how physical work gets done in the age of robotics. We believe building robots that can move the economy is one of the most important endeavors in technology.

Our first goal is to build general-purpose robots for hospitality to take on physical, repetitive work that keeps the hospitality industry operating. The last mile problem for proliferating useful robots into businesses is a first class innovation problem itself. We aim to marry deep commercial understanding with fast paced innovation to create robots that move the industry. Since inception, we have raised over $6M to carry out our mission from industry leading investors.

We are obsessed with rapid iteration, engineering rigor, and deploying real machines into real environments. The next decade will compress a century of progress in robotics, and we're looking for people who want to leave their fingerprints on that future.

We are based in San Francisco and work in-person.

The Role

You will own the physical heartbeat of the company: our machine shop and our robots. This role sits at the intersection of fabrication, assembly, and field readiness. One day you're machining a prototype part from billet, the next you're diagnosing a robot in a live deployment, the next you're deciding what equipment the shop needs to move faster. You'll run the shop as your own, keep our fleet healthy, and compress the loop between design and working hardware.

What You'll Do

• Machine prototype and production parts on our CNC mill, lathes, and 3D printers.
• Own the machine shop end-to-end: tooling, workholding, CAM programming, equipment maintenance, procurement, and shop safety
• Build, assemble, and service robots, including electromechanical assembly, wiring, and subsystem integration
• Diagnose and repair robots in the field, keeping deployed units at high uptime in customer environments
• Partner with mechanical and controls engineers to make designs manufacturable, and turn CAD into parts fast
• Expand shop capability over time: evaluate new equipment, stand up new processes (additive, laser, finishing), and build fixtures and test rigs

What You Bring

• Strong machining fundamentals: CNC milling and turning, manual machine competence, CAM (Fusion 360 or similar), and feeds/speeds intuition across metals and plastics
• Hands-on mechanical and electromechanical skill: you can assemble, wire, troubleshoot, and repair complex hardware
• Experience keeping a shop running: tool and material sourcing, equipment upkeep, and disciplined shop practices
• Ability to work from engineering drawings and CAD, and to flag design-for-manufacturing issues early
• Scrappy problem-solving under time pressure; comfortable improvising fixtures, tooling, and repairs when the standard approach is too slow
• Bonus: robotics or automation experience, welding/fabrication, 3D printing (SLS/FDM), or field service background

Values

• Pace of learning trumps everything else.
• Refining our craft is something we pursue relentlessly.
• Low ego, high ownership.
• Commitment to the mission. We work in-person, and this isn't a 9-to-5. We're building something hard, and we need people who are all-in.