Founding Robotics Engineer

a16z-speedrun; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

a16z-speedrun is seeking an versatile robotics engineer to make complex physical systems work across software, mechanical, and electrical domains on the Munari platform in San Francisco. You will assemble, integrate, and validate robots, sensors, and control interfaces to enable repeatable experiments.

You will build simulation environments, data-collection tools, and hardware-in-the-loop tests, collaborating with design partners to tackle real-world, last-mile challenges.

Qualifications

• You have built, integrated, repaired, or deployed robotic/electromechanical systems.
• You can write useful software in C++, Python, Rust, or similar language.
• You are comfortable with ROS 2, robot kinematics, controls, calibration, sensors, and hardware interfaces.
• You can move between terminal, oscilloscope, CAD model, 3D printer, machine shop, and toolbox.
• You have strong mechanical or electrical intuition and debugging discipline.
• You enjoy broad ownership and can handle incomplete docs and unfamiliar hardware.
• You have built projects crossing disciplinary boundaries and can explain your ownership.

Responsibilities

• Bring new robot embodiments into the Munari platform, including arms, mobile manipulators, and industrial systems.
• Integrate cameras, grippers, force-torque sensors, tactile sensors, motor controllers, teleoperation systems, and external compute.
• Build drivers, adapters, calibration systems, robot descriptions, control interfaces, and data-collection tooling.
• Create reference tasks, evaluation environments, teleoperation workflows, and repeatable demonstrations.
• Design and fabricate fixtures, mounts, enclosures, test rigs, wiring, and rapid hardware modifications.
• Build simulation environments, hardware-in-the-loop tests, digital twins, and fault-injection systems.
• Develop physical benchmarks for failure detection, recovery, safety, and policy evaluation.
• Maintain a high-velocity robotics lab to keep experiments reproducible.
• Work with early design partners to integrate robots and solve last-mile problems.

Skills

C++

Python

Rust

ROS 2

Kinematics

Controls

Calibration

Sensors

Hardware interfaces

Tools

SolidWorks

Onshape

Fusion 360

Isaac Sim

MuJoCo

Job description

The role:

This is the role for the person whose answer to “is this a software, electrical, mechanical, or controls problem?” is usually “yes.”

You will make robots, sensors, simulators, and Munari work together. You will bring new robot platforms online, build reference environments, create data-collection and evaluation systems, instrument physical machines, and help turn research ideas into repeatable real-world experiments.

You may lean toward software, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, controls, or mechatronics. The requirement is not that you fit one discipline perfectly. The requirement is that you can make a complicated physical system work.

What you will work on:

• Bring new robot embodiments into the Munari platform, including arms, mobile manipulators, industrial systems, and emerging general-purpose platforms.

• Integrate cameras, grippers, force-torque sensors, tactile sensors, motor controllers, teleoperation systems, and external compute.

• Build drivers, adapters, calibration systems, robot descriptions, control interfaces, and data-collection tooling.

• Create reference tasks, evaluation environments, teleoperation workflows, and repeatable demonstrations.

• Design and fabricate fixtures, mounts, enclosures, test rigs, wiring, and rapid hardware modifications.

• Build simulation environments, hardware-in-the-loop tests, digital twins, and fault-injection systems.

• Develop physical benchmarks for failure detection, recovery, safety, and policy evaluation.

• Maintain a high-velocity robotics lab in which experiments can be reproduced rather than rediscovered.

• Work directly with early design partners to integrate their robots and solve the ugly last-mile problems that appear only in the real world.

You may be a strong fit if:

• You have personally built, integrated, repaired, or deployed complicated robotic or electromechanical systems.

• You can write useful software in C++, Python, Rust, or a similar language.

• You are comfortable with ROS 2, robot kinematics, controls, calibration, sensors, and hardware interfaces.

• You can move between a terminal, oscilloscope, CAD model, 3D printer, machine shop, and toolbox.

• You have strong mechanical or electrical intuition and know how to debug a problem methodically.

• You enjoy broad ownership and are energized, rather than intimidated, by incomplete documentation and unfamiliar hardware.

• You have built projects that crossed disciplinary boundaries and can explain precisely what you personally owned.

Experience with SolidWorks, Onshape, Fusion, machining, additive manufacturing, PCB design, motor control, industrial automation, teleoperation, Isaac Sim, MuJoCo, safety systems, or field deployments is helpful. We are explicitly open to unconventional roboticists and exceptional hardware hackers.