Mechatronics Intern

Physical Intelligence; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 20,000 - 30,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Exposure to manufacturing or assembly

Prior robotics startup experience

Job summary

Physical Intelligence is seeking a hands-on Hardware Engineering Intern to join the core hardware team in San Francisco. You’ll design, build, and test subsystems for robotic arms, mobile bases, and end-effectors, bridging mechanical, electrical, and embedded design.

You’ll prototype in the lab, perform bring-up, calibration, and reliability tests, and collaborate across disciplines to improve system performance.

Qualifications

• Completed 3A Mechanical or Mechatronics Engineering.
• Strong mechanical and electromechanical design fundamentals (dynamic loading, FEA, DFM).
• Familiarity with embedded and mechatronic systems (CAN, BLDC control, motor controllers).
• Proficiency in CAD (NX, OnShape, SolidWorks) and rapid prototyping tools (3D printing — SLA and FDM — laser cutting).
• Basic electrical design and debug (schematics, soldering, test equipment).
• Data-driven debugging and test planning (Python, MATLAB, or similar).

Responsibilities

• Subsystem Design & Test: Design, build, and test key subsystems for various robotic arms and mobile platforms — including actuation, sensing, enclosures, and power systems.
• Hands-On Prototyping: Work hands-on with prototypes in our hardware lab, including bring-up, assembly, calibration, and reliability testing of arms, lifts, mobile bases, and end-effectors.
• Cross-Disciplinary Integration: Integrate cross-disciplinary inputs from mechanical, electrical, and software teams to root-cause mission-critical issues and drive high-level system performance.
• Data-Driven Iteration: Analyze data from deployments to inform design iteration and reliability improvements.
• Full-Stack Subsystem Ownership: Own the full stack of a subsystem from CAD to PCB to bench testing.

Skills

Mechanical design

Electromechanical design

CAN

Embedded systems

Python

MATLAB

CAD

3D printing

Education

Bachelors in Mechanical or Mechatronics Engineering

Tools

NX

OnShape

SolidWorks

PCB design

Soldering

Job description

Fundamentally, a builder. Someone who loves to make robots real. We want someone who’s as comfortable debugging a CAN bus issue as they are machining a bracket — an individual who thinks in systems, and who gets excited by tight integration between mechanical, electrical, and embedded design. This fall, you’ll join the core Hardware Engineering team at Physical Intelligence who is supporting the robots that power PI’s data collection and model training operations.

The Team

The core Hardware Engineering team designs and builds the robotic arms, mobile platforms, and end-effectors that underpin PI’s data collection and model training operations. They work across mechanical, electrical, embedded, and software disciplines to iterate quickly on prototypes, bring up new subsystems, and keep the fleet performant in real-world environments.

In This Role You Will

• Subsystem Design & Test: Design, build, and test key subsystems for various robotic arms and mobile platforms — including actuation, sensing, enclosures, and power systems.
• Hands-On Prototyping: Work hands-on with prototypes in our hardware lab, including bring-up, assembly, calibration, and reliability testing of arms, lifts, mobile bases, and end-effectors.
• Cross-Disciplinary Integration: Integrate cross-disciplinary inputs from mechanical, electrical, and software teams to root-cause mission-critical issues and drive high-level system performance.
• Data-Driven Iteration: Analyze data from deployments to inform design iteration and reliability improvements.
• Full-Stack Subsystem Ownership: Own the full stack of a subsystem from CAD to PCB to bench testing.
  
  

What We Hope You’ll Bring

• Completed 3A Mechanical or Mechatronics Engineering. Students below 3A with exceptional projects, GitHubs, portfolios, and work experience will also be considered.
• Strong mechanical and electromechanical design fundamentals (dynamic loading, FEA, DFM).
• Familiarity with embedded and mechatronic systems (CAN, BLDC control, motor controllers).
• Proficiency in CAD (NX, OnShape, SolidWorks) and rapid prototyping tools (3D printing — SLA and FDM — laser cutting).
• Basic electrical design and debug (schematics, soldering, test equipment).
• Data-driven debugging and test planning (Python, MATLAB, or similar).
  
  

Bonus Points

• Exposure to manufacturing or assembly environments.
• Prior experience in robotics, autonomous systems, or hardware startups.
  
  

The duration of this internship is January-May 2027.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.