Mid-Level Forward Deployed Engineer

Clera; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Visa sponsorship

Equity grant

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Job summary

Clera in San Francisco is seeking a hands-on robotics deployment engineer to own deployments from data collection and model tuning through production monitoring.

You will diagnose hardware, software, and perception failures during demos and live deployments, and document field learnings to inform model development.

Qualifications

• 2–8 years deploying robotics or automation in factory/logistics environments.
• Hands-on debugging of hardware/software integrations in the field.
• Experience with GPU compute stacks or edge deployment is helpful.
• Willingness to travel 50–75% and work from the San Francisco office about three days per week.

Responsibilities

• Lead deployment cycles, including data collection, model fine-tuning, physical system setup, and production monitoring.
• Diagnose and resolve hardware, software, and perception failures during demos and live deployments.
• Collect operational data and document failure modes to inform model training and architecture.
• Troubleshoot integrations across perception hardware, compute stacks, and edge environments.
• Travel 50 to 75% to customer sites across the United States, working around changing field schedules.

Skills

Robotics deployments

Field debugging

Vision-Language-Action models

GPU compute stacks

Edge deployment

Travel readiness

Tools

Cameras

Depth sensors

Tactile sensors

Job description

About the Role

Join a physical AI and robotics team deploying robotics systems in customer environments. You will own deployments from data collection and model tuning through production monitoring, while feeding field learnings back into model development.

What You'll Do

• Lead deployment cycles, including data collection, model fine-tuning, physical system setup, and production monitoring.

• Diagnose and resolve hardware, software, and perception failures during demos and live deployments.

• Collect operational data and document failure modes to inform model training and architecture.

• Troubleshoot integrations across perception hardware, compute stacks, and edge environments.

• Travel 50 to 75% to customer sites across the United States, working around changing field schedules.

What We're Looking For

• Two to eight years of experience deploying robotics or automation systems in factory, warehouse, or logistics environments.

• Hands-on experience debugging hardware and software integrations in the field, including cameras, depth sensors, or tactile sensors.

• Basic familiarity with Vision-Language-Action models, including through academic or lab projects.

• Practical interest in physical AI and robotics, with a proactive approach to troubleshooting and learning.

• Experience with GPU compute stacks or edge deployment environments is helpful. Korean language skills are also helpful but not required.

• Willingness to travel extensively and work from the San Francisco office about three days per week.

Compensation & Benefits

Base salary is $180,000 to $220,000 annually, with an early-stage equity grant and medical, dental, and vision coverage. Visa sponsorship is available.

Location

Hybrid, based in San Francisco, California, United States.