Product Design & HRI Engineer, Robotics Hardware

FieldAI; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

FieldAI seeks an Human‑Robot Interaction & Product Design Engineer to shape how our robotics look, sound, and feel. You’ll lead form/CMF decisions, select displays and audio components, and collaborate with electrical, mechanical, and computing teams to deliver expressive hardware.

You will work hands-on in an onsite Irvine, CA environment, balancing SWaP, durability, and manufacturability while aligning with product and UI/UX goals.

Qualifications

• Experience in human-robot interaction concepts and expressive robotics.
• Ability to balance form, function, durability, and manufacturability.
• Experience coordinating with hardware, product, and UI/UX teams.

Responsibilities

• Drive form, shape, and CMF decisions for robot aesthetics.
• Select and program displays, lighting, speakers, and microphones.
• Work with Electrical, Mechanical, and Computing to implement interactions.

Skills

HRI knowledge

Cross-functional collaboration

Prototyping tools

CAD and 3D printing

Python

Education

BS/MS or equivalent in HRI/EE/Mechanical/Industrial Design

Tools

CAD (Solidworks/Fusion/NX)

Job description

Human‑Robot Interaction & Product Design Engineer

In this role you will develop hardware that shapes how our robotic systems look, feel, and sound. This spans audio and visual systems, industrial design, and robotic expressiveness and motion. Within audio and visual systems, you will select and integrate displays, speakers, and microphones. Within industrial design, you will work on form and CMF (color, material, finish). You will also help define robot motion and expressiveness. As part of the Hardware department this role will involve significant hands‑on work bringing up and designing electromechanical elements.

You will coordinate with Product and UI/UX to identify what interactions and experiences are needed. Then work with Electrical, Mechanical, and Computing hardware personnel to implement them. Solutions must balance performance, durability, manufacturability, and SWaP (size, weight, power) constraints across environments ranging from rugged industrial sites to commercial settings with the general public.

What You Will Get To Do

Form & Interaction

• Form & Aesthetics: Drive form, shape, and CMF (color/material/finish) decisions that define how the robot looks and feels.
• Interaction & Expressiveness: Shape how people see, hear, and interact with the robot across displays, audio, and movement, adapting choices for industrial versus commercial and public settings.
• Cross‑Team Collaboration: Partner with hardware groups such as Electrical, Mechanical, and Computing, and company‑wide groups such as Product, UX, and Field Ops, since many parts are interrelated.

Lighting & Visual Displays Systems

• Display & Lighting Selection: Drive selection and programming of screens (OLED, LCD, LED), LED strips, and multicolor lighting elements such as ambient lighting, and expressive displays, including novel concepts like projection interfaces.
• Durability & Readability: Ensure display and lighting durability (drop/impact resistance) and outdoor daylight readability across harsh field conditions.
• SWaP Tradeoffs: Own SWaP tradeoffs for all display and lighting components as they are integrated into the payload.
• Firmware & Validation: Write scripts to validate display boot‑up, onboard compute connectivity, and correct rendering, catching crashes before field deployment.

Audio Systems

• Speaker & Microphone Selection: Select, spec, and program speakers and microphones for target use cases, balancing audio I/O needs with the robot's form factor.
• Acoustic Performance Evaluation: Evaluate loudness, voice pickup, and acoustic performance across environments to ensure clear two‑way communication in the field.
• SWaP Tradeoffs: Balance size, weight, and power (SWaP) tradeoffs for audio components against other system constraints and payload budgets.

What You Have

• Education: B.S., M.S., or equivalent experience in Human‑Robot Interaction, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical/Industrial Design, or a related field.
• Experience Level: Minimum of 3+ years of hands‑on experience working on industrial/product design, audio‑visual systems, or robotics. We welcome candidates across mid‑level to senior and staff levels.
• AV Hardware Selection: Experience selecting and specifying speakers, microphones, displays (OLED/LCD/LED), and lighting elements for hardware products.
• SWaP & Systems Integration: Comfort balancing size, weight, and power tradeoffs across audio‑visual and electromechanical system integration.
• Firmware & Validation: Experience writing scripts or tools to validate display boot‑up, rendering, and connectivity, catching failures before field deployment.
• Industrial Design Skillset: Experience with industrial design work, including form, shape, and CMF (color/material/finish) decisions, that shape a product's look and feel.
• Robot Behavior & UI/UX Bridge: Familiarity with how robot movement and behaviour contribute to expressiveness, and comfort acting as the hardware bridge to a UI/UX team.
• Cross‑Functional Collaboration: Experience partnering with Electrical and Mechanical teams to deliver integrated hardware.
• Human‑Robot Interaction Knowledge: Familiarity with HRI/HMI concepts such as expressive/multimodal interaction, gaze/attention, and emotion libraries.
• Prototyping Tools: Familiarity with CAD and 3D‑print prototyping for rapid iteration on audio‑visual hardware concepts.
• Software Tools: CAD (Solidworks/Fusion/NX), Python (or related programming language).

What Will Set You Apart

• Advanced Industrial Design: Experience owning industrial design end‑to‑end, including concept sketching, CMF systems, and prototyping, for consumer robotics or wearable hardware.
• User Research: Experience running or supporting user studies on preferences, such as eye or face design options for expressive robots.
• Animation & Expression: Experience with animation tools (Blender, Maya) or behaviour/emotion libraries for expressive, character‑driven robot design.
• Functional Safety & Compliance: Familiarity with functional safety (SIL) and regulatory compliance (CE, FCC, UL) for audio‑visual hardware.
• Scaling: Experience taking audio‑visual hardware from prototype to volume manufacturing with contract manufacturers (CM) and DFM/DFA practices.

Compensation

The salary range for this role is $100,000–$150,000. The actual offer for this position will be based on factors such as relevant experience, competencies, certifications, and how well the candidate meets the qualifications outlined above. Part of our compensation package also includes full benefits, equity, and generous time.

Field AI Onsite Work Philosophy

This is a fully onsite role. Candidates will be expected to work from our Irvine, CA office. In‑person engagement is essential to our success, and we offer flexible working hours to support focus and work‑life balance.

Equal Employment Opportunity

We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Candidates and employees are always evaluated based on merit, qualifications, and performance. We will never discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.