Project Hydra | Hardware Technician - Robotics Lab

Welocalize, Inc.; California; On-site; USD 47,000 - 63,000; Full time

Job summary

Welocalize, Inc. is seeking a Hardware Lab Technician for its Santa Clara, CA lab to own the physical side of a robot data collection operation.

You will build, maintain, and iterate data collection stations, teleoperation support hardware, and lab infrastructure to ensure data quality and uptime. The role requires 3+ years in a hands-on lab or prototyping setting, AS or equivalent, CAD literacy, and strong electrical/mechanical skills.

Qualifications

• 3+ years hands-on technician experience in a lab, prototyping, or low-volume build environment.
• AS in a technical field, a relevant trade or technical certificate, or equivalent hands-on experience.
• Mechanical fundamentals and ability to read CAD drawings (Onshape/SolidWorks).
• Electrical hands: soldering, crimping, harness building, and use of multimeter/oscilloscope.
• Comfortable with Linux at the command line and running calibration scripts.
• Experience with motors, encoders, sensors, and data integrity considerations.
• Methodical, self-documenting, and able to work under ambiguity.
• On-site work in Santa Clara, with flexible shift coverage.

Responsibilities

• Build, wire, and bring up data collection stations including robot arms and camera rigs.
• Keep the fleet running with daily checks, maintenance, and fault diagnosis.
• Swap end-effectors and sensors and integrate new hardware components.
• Run calibration and firmware procedures across the fleet and catch drift early.
• Assemble prototype hardware with parts from various sources and custom harnesses.
• Soldering, crimping, harness building, and PCB rework support at the bench.
• Manage spares, inventory, and lab tools; coordinate with vendors for RMAs.
• Support teleoperators on hardware issues during live collection and triage.
• Document maintenance logs, SOPs, and calibration records for future technicians.
• Collaborate with engineers to bring up new embodiments and stations.

Skills

Robotics hands-on

Linux CLI

Soldering / electrical test

CAD reading

Scripting basics

Troubleshooting

Documentation

On-site readiness

Education

AS in a technical field / trade certificate

Tools

Onshape

SolidWorks

Multimeter

Oscilloscope

Soldering station

Job description

We are looking for a Hardware Lab Technician to own the physical side of a large-scale robot data collection operation. You’ll keep the fleet running, build what’s next, and be the person the lab calls when something stops working. This is a hands‑on role across research and low-volume production where embodiments, grippers, and camera rigs change fast—and the hardware has to keep up. Day‑to‑day teleoperation is handled by a dedicated operator team you support; you maintain what they run on and help ensure data quality through reliable, well‑calibrated hardware.

• Employment: Full‑time W-2
• Shifts: Monday–Friday, 7AM - 3:30PM or 9AM - 5:30PM
• Start Date: ASAP
• Contract Duration: 12‑month contract with possibility of extension
• Rate: $40 per /hour

Role Overview

We are looking for a Hardware Lab Technician to own the physical side of a large-scale robot data collection operation. You’ll keep the fleet running, build what’s next, and be the person the lab calls when something stops working. This is a hands‑on role across research and low-volume production where embodiments, grippers, and camera rigs change fast—and the hardware has to keep up. Day‑to‑day teleoperation is handled by a dedicated operator team you support; you maintain what they run on and help ensure data quality through reliable, well‑calibrated hardware.

Project Details

• Location: 100% Onsite (Santa Clara, CA, US)
• Employment: Full‑time W-2
• Shifts: Monday–Friday, 7AM - 3:30PM or 9AM - 5:30PM
• Start Date: ASAP
• Contract Duration: 12‑month contract with possibility of extension
• Rate: $40 per /hour

What You’ll Do

• Build, wire, and bring up data collection stations — robot arms, multi‑camera rigs, workstations, teleoperation hardware, and cable management that survives daily operator use.

• Keep the fleet running: daily checks, preventive maintenance, calibration routines, and diagnosing faults on arms, hands, and sensors.

• Swap and integrate end‑effectors and grippers, dexterous hands, force/torque and tactile sensors, and RGB‑D cameras.

• Run calibration and firmware procedures across the fleet, and catch drift before it reaches the data.

• Assemble and iterate prototype hardware coming out of our mechanical and electrical engineers — printed parts, off‑the‑shelf components, vendor‑fabricated parts, and custom harnesses.

• Soldering, crimping, connectorization, harness building, and PCB rework support at the bench.

• Own the lab’s physical state: spares and consumables inventory, parts kitting, bench and tool organization, and shipping, returns, and RMAs with vendors.

• Support teleoperators on hardware issues during live collection — triage fast, fix or elevate, and get the station back up.

• Document what you do. Build sheets, maintenance logs, calibration records, and hardware SOPs the next technician can follow.

• Help bring up new embodiments and new stations alongside engineers and researchers.

What we need to see

• 3+ years hands‑on technician experience in a lab, prototyping, or low‑volume build environment — robotics, medical devices, aerospace, semiconductor equipment, or similar.

• AS in a technical field, a relevant trade or technical certificate, or equivalent hands‑on experience.

• Mechanical assembly fundamentals: fasteners and torque, bearings, belts, linkages, and the ability to read CAD and mechanical drawings (Onshape, SolidWorks, or similar).

• Electrical hands: soldering including basic SMD rework, crimping and connectorization, harness building, and confident use of a multimeter and oscilloscope.

• Comfortable in Linux at the command line — SSH into a workstation, run a calibration script, read a log, and tell us what it said.

• Experience with motors, encoders, and sensor integration, and an understanding of what a bad ground or a marginal cable does to a data stream.

• Methodical and self‑documenting. An undocumented fix is a future outage.

• Comfortable with ambiguity and frequent change, and able to prioritize when more than one lab needs you at the same time.

• Able to work on‑site in Santa Clara, with flexibility on shift coverage as the labs run extended hours.

Ways to stand out from the crowd

• Humanoid or bimanual platforms (Unitree, Fourier, ALOHA/ARX‑class rigs) and dexterous hands.

• Maintenance and calibration on collaborative or industrial arms — UR, Franka, xArm, ARX, or equivalent.

• Multi‑camera rig build and calibration; RealSense, ZED, or Orbbec‑class depth cameras.

• Running and maintaining FDM or SLA printers, and designing your own simple fixtures and adapters.

• Light scripting in Python or bash to automate a repetitive bench or calibration task.

• Experience in a high‑throughput lab or production line where uptime or yield was a number someone tracked.

• Vendor‑facing experience: RMAs, lead times, and spares planning.

Job reference

Please note that in order to verify work authorization as is required by Federal law (I-9 process), all new employees must complete a live video verification with their selected IDs and provide photos of these selected IDs within their first 3 days of employment.

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire. In addition, we employ anti‑fraud checks to ensure all candidates meet the requirements of the program.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.