R&D Assembly Technician

Skildai Careers; San Mateo (CA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Skildai Careers is seeking an R&D Assembly Technician to join their hardware team in San Mateo, California. The technician will play a crucial role in building and calibrating early prototype units, collaborating closely with mechanical and electrical engineers.

The ideal candidate should have hands-on assembly experience with complex electromechanical hardware, and the ability to thrive in a dynamic R&D environment. Salary ranges from $70,000 to $150,000 USD based on experience.

Qualifications

• Experience with robotics, EVs, aerospace, medical devices, or similar.
• Comfort with ambiguity and incomplete documentation in a fast-moving R&D environment.
• Strong skills in torque/fastening, wiring and harnessing, soldering, and reading CAD.

Responsibilities

• Build, assemble, and calibrate prototype and early‑production units.
• Surface assembly issues and provide feedback for design revisions.
• Develop and refine assembly work instructions as processes are established.
• Troubleshoot build issues alongside the engineering team.

Skills

Hands-on assembly experience

Generalist skill set

Basic electrical troubleshooting

Job description

Company Overview

At Skild AI, we are building the world's first general purpose robotic intelligence that is robust and adapts to unseen scenarios without failing. We believe massive scale through data-driven machine learning is the key to unlocking these capabilities for the widespread deployment of robots within society. Our team consists of individuals with varying levels of experience and backgrounds, from new graduates to domain experts. Relevant industry experience is important, but ultimately less so than your demonstrated abilities and attitude. We are looking for passionate individuals who are eager to explore uncharted waters and contribute to our innovative projects.

Position Overview

We are looking for an R&D Assembly Technician to join our hardware team and play a hands‑on role in building and bringing up early prototype units. You'll work closely with mechanical, electrical, and manufacturing engineers to assemble, wire, and calibrate new systems and feed your firsthand build experience back into the designs.

Responsibilities

• Build, assemble, and calibrate prototype and early‑production units — including mechanical assembly, wiring and harnessing, fastening, and subsystem integration
• Surface assembly issues, fit problems, and DFA/DFM feedback that informs the next design revision
• Develop and refine assembly work instructions (SWIs) as processes are established for the first time
• Troubleshoot build issues alongside the engineering team and contribute to real‑time problem solving
• Optionally grow into BOM and build‑system work (OpenBOM, version control) based on interest

Preferred Qualifications

• Hands‑on assembly experience with complex electromechanical hardware — robotics, EVs, aerospace, medical devices, or similar; no degree required
• Comfort with ambiguity and incomplete documentation in a fast‑moving R&D environment
• Strong generalist skill set across torque/fastening, wiring and harnessing, soldering, reading CAD and GD&T, and basic electrical troubleshooting
• Genuine curiosity about how things go together and the communication skills to give engineers actionable feedback

Base Salary Range

$70,000—$150,000 USD