R&D Assembly Technician

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

Job summary

Skild AI in San Mateo is seeking an R&D Assembly Technician to join our hardware team. You will play a crucial role in building and calibrating early prototype units while collaborating closely with engineers.

The ideal candidate has hands-on assembly experience with electromechanical hardware and a strong generalist skill set. This position offers a salary range of $70,000 - $150,000 USD, and we're looking for eager individuals who thrive in R&D environments.

Qualifications

• Hands-on assembly experience with complex electromechanical hardware like robotics or aerospace.
• Comfort with ambiguity in a fast-moving R&D environment.
• Strong skills in torque/fastening and reading CAD.

Responsibilities

• Build, assemble, and calibrate prototype units.
• Surface assembly issues and inform design revisions.
• Develop assembly work instructions.
• Troubleshoot build issues alongside the engineering team.

Skills

Hands-on assembly experience

Generalist skill set in wiring and harnessing

Soldering skills

Basic electrical troubleshooting

Job description

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 USD - $150,000 USD