Robotics Coach - Upper Division

Avenues; New York (NY); On-site; USD 42,000 - 52,000; Part time

Job summary

Avenues is seeking a part-time robotics coach to guide middle- and high-school teams after school, focusing on younger developmental groups. You will mentor students, support mechanical design, and help translate learning into teamwork and project execution.

This role emphasizes inclusive coaching, safe lab practices, and structured progress in design, build, and programming tasks across FLL and FTC formats.

Qualifications

• Experience coaching FIRST LEGO League (FLL) or FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) teams.
• Ability to guide engineering design process and documentation.

Responsibilities

• Coach one or more FLL/FTC teams with focus on developmental groups.
• Provide real-time mechanical and design feedback to students for feasibility and troubleshooting.
• Support build sessions, CAD review, and fabrication workflows.
• Guide students in programming control systems and project planning tools (Engineering Notebook, Asana, Trello).

Skills

Collaboration

Mentorship

Feedback

Organizational skills

Tools

Onshape

Fusion 360

Java

Asana

Trello

Job description

Avenues Robotics exists to cultivate an inclusive community of engineers, leaders, and collaborators. Through participation in FIRST LEGO League and FIRST Tech Challenge, students develop mechanical, electrical, and software engineering skills alongside leadership, mentorship, and project management practices.

Robotics coaches play a critical role in both mentorship and coaching as well as technical support. Coaches prioritize student learning and wellbeing, model the program's core values, and help students translate technical ambition into collaborative execution.

We are seeking a coach who sees robotics not just as competitive engineering, but as a vehicle for character development, leadership cultivation, and long-term skill building.

Job Description

What You'll Do

The strongest need within the program is coaching younger and developmental teams (grades 6-7 FIRST LEGO League and grades 8-9 FIRST Tech Challenge) in mechanical reasoning, engineering design process, and project management. The ideal candidate understands adolescent development and can:

• Collaborate with lead coaches and faculty to align student work with program timelines
• Support inclusive team formation and belonging
• Help students balance independence with accountability
• Offer targeted feedback that pushes student thinking without taking over
• Maintain a focused, organized, clean, and safe after-school robotics environment

Student Coaching & Mentorship

• Serve as primary coach for one or more FLL or FTC teams, with particular focus on developmental teams.
• Guide students through the engineering design process: ideation, prototyping, testing, iteration, and documentation
• Provide real-time mechanical and design feedback to help students evaluate feasibility and troubleshoot efficiently

Engineering, Technical, and Project Support

FIRST LEGO League (grades 6-7)

• Support mechanical build sessions, including:
  • Designing and testing LEGO devices
  • Supporting students in maintaining parts organization
• Implement lessons to support students' development of robot control in a blocks-based programming
• Support student development of a STEM research project

FIRST Tech Challenge (grades 8-12)

• Support mechanical build sessions, including:
  • Reviewing CAD designs (Onshape, Fusion 360, etc.)
  • Advising on structural integrity and manufacturability
  • Supporting fabrication and assembly workflows
• Support student's development of programming control systems in Java
• Provide guidance on project planning tools (Engineering Notebook, Asana, Trello, etc.)
• Assist teams in preparing technical documentation for competition awards (Design, Think, Control, etc.)

Qualifications

Time Commitment at a Glance

• This is a part-time position
• 2-3 days a week from 3:45 PM-5:00 PM
• Minimum of 2-4 weekend competition days depending on team advancement
• Extended evening and additional weekend hours available

Additional Information

The hourly rate of pay for this position ranges from $40.00-$50.00. The final hourly rate will be determined based on qualifications and years of professional experience.

Avenues is deeply committed to diversity, equity and inclusion throughout our organization. We strive to uphold a culture in which every colleague feels that they belong, are trusted, and are valued. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds, and strongly encourage candidates from traditionally underrepresented communities or groups to apply. Avenues offers competitive compensation and a generous benefits package.

Avenues upholds the highest standards for safeguarding the physical and emotional wellbeing of children. As an essential aspect of this commitment, all offers are contingent upon successful completion of careful reference and background checks.