Senior Technician, Robotics

Scale AI; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 134,000 - 168,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental and vision coverage

Retirement benefits

Learning and development stipend

Generous PTO

Commuter stipend

Job summary

Scale's Robotics team in San Francisco is seeking a hands-on Lab Operations and Technical Ownership role to support data collection production and prototype new embodiments. You'll bring up and maintain robots and collection hardware, manage inventory, and coordinate logistics in a fast-growing robotics lab.

You will partner with cross-functional teams to deploy robots, track uptime and failures, and develop domain expertise in imaging, sensor fusion, and computer vision.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field.
• 5+ years in hardware labs or manufacturing.
• Hands-on robotics, AI, or computer vision experience.
• Experience operating robots safely and managing risk.
• Strong project management and ownership.

Responsibilities

• Support day-to-day lab operations and maintain robots and collection hardware.
• Manage physical inventory and logistics.
• Provide technical support for data collection operations.
• Collaborate across teams to deploy robots and productionize maintenance.
• Develop uptime and failure tracking systems.

Skills

Robotics

AI

Computer Vision

Project management

Interpersonal skills

Python

C++

Java

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field

Tools

Robotics hardware

Data collection hardware

Job description

Scale's Robotics business is rapidly expanding, supporting customers building physical AI. This position will be a key contributor in supporting data collection production in our San Francisco Robotics Lab and prototyping new embodiments. This is a first-of-its-kind role at Scale, and you will have the opportunity to advance Scale's robotics offerings.

This is an onsite, hands-on lab role based in San Francisco.

You will:

Lab Operations:

• Play a critical role in supporting the day-to-day operations of the Lab by bringing up and maintaining robots and collection hardware.
• Manage physical inventory, maintain equipment, and coordinate logistics.
• Provide technical support for data collection operations.

Technical Ownership:

• Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to bring up new robots and productionize the maintenance of robots and collection hardware.
• Build uptime, utilization, and failure mode tracking systems to share with leadership and guide prioritization.
• Become a subject matter expert on all capabilities of the robotics platforms deployed in the factory.
• Develop technical domain expertise in areas of 2D and 3D imaging and annotation, multi-sensor fusion and calibration, GPS/INS navigation systems, computer vision, and other autonomy-adjacent concepts.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Communicate effectively across internal and external organizations to align on lab priorities and technical roadmaps.

Ideally you'd have:

• Academic (Bachelor's degree) or industry experience — Engineering background, preferably in Computer Science, Mathematics, or other Engineering fields.
• 5+ years of experience in hardware labs or a manufacturing environment.
• Hands-on experience in Robotics, AI, and/or Computer Vision.
• Experience managing risk and operating robots safely.
• Strong project management and interpersonal skills, high attention to detail, and a strong sense of ownership.
• High level of comfort communicating effectively across internal and external organizations.

Nice to haves:

• Experience developing with Python, C++, Java and/or other scripting languages.
• Intellectual curiosity, empathy, and ability to operate with a high degree of autonomy.
• Experience building and/or maintaining lab networks and data pipelines.
• Experience running large-scale data collection and controlled experiments.
• Experience in logistics.
• Lean Six Sigma certification or experience.

Compensation packages at Scale for eligible roles include base salary, equity, and benefits. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position and may be inclusive of several career levels at Scale; it will be determined during the interview process based on work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, qualifications, interview performance, and relevant education or training. Scale employees in eligible roles are also granted equity based compensation, subject to Board of Director approval. You'll also receive benefits including, but not limited to: comprehensive health, dental and vision coverage, retirement benefits, a learning and development stipend, and generous PTO. Additionally, this role may be eligible for additional benefits such as a commuter stipend.

$134,400 — $168,000 USD

PLEASE NOTE: Our policy requires a 90-day waiting period before reconsidering candidates for the same role. This allows us to ensure a fair and thorough evaluation of all applicants.

About Us:

At Scale, our mission is to develop reliable AI systems for the world's most important decisions. Our products provide the high-quality data and full-stack technologies that power the world's leading models, and help enterprises and governments build, deploy, and oversee AI applications that deliver real impact. We work closely with industry leaders like Meta, Ernst & Young, Mayo Clinic, Time Inc., the Government of Qatar, and U.S. government agencies including the Army and Air Force. We are expanding our team to accelerate the development of AI applications.

We believe that everyone should be able to bring their whole selves to work, which is why we are proud to be an inclusive and equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability status, gender identity or Veteran status.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and mental disabilities. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation in the application or recruiting process due to a disability, please contact us at [e-mail]. Please see the United States Department of Labor's Know Your Rights poster for additional information.

We comply with the United States Department of Labor's Pay Transparency provision.

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