Mechatronics Engineer, Robotics Systems

As a Mechatronics Engineer, Robotics Systems, you work at the boundary where mechanical assemblies, electronics, actuators, and embedded software meet inside a real robot. You design, integrate, and validate the electromechanical subsystems that make our mobile robotics platforms – UAVs, UGVs, USVs – move, sense, and survive in operational environments. You are equally comfortable reading a schematic, modifying a CAD assembly, writing firmware for a motor controller, and standing in a lab with a scope and a soldering iron debugging why a sensor bus just died. If something on the robot involves both atoms and electrons, it is probably yours.

Responsibilities

• Design and integrate electromechanical subsystems – actuator assemblies, sensor mounts, power distribution, cabling and harnessing, thermal management – for mobile robotics platforms.
• Select, characterize, and validate components: motors, servos, ESCs, encoders, IMUs, power supplies, connectors, and related hardware.
• Develop and maintain CAD models and drawings for mechanical and electromechanical assemblies (SolidWorks, Fusion 360, or equivalent).
• Design or modify PCBs and electrical schematics for interface boards, sensor breakouts, power regulation, and signal conditioning (KiCad, Altium, or equivalent).
• Write embedded firmware and driver‑level software in C/C++ for microcontrollers (STM32, ESP32, or similar) to interface with actuators, sensors, and communication buses (CAN, SPI, I2C, UART).
• Build, assemble, and rework prototype hardware – you are hands‑on with your own designs from first article through field testing.
• Develop and execute test procedures for electromechanical subsystems: bench testing, environmental stress, vibration, EMI/EMC characterization.
• Debug cross‑domain integration issues where mechanical, electrical, and software failures compound – isolate root causes and drive them to resolution.
• Collaborate with embedded software engineers to define hardware‑software interfaces, pin mappings, communication protocols, and timing constraints.
• Maintain engineering documentation: BOMs, assembly procedures, test reports, and design rationale.

Qualifications

• Proficiency in mechanical design and CAD for electromechanical assemblies – you can design a bracket, a housing, or a harnessing route and produce drawings that can be manufactured.
• Proficiency in electrical/electronic design – you can read and create schematics, select components, and design or modify PCBs for low‑voltage embedded systems.
• Proficiency in embedded C/C++ programming for microcontrollers – you have written firmware that talks to real hardware over real buses.
• Hands‑on fabrication and prototyping skills: soldering (including SMD rework), 3D printing, basic machining, crimping, cable assembly.
• Strong diagnostic and debugging instincts across mechanical, electrical, and software domains – you reach for the right tool (caliper, multimeter, oscilloscope, logic analyzer, GDB) depending on where the problem lives.
• Working knowledge of common robotics sensors and actuators: BLDC motors, servos, LiDAR, cameras, IMUs, GPS/GNSS receivers.
• Familiarity with serial communication protocols: CAN, SPI, I2C, UART.

Nice to Have

• Prior experience building or integrating UAV, UGV, or USV platforms.
• Experience with bridging microcontroller firmware to Linux‑based robotics stacks.
• Experience with FEA, CFD, or other simulation tools for mechanical or thermal validation.
• Familiarity with DFM/DFA principles and working with contract manufacturers to move from prototype to production.
• Experience with power system design for battery‑powered mobile platforms: battery management, power budgeting, voltage regulation.
• Familiarity with environmental and military standards (MIL‑STD‑810, IP ratings, MIL‑STD‑461).
• Experience with version control for hardware design files and firmware (Git, PLM systems).

#J-18808-Ljbffr…