Forward Deployed Robotics Engineer

What We're Building:We have been quietly building the foundational layers of our Physical AI Scientist platform:🤖 Physical AI that can operate scientific instruments with human-level dexterity.🧪 Scientific AI that can analyze results, reason about next steps, and close the loop autonomously.This is an incredibly ambitious mission, but we believe that a team of ambitious people with high ownership can accomplish incredible things.The Team:We’re a team of passionate, mission-driven engineers from companies like Tesla, Amazon, SpaceX, and Neuralink. We’re collaborative and love moving fast, both with our product and on team trips skiing or go-karting!As a team, we love nerding out about engineering and robotics — plus other topics like race cars or cooking. We like learning new things and then sharing our new knowledge with each other.Our team is opinionated and straightforward. We don’t mind intense discussions about design tradeoffs. If we have arguments or miscommunication, we resolve conflicts quickly and empathetically.In this role, you will:Operate like the technical co-founder of a small startup within Medra, owning end-to-end delivery of high-impact customer projectsWork with partner scientists at customer labs to quickly bring them solutions that meet their needs and get projects over the finish lineSet technical strategy and define the roadmap to meet customers’ most critical scientific challenges.Travel to the customer sites 30% of the time for hands on support and troubleshootingClearly communicate project progress with the team and quickly request assistance when necessaryDevelop robotic solutions to manipulate and control biology tools designed for humansIntegrate, test, and debug software solutions in simulation and on physical robotsBesides your focus on robustness and performance, you’ll be expected to identify opportunities for simplification, and to design for scalabilityTake ownership of complex robotics projects from conception to delivery, demonstrating strategic judgment, technical creativity, and hands-on executionThis position is in-person, you must be able to come on-site to our San Francisco office. We do not offer hybrid roles. We do offer relocation benefits for applicants who need to relocate.Let's talk if you have:1-3 years of experience designing and work with robotics systemsProven ability to think strategically, solve complex problems creatively, and communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders, including scientists and senior executivesExperience writing code for robotics systemsStrong mechanical intuition and hardware debugging and assembly skillsExperience with mechanical engineering tools and best practices in productionA willingness to split your time between hardware and software workA hacker’s mindset - getting quickly to a good-enough solutionExperience with Python and a desire to improve your software skillsExperience or familiarity with robot arm manipulatorsA willingness to wear many hats / a flexible attitude towards responsibilities and scopeEntrepreneurial drive and a desire to have broad ownership, operating with significant autonomy akin to a startup CTOBS/MS in Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics, Electrical Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering or a related discipline, or equivalent experienceBonus points if you have:Experience with software engineering tools and best practices in productionExperience in startup environments, technical leadership roles, or demonstrated interest in entrepreneurship and strategic technical roles.Experience with robotics in a laboratory or manufacturing environmentExperience with robotic simulation systems such as MuJoCoExperience designing, building, and testing hardwareUnderstanding of software communication protocols (ZMQ, Redis, gRPC, etc…)Contribution to software for a hardware product that shippedRelevant research/work experience in one or more of the following areas: machine learning, computer vision, motion planning and trajectory optimization, kinematics and dynamics, control, and state estimation/SLAMWhat we offer401kMedical insuranceDental InsuranceRelocation benefitsUnlimited PTOWeekday dinnersMedra is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, or other characteristics protected by state, federal or local law or our other policies. We value diversity at Medra and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech. If you like the sound of this position but are not sure if you are the perfect fit, please apply!