Robotics Application Engineer

Department: Applications Engineering- Applied AI

Location: Mountain View

Compensation: $150K – $215K • Offers Equity

Employment Type: FullTime

At Rhoda AI, we’re building the next generation of generalist intelligent robots. We own the full robotics stack from high-performance hardware and robot systems to the infrastructure and state-of-the-art foundation world models that control our robots. Our robots are designed to be generalists capable of operating in complex, real-world environments and handling long-tail edge cases, made possible by our cutting edge research and end-to-end system design. We've raised over $450M and are investing aggressively in model research, infrastructure, hardware development, and manufacturing scale-up to make generalist robotics a reality.

We're looking for a mid-to-senior Robotics Application Engineer to translate real-world customer use cases into robust intelligent robot deployments. You will design, prototype, and refine grippers, end-of-arm tooling, work stations, and integration hardware — and develop efficient strategies for robot learning and data collection — working at the intersection of robotics, AI, hardware, and deployment operations.

What You'll Do

• Execute customer projects end-to-end — from scoping and solution design through onsite delivery, serving as the primary technical point of contact

• Design mechanical solutions including grippers, EOAT, fixtures, and work-cells; rapidly prototype and validate concepts before field deployment

• Drive AI model post-training and deployment on robot hardware, developing training strategies and partnering with robot pilots and data ops to build robust policies

• Become a product expert — develop deep knowledge of the full stack and internal workflows to accelerate customer onboarding and inform the roadmap

• Continuously improve by identifying failure patterns, building reusable design standards, and contributing to shared documentation

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics, or a related field

• 3–6 years of experience in mechanical design for robotics, automation, manufacturing, or industrial systems

• Strong CAD proficiency (SolidWorks, OnShape, or equivalent)

• Experience designing grippers, tooling, fixtures, or electromechanical assemblies

• Hands-on prototyping experience (3D printing, machining, fabrication & assembly)

• Experience debugging robotic systems

• Familiarity with AI/ML concepts as applied to robotics (e.g., machine vision, imitation learning, reinforcement learning, or policy training)

• Ability to collaborate cross-functionally in a fast-paced environment

Nice to Have (But Not Required)

• Experience working with robotic arms or humanoid systems

• Hands-on experience with robot policy training, fine-tuning, or deployment

• Experience integrating conveyors, AMRs, actuators, sensors, and other electromechanical devices

• Experience supporting real-world deployments or field installations — scoping timelines, managing deliverables, and coordinating across teams

• Experience coordinating external contractors or vendors for fabrication or integration

Why This Role

• Own the full customer journey — from first scoping call to live robot deployment — with direct visibility into how your solutions perform in the real world

• Work at the intersection of hardware design and AI, shaping how our robots learn and operate in production customer environments

• High ownership in a small team where your design decisions and deployment strategies directly influence the roadmap and scale of what we build next