Robotics Lab Technician
Job Description
<div class="content-intro"><p>We’re ALTEN Technology USA, an engineering company helping clients bring groundbreaking ideas to life—from advancing space exploration and life-saving medical devices to building autonomous electric vehicles. With 3,000+ experts across North America, we partner with leading companies in aerospace, medical devices, robotics, automotive, commercial vehicles, EVs, rail, and more.</p> <p>As part of the global ALTEN Group—57,000+ engineers in 30 countries—we deliver across the entire product development cycle, from consulting to full project outsourcing.</p> <p>When you join ALTEN Technology USA, you’ll collaborate on some of the world’s toughest engineering challenges, supported by mentorship, career growth opportunities, and comprehensive benefits. We take pride in fostering a culture where employees feel valued, supported, and inspired to grow.</p></div><p><strong>Workplace: </strong>On-site, 5 days per week<br><strong>Location: </strong>San Francisco, CA (Dogpatch neighborhood) <br><strong>Salary: </strong>$90,000-$105,000</p> <p>We are seeking a Robotics Lab Technician to be the versatile builder at the center of our prototype lab. You'll move fluidly between precision assembly, wiring and electrical integration, system bring-up, and acceptance testing to take robots from a kit of parts to a validated, working system. You'll install software and read logs, bridging the gap between hardware and software during bring-up, and you’ll troubleshoot and solve integration issues during testing and validation. We're looking for someone careful with their hands, organized about documentation, and comfortable collaborating with mechanical, electrical, controls, and software engineers in a fast-iterating environment.</p> <p><strong>Key Job Responsibilities</strong><br> • Assemble electromechanical robotic systems and subsystems (actuators, gearboxes, sensors, vision systems, wiring harnesses, PCBAs) from mechanical drawings, schematics, and work instructions, following torque specs and assembly procedures.<br> • Kit parts against the BOM, stage hardware and fixtures, and set up assembly jigs and alignment rigs for each build.<br> • Build first articles from prototype kits, provide engineering with actionable build feedback (DFx), and execute rework and engineering change orders (ECOs) as designs iterate.<br> • Fabricate, route, and terminate wiring harnesses to documented pinouts with proper strain relief, bend radius management, and cable routing for moving assemblies.<br> • Perform pre-power-on electrical verification (continuity, pinout, insulation, polarity) and board-level integration under ESD discipline.<br> • Maintain build records, travelers, inspection checklists, and non-conformance reports (NCRs) ensuring full traceability. Redline and improve work instructions with each build.<br> • Bring up newly built assemblies, verify actuator and sensor function, and run acceptance testing and performance characterization using standard and custom test equipment.<br> • Use git and the Linux command line to install, configure, and run test and calibration software on robots; track software versions across the fleet.<br> • Read logs and source code well enough to localize problems and provide engineering with actionable triage reports.<br> • Collaborate with engineering to isolate integration issues, narrow root cause across mechanical, electrical, and software domains, and drive corrective actions into work instructions.<br> • Keep the lab safe, organized, and ESD-compliant; track tooling, consumables, and inventory.<br> • Drive continuous impro