Forward Deployed Robotics Engineer

What We're Building:At Medra, we’re building an autonomous robotic platform that enables scientists to automate complex laboratory protocols and achieve continuous science with unmatched precision and scalability. By integrating advancements in AI, robotics, computer vision, and natural language processing, we are transforming how science is done to tackle some of humanity’s greatest challenges, from curing disease to advancing climate technology and beyond.

Our goal is to enable the next biggest leap in scientific discovery, unlocking a world where experimental data generation is no longer limited by the pace of human scientists or the rigidity of traditional lab automation. Our Continuous Science Platform executes lab protocols exactly as scientists do, constantly learning/improving to help optimize protocols.

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 projects

• Work with partner scientists at customer labs to quickly bring them solutions that meet their needs and get projects over the finish line

• Set 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 troubleshooting

• Clearly communicate project progress with the team and quickly request assistance when necessary

• Develop robotic solutions to manipulate and control biology tools designed for humans

• Integrate, test, and debug software solutions in simulation and on physical robots

• Besides your focus on robustness and performance, you’ll be expected to identify opportunities for simplification, and to design for scalability

• Take ownership of complex robotics projects from conception to delivery, demonstrating strategic judgment, technical creativity, and hands-on execution

• This 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 systems

• Proven ability to think strategically, solve complex problems creatively, and communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders, including scientists and senior executives

• Experience writing code for robotics systems

• Strong mechanical intuition and hardware debugging and assembly skills

• Experience with mechanical engineering tools and best practices in production

• A willingness to split your time between hardware and software work

• A hacker’s mindset - getting quickly to a good-enough solution

• Experience with Python and a desire to improve your software skills

• Experience or familiarity with robot arm manipulators

• A willingness to wear many hats / a flexible attitude towards responsibilities and scope

• Entrepreneurial drive and a desire to have broad ownership, operating with significant autonomy akin to a startup CTO

• BS/MS in Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics, Electrical Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering or a related discipline, or equivalent experience

Bonus points if you have:• Experience with software engineering tools and best practices in production

• Experience in startup environments, technical leadership roles, or demonstrated interest in entrepreneurship and strategic technical roles.

• Experience with robotics in a laboratory or manufacturing environment

• Experience with robotic simulation systems such as MuJoCo

• Experience designing, building, and testing hardware

• Understanding of software communication protocols (ZMQ, Redis, gRPC, etc…)

• Contribution to software for a hardware product that shipped

• Relevant 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/SLAM

What we offer:• 401k

• Medical insurance

• Dental Insurance

• Relocation benefits

• Unlimited PTO

• Weekday dinners

Medra 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!