---
title: 'Hardware Test Engineer at Gritt Robotics Inc'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/hardware-test-engineer-gritt-robotics-inc-south-san-francisco-85js6pg6fypa'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-11'
---

# Hardware Test Engineer at Gritt Robotics Inc

- **Company:** Gritt Robotics Inc
- **Location:** South San Francisco, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-08-19
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/gritt/33d60056-6258-4749-b514-e4b99e15c74b

## Job description

[Gritt](https://www.gritt.ai/) is an intelligent system that combines robotics and AI to build the infrastructure that pulls society forward. Gritt deploys via simple attachments to common equipment found on construction sites and autonomously performs labor-intensive tasks, verification, and planning. Gritt systems are already building critical infrastructure in the harshest outdoor environments, starting with large-scale solar. The [founding team](https://www.gritt.ai/team) includes experts in robotics and AI from Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, and MIT. Gritt is backed by Obvious Ventures, Union Square Ventures, First Round Capital, Climactic, Congruent Ventures, and other leading firms.

Role: Hardware Test Engineer Location: SF Bay Area (in-person)

## About the role

We are looking for a Hardware Test Engineer to own how we prove our hardware is ready to survive years on a job site. Most of your testing happens in the yard behind our office, where our robots run in genuine sun, wind, dust, and temperature, alongside lab-based and life-cycle testing. You will define the test strategy, build the fixtures and automation that catch failures before they ship, and lead test campaigns across components, subassemblies, and fully integrated robots. Your work directly determines whether our hardware is trusted to hold up in the field.

## What you'll get to work on

- Own test strategy end to end - translate design requirements into test plans across components, subassemblies, and the fully integrated robot.
- Run functional, environmental, and life-cycle testing (dust, heat, vibration, repeated cycling) to generate real numbers, not guesses.
- Lead root-cause investigations on hardware failures - teardowns, data analysis, working directly with our hardware team to close the loop.
- Test across real-world conditions the robot must handle in production, from new hardware to changing site and weather conditions.
- Develop, document, and enforce safety procedures for testing heavy hardware around people and equipment.
- Produce clear, data-driven test reports and maintain traceability from requirements through to test execution and results.
- Investigate field incidents and feed structured findings back into the loop so the same issue never ships twice.

## What we look for

- B.S./M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering, EE, Mechatronics, Robotics, or other engineering disciplines (or equivalent experience).
- 3+ years testing hardware on real electromechanical or robotic systems.
- A rigorous, data-driven approach - you write clear test plans, define quantitative acceptance criteria, and make ship / no-ship calls backed by evidence.
- Sound safety judgment - you are comfortable working hands-on with heavy machinery outdoors and take procedure seriously.
- Comfortable taking ownership of tasks with light supervision, especially in ambiguous, ground-up environments.
- Must have excellent problem-solving skills.
- Legally authorized to work in the United States.

## About Gritt Robotics Inc

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Gritt Robotics Inc builds physical AI systems that mount to existing construction hardware to automate labor-intensive tasks on infrastructure-scale job sites, starting with solar farm construction.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed/Grant Stage)
- **Headquarters**: New York, New York, United States
- **Founded**: 2023
- **Founders**: Puneet Puri (CEO), Vishal Dugar (Co-Founder), Anirudh Vemula (Head of AI)

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Construction robotics / Renewable energy infrastructure
- Target customers: Large-scale solar farm developers and general contractors in the energy infrastructure space
- Mission or purpose: To turn chaotic jobsites into automated production systems, making construction simple, fast, and predictable

## Products & Services
- **Gritt AI**: A physical AI platform that mounts to existing construction machinery (excavators, loaders, etc.) to automate pick-and-place, assembly, transport, and oversight tasks. Handles hundreds of SKUs of construction components and materials. Designed to work with a customer's current workforce, claiming a 4X productivity boost.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available (private company)
- **Key Metric**: Total Funding of $500,000 (Grant from US Department of Energy, September 2024)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: US Department of Energy (grant provider, won Round 7 of the American-Made Solar Prize); Team has alumni from Aurora, Google, Tesla, and Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute
- **Growth Signals**: 200% headcount growth YoY (from ~3 to 13 employees); Won a multi-million dollar DOE competition (American-Made Solar Prize, chosen from 800+ startups); Named a Top U.S. Solar Innovator by the Department of Energy; Rapidly expanding from solar into other construction types

## Competitive Advantages
- **Deep technical moat**: Founded by AI and robotics experts from Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute, Stanford, and MIT, with prior experience building autonomous trucks, self-piloting aircraft, and inspection drones
- **Hardware-agnostic approach**: Mounts to proven, existing construction machinery rather than requiring new custom hardware, lowering adoption barriers
- **Data flywheel**: Spatial and operational data from deployments continuously improve the AI across environments and tasks
- **Early government validation**: DOE award provides both funding and credibility in the energy infrastructure space

## Strategic Focus
- Starting with solar farm construction (a massive, growing market driven by renewable energy mandates)
- Rapidly expanding into other types of infrastructure construction and additional steps in the construction process
- Growing the engineering team (multiple open roles in robotics, AI, perception, and mechanical engineering)
- Scaling from pilot deployments to broader commercial adoption

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven**: Directly addresses the global labor shortage in construction while accelerating renewable energy deployment
- **World-class team**: Work alongside experts from CMU Robotics Institute, Stanford, MIT, Aurora, Google X, and Tesla
- **Early-stage impact**: With only 13 employees, new hires will have outsized influence on product direction and company culture
- **Technical depth**: Heavily engineering-focused (53% of team is technical); strong emphasis on robotics, AI, perception, and mechanical engineering
- **Location**: New York City headquarters with a presence in India; likely hybrid/office given the hardware focus
- **Traction**: Backed by the US Department of Energy with a proven product that already delivers 4X productivity gains to customers

## Sources
1. [gritt.ai](https://gritt.ai/)
2. [gritt.ai/team](https://www.gritt.ai/team)
3. [linkedin.com/company/gritt-robotics](https://www.linkedin.com/company/gritt-robotics)
4. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/gritt](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/gritt)

## Other roles at Gritt Robotics Inc

- [Robotics Planning & Controls Engineer Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-planning-controls-engineer-intern-gritt-robotics-inc-south-san-tgc6efhwd7e0) — South San Francisco, CA
- [Senior Full Stack Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-full-stack-engineer-gritt-robotics-inc-south-san-francisco-ywtt1wjqpk59) — South San Francisco, CA
- [Accounting & Finance Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/accounting-finance-manager-gritt-robotics-inc-south-san-francisco-4yx727pfc46y) — South San Francisco, CA
- [Electronics Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/electronics-technician-gritt-robotics-inc-south-san-francisco-cv47cjtzy9j6) — South San Francisco, CA
- [Assembly Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/assembly-technician-gritt-robotics-inc-south-san-francisco-hrwc95qs8y1x) — South San Francisco, CA
- [ML & Cloud Infrastructure Engineer Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/ml-cloud-infrastructure-engineer-intern-gritt-robotics-inc-south-san-francisco-pfv409fncn52) — South San Francisco, CA
- [Robot Learning Engineer Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/robot-learning-engineer-intern-gritt-robotics-inc-south-san-francisco-18rw18abwffy) — South San Francisco, CA
- [Robotics Perception Engineer Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-perception-engineer-intern-gritt-robotics-inc-south-san-francisco-4wdjdmg5cgk0) — South San Francisco, CA
- [Robotics Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-software-engineer-gritt-robotics-inc-india-aadkka7008t0) — India
- [Field Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/field-software-engineer-gritt-robotics-inc-south-san-francisco-nm25t6haqgg7) — South San Francisco, CA