---
title: 'Mechanical Engineering Intern/Co-op (Spring or Summer 2027) at Rugged Robotics'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-engineering-intern-co-op-spring-or-summer-2027-rugged-robotics-d3n5e10bg0mq'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-16'
---

# Mechanical Engineering Intern/Co-op (Spring or Summer 2027) at Rugged Robotics

- **Company:** Rugged Robotics
- **Location:** Houston, TX
- **Posted:** 2026-10-08
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-16
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/ruggedrobotics/jobs/4730900005

## Job description

Rugged Robotics is on a mission to empower the construction industry to build better by innovating new approaches to tough problems using automation. We are a fast-paced start-up environment where every employee takes on multiple roles and wears many hats.  To help our customers to build better, we need to build the best team.

The hardware team at Rugged Robotics is responsible for prototyping, designing, and manufacturing robotic solutions that automate construction services with speed, precision and reliability.  As a Mechanical Engineering Intern working on robots at a start-up, you'll be designing sleek assemblies backed by engineering analysis, selecting & integrating electro-mechanical components, and supporting the making & commissioning of our fleet of robots.

Internship / Coop Term: Spring 2027 or Summer 2027

Location: Onsite in Houston, TX

## The Role

- Develop, build, evaluate, and test product solutions to meet the challenging needs of our construction customers.
- Design rotary & linear motion actuators, enclosures and cable harnesses for custom electrical components that minimizes robot size, protects against shock & vibe, shields EMI, and guards against environmental factors
- Use SOLIDWORKS to craft parts, construct assemblies, and create well-dimensioned drawings using GD&T that utilize a variety of manufacturing techniques including injection molding, CNC machining, metal casting, and sheet metal.
- Make informed engineering decisions by creating simulations, running tests,  and conducting analyses with a range of techniques.
- Engage and collaborate with vendors around the world to refine designs and deliver hardware to meet project timelines.

You Are

- Experienced working with electro-mechanical or mechanical systems from a prior internship, extra-curricular project, or lab research.
- Passionate about creating product that works reliably and exceeds customer's expectations.
- Enjoy the gritty details of part design including material selection, crafting elegant features, and optimizing designs for manufacturing & assembly.
- Hands-on with prototyping, building, & debugging and capable of working in a prototype machine shop to bring your own ideas to life
- Enthusiastic about learning new techniques & technologies and are comfortable working in a fast-paced environment.

Rugged Robotics is headquartered in Houston, TX in the vibrant neighborhood of East Downtown. This role requires close collaboration with teammates, and we value the interactions that come from working together around the robots in the lab.

Interested in Rugged Robotics but don't tick all the boxes? Don't see a role that meets your skills? Reach out, let us know how you think you can contribute to the team, and define your own position.

Rugged Robotics is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we value diversity at our company. All qualified candidates will receive consideration regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, identity, age, national origin, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or other protected legal status.

## About Rugged Robotics

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Rugged Robotics provides a robot-powered layout service for construction projects, printing detailed interior layouts directly onto concrete floors with pinpoint precision.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series A)
- **Headquarters**: Houston, Texas, United States
- **Founded**: 2018
- **Founders**: Logan Farrell (Co-Founder & CTO); additional co-founders not publicly named

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Construction technology (construction robotics)
- Target customers: B2B – general contractors, concrete contractors, and construction firms that need fast, accurate floor layouts for framing, MEP, and finishes.
- Mission or purpose statement: “Empower the construction industry to build better by innovating new approaches to tough problems using automation.” (from Greenhouse careers page)

## Products & Services
- **Robot-Powered Layout Service**: A fully self-contained robotic system that parses digital design data (CAD models) and prints life-size layouts onto concrete slabs. Delivered as a service – the company deploys its robots and operators to job sites, replacing manual chalk lines and total stations. Faster, more accurate, and information-rich (e.g., includes annotations for penetrations, column lines, etc.).

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue $2.3M (as per LinkedIn); Total Funding $11.9M
- **Funding History**:
  - Pre-Seed (2018, amount undisclosed, 1 investor)
  - Seed ($2.5M, 2019‑09‑10, 2 investors)
  - Series A ($9.4M, 2022‑03‑23, led by Brick & Mortar Ventures and Bold Capital Partners, 9 investors)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Brick & Mortar Ventures, Bold Capital Partners
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Headcount grew 43.8% YoY (to 39 employees)
  - LinkedIn followers grew 31.5% in the past year
  - Open roles in engineering, operations, and business development indicate scaling beyond initial deployment

## Competitive Advantages
- **First mover in robotic layout**: World’s first fully self-contained robotic system for printing construction layouts on concrete; replaces error-prone manual methods.
- **Speed and precision**: Pinpoint accuracy (no total‑station sight constraints) and faster results than chalk lines – reduces rework and installation time.
- **Digital‑to‑physical workflow**: Parses CAD models directly, eliminating hand‑measured marking and data transcription errors.
- **Full‑service model**: Company operates the robots, so customers don’t need to invest in or maintain hardware, lowering adoption barriers.

## Strategic Focus
- Scaling the layout service to more projects and regions, likely expanding the fleet and hiring field operations roles.
- Deepening integration with construction workflows (BIM, VDC) to provide richer data on layouts.
- Building a robust engineering team to further automate and improve the platform (see open roles for robotics software, electrical/computer engineering, and manufacturing engineering).

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Fast‑paced startup where employees “take on many roles and wear many hats” (Greenhouse careers page). Mission‑driven to solve real construction pain points.
- **Team**: 39 employees, 52% in technical roles, with alumni from NASA, Lockheed Martin, Turner Construction, Rice University – a mix of robotics, aerospace, and construction expertise.
- **Work style**: Office/hybrid likely in Houston (multiple Houston locations). Field roles (Robotic Operations Technician, Field Surveyor) involve on‑site work.
- **Perks & environment**: Chance to design, build, and deploy hardware and software that goes directly to live construction sites. Tech stack includes Python, TypeScript, Django, React, Kubernetes, MySQL, and more – modern engineering tools.
- **Growth**: 43% headcount growth in the past year; opportunity to shape the company as it scales.

## Sources
1. [rugged-robotics.com – Home](https://rugged-robotics.com/)
2. [rugged-robotics.com – About](https://rugged-robotics.com/about/)
3. [rugged-robotics.com – Careers](https://rugged-robotics.com/about/careers/)
4. [LinkedIn – Rugged Robotics](https://www.linkedin.com/company/rugged-robotics)
5. [Greenhouse – Jobs at Rugged Robotics](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/ruggedrobotics)

## Other roles at Rugged Robotics

- [Robotic Software Intern/Co-op (Spring or Summer 2027)](https://feeny.ai/job/robotic-software-intern-co-op-spring-or-summer-2027-rugged-robotics-houston-an8ng850yr8z) — Houston, TX
- [Electrical Engineering Intern/Co-op (Spring or Summer '27)](https://feeny.ai/job/electrical-engineering-intern-co-op-spring-or-summer-27-rugged-robotics-houston-6t6qb2fy85p1) — Houston, TX
- [Robotic Operations Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/robotic-operations-technician-rugged-robotics-houston-7jqk53bkspvm) — Houston, TX