---
title: 'Robotics Hardware Engineer at Ultra'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-hardware-engineer-ultra-brooklyn-t660t9nybtmf'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-14'
---

# Robotics Hardware Engineer at Ultra

- **Company:** Ultra
- **Location:** Brooklyn, NY
- **Compensation:** $110k–$150k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-07-29
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-14
- **Apply:** https://jobs.gem.com/ultra/am9icG9zdDpZH7iK9JODur8duQ4Ko6e2

## Job description

## Overview

We’re seeking a Robotics Hardware Engineer to join our NYC-based team and take ownership of the wide range of mechanical and electrical development projects required to build, manufacture, and continuously improve reliable industrial robots.

This is a broad, highly hands-on engineering role. One week, you might redesign a compute enclosure or communications junction box; the next, you might build an electrical test device for our manufacturing team, improve a cable assembly, troubleshoot a hardware failure, or prototype a new robot subsystem. You’ll be responsible for understanding what is needed, developing a practical solution, building and testing it, and carrying it through to a documented and repeatable result.

We are an early-stage company moving quickly in a rapidly growing space. We welcome people from any background as long as you’re excited to join our mission, make an immediate impact, and help create a future where automation is accessible to all.

## Who You Are

- You’re a hands-on engineer who enjoys making physical systems work. You’re equally comfortable designing a part in CAD, assembling a wiring harness, using lab equipment to diagnose an electrical issue, and taking a prototype apart to understand why it failed.
- You have a strong foundation in either mechanical or electrical engineering and enough curiosity about the other discipline to work effectively across both. You don’t throw problems over the wall—you follow them through the complete system until you understand what is happening.
- You’re comfortable starting with an imperfect problem statement. You ask the right questions, identify the real constraints, and find the simplest robust solution rather than waiting for someone else to write a complete specification.
- You move quickly without losing attention to detail. You know when a fast prototype is appropriate and when a design needs proper drawings, documentation, validation, and manufacturing discipline.
- You thrive in a high-trust, high-autonomy environment. You manage your own priorities, communicate proactively, and take responsibility for getting projects across the finish line.

## What You’ll Do

- Own small and medium-sized hardware projects from initial problem definition through design, prototyping, testing, documentation, and release.
- Design and improve mechanical components and assemblies for our robots and supporting hardware, including enclosures, brackets, mounts, junction boxes, cable-management components, and manufacturing tools.
- Create and maintain CAD models, engineering drawings, BOMs, assembly instructions, and other documentation needed to turn prototypes into repeatable builds.
- Design, assemble, and debug electrical systems such as wiring harnesses, power and communications assemblies, breakout boxes, interface boards, and diagnostic tools.
- Develop fixtures and test equipment for manufacturing, incoming inspection, quality control, hardware validation, and troubleshooting.
- Work closely with our manufacturing and operations teams to identify recurring problems and develop tools, design changes, and processes that make our robots easier to build and test.
- Support robot builds and hardware bring-up in our Brooklyn lab, particularly when new designs or unexpected issues require engineering judgment.
- Help establish lightweight but effective hardware-development practices, including design reviews, revision control, test procedures, build documentation, and release processes.

## What You Bring

- A degree in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, mechatronics, robotics, or a related discipline—or equivalent experience demonstrated through things you have designed and built.
- Experience designing, building, and debugging electromechanical systems through internships, project teams, research, professional work, or substantial personal projects.
- Proficiency with a mechanical CAD package such as SolidWorks, Onshape, Fusion 360, or a similar tool.
- Experience creating physical prototypes using techniques such as 3D printing, machining, sheet-metal fabrication, laser cutting, or basic shop tools.
- Comfort working with electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, connectors, sensors, power distribution, and low-voltage electrical systems.
- Hands-on experience using common lab and shop equipment, such as multimeters, oscilloscopes, bench power supplies, soldering tools, crimpers, and basic fabrication equipment.
- A systematic approach to testing and troubleshooting, with the ability to move from symptoms to root cause rather than relying on trial and error alone.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, particularly when documenting designs, explaining tradeoffs, or coordinating work across teams.

Bonus Skills

- Experience with robots, industrial automation, autonomous vehicles, manufacturing equipment, or other complex electromechanical products.
- Experience designing wiring harnesses, cable assemblies, electrical enclosures, or industrial control panels.
- Familiarity with industrial communications and interfaces, particularly Ethernet, CAN, and USB.
- Experience designing simple PCBs, interface boards, or microcontroller-based test devices.
- Familiarity with Python, embedded programming, Linux, or scripting for test automation and hardware diagnostics.
- Experience with design for manufacturing and assembly, tolerance analysis, sheet-metal design, environmental sealing, thermal management, or ruggedized hardware.
- Experience working with machine shops, contract manufacturers, fabrication vendors, or component suppliers.
- A portfolio, project page, or collection of photographs showing hardware you have personally designed, built, tested, or repaired.

## About Ultra

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Ultra builds practical, general-purpose industrial AI robots that automate repetitive warehouse tasks like packing, sorting, and kitting, with zero integration and rapid deployment.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed stage; $625K total funding)
- **Headquarters**: New York, NY, United States
- **Founded**: 2024
- **Founders**: Jon Miller Schwartz (CEO), Max Friefeld (COO), Chetan Parthiban (Co-Founder & Chief Scientist), Oliver Ortlieb (Co-Founder & CTO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Robotics Engineering / Industrial Automation
- **Target customers**: B2B – warehouses, fulfillment centers, and logistics operators (enterprise and SMB)
- **Mission or purpose**: To deploy practical, general-purpose robots that generate immediate ROI by handling repetitive, high‑volume work, and to scale intelligence through real‑world data.

## Products & Services
- **[Operator](https://www.ultra.tech/)**: A stationary industrial AI robot designed for e‑commerce order packaging, sorting, and kitting. It operates up to 24 hours a day, requires no fixed infrastructure, installs in hours, and covers a 5×5 ft footprint with a 10 ft vertical reach. The robot learns new tasks from example data and improves fleet‑wide as more units are deployed.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of $625K (Seed: $125K in Aug 2024; Pre‑Seed: $500K in Sep 2024 led by Y Combinator)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Y Combinator (lead investor), three additional investors in Pre‑Seed round
- **Growth Signals**: 14 total employees (as of early 2025), 19 employees (latest) – **333% YoY headcount growth**; robots already deployed in real warehouses generating revenue and data; launched the Operator robot in April 2026 with 184 LinkedIn reactions; actively hiring across engineering, research, deployment, and people operations.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Zero‑integration deployment**: Robots can be rolled in, plugged in, and turned on within hours – no expensive infrastructure or lengthy integration.
- **Stationary, safe design**: No tipping risk, no battery swaps, no charging breaks – designed for continuous operation in real warehouse conditions.
- **AI trained with examples**: Uses neural nets trained on teleoperation data (≈2 hours) to learn new tasks, enabling rapid adaptation to variable items and changing workflows.
- **Fleet learning**: Every deployed robot feeds data back to improve the entire fleet – a data‑scale moat that compounds with more deployments.

## Strategic Focus
- Rapidly scale deployments across the US in 2025‑2026, building on proven field traction.
- Continue improving robot foundation models for faster, more robust task learning and execution.
- Expand from e‑commerce packaging into adjacent warehouse workflows (e.g., kitting, returns).
- Grow the team (targeting engineering, research, deployment, and people functions) to support production scaling.

## Why Work Here
- **Early‑stage impact**: Join a YC‑backed startup founded by three‑time entrepreneurs (previously founded Layer By Layer, Voodoo Manufacturing) with a decade of collaboration.
- **Fast‑paced, hands‑on culture**: Engineers and researchers directly own firmware, hardware, ML models, and deployment – from design to field support.
- **Real‑world robotics**: Work on robots that are already generating revenue in customer warehouses, not just lab prototypes.
- **Growth trajectory**: 333% headcount growth in the past year, with ambitious plans to scale from 19 to hundreds of employees.
- **Location & flexibility**: Based in New York City; roles span HQ (assembly, testing, R&D) and field deployment across the US.
- **Open roles** (as of early 2026): Robotics Firmware Engineer, Robotics Hardware Engineer, Data Operations Lead, Research Scientist, Product Engineer, Deployment Engineer, Head of People – offering broad ownership and career growth.

## Sources
1. [ultra.tech](https://www.ultra.tech/)
2. [Y Combinator – Ultra](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/ultra)
3. [Built In – Ultra Company Profile](https://builtin.com/company/ultra-ultra-tech)
4. [Built In – Ultra Jobs](https://builtin.com/company/ultra-ultra-tech/jobs)
5. [LinkedIn – Ultra](https://www.linkedin.com/company/ultraroboticsco)

## Other roles at Ultra

- [Senior Software Infrastructure Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-infrastructure-engineer-ultra-brooklyn-cag4a9js5h01) — Brooklyn, NY
- [Product Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/product-engineer-ultra-brooklyn-292bdydcv44s) — Brooklyn, NY
- [Research Scientist / Research Engineer (Intern)](https://feeny.ai/job/research-scientist-research-engineer-intern-ultra-brooklyn-0t1bvtfpqw94) — Brooklyn, NY
- [Head of Marketing](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-marketing-ultra-brooklyn-rarz21rtmbav) — Brooklyn, NY
- [Head of Customer Operations](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-customer-operations-ultra-brooklyn-yjsm4ykqs5f5) — Brooklyn, NY
- [Data Operations Associate](https://feeny.ai/job/data-operations-associate-ultra-brooklyn-fwe9qb9nk4xe) — Brooklyn, NY
- [Head of People](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-people-ultra-brooklyn-g8frrbpfpq6d) — Brooklyn, NY
- [Founding Product Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/founding-product-manager-ultra-brooklyn-4tb57rm0cymn) — Brooklyn, NY
- [Head of Finance](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-finance-ultra-brooklyn-rtaykzbf200b) — Brooklyn, NY
- [Robotics Firmware Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-firmware-engineer-ultra-brooklyn-vsb5dh914ger) — Brooklyn, NY