---
title: 'Robotics Technician at Lightspeed'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-technician-lightspeed-northbrook-5wf4e39h7kre'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-15'
---

# Robotics Technician at Lightspeed

- **Company:** Lightspeed
- **Location:** Northbrook, IL
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-09-30
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-15
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/lightspeed/1e377fcb-7ef8-4182-9727-a85e51ff719e

## Job description

## About LightSpeed

LightSpeed Build Technologies is revolutionizing the construction industry through AI-powered robotics. Our flagship systems—BRUTE for automated wall panel manufacturing and DEX for on-site collaborative construction—are addressing the global housing crisis by delivering unprecedented speed, precision, and affordability in homebuilding.

Position Overview We're an early-stage venture, building an automated physical system driven by robotic arms, live sensing, and a real-time software layer. We're past the idea stage and moving fast toward a working demo. We need a technician who can build, modify, and fix the physical machine. Our cells are custom and changing weekly, so the work is rarely "replace the part per the manual." It's taking a commercial nailer and making it something a robot can drive, mounting and wiring sensors onto equipment never designed for them, and figuring out why an arm is binding at the same point every cycle. Precision matters: a fixture that's a millimeter off or a mount that drifts under load shows up as a failed panel downstream. You'll work directly with the engineers designing the system, and you'll usually be the first person to find out something doesn't work.

## What you'll work on

- Modify and retrofit tools and equipment so they can be driven by our control system - fabricating brackets and mounts, cutting, drilling, tapping, adapting pneumatics, adding actuation to tools that shipped as handheld
- Install and wire sensors, switches, actuators, and I/O; route and terminate cabling; build and label harnesses that survive a production cell
- Assemble, align, and calibrate robot cells, tooling, and fixtures as new builds come up; measure and verify that what you built matches what was drawn, and make mechanical adjustments as designs change
- Troubleshoot mechanical, pneumatic, and electrical faults on arms, tooling, and conveyance - isolate the root cause, fix what you can, and hand engineering a clear, specific description of what you found
- Work safely around energized and moving equipment: apply lockout/tagout before service, use appropriate PPE, and speak up when a guard, e-stop, or procedure isn't right
- Keep the machine's real state documented - redline schematics and drawings as things change, label what you build, record measurements, and log fixes so the next person isn't starting from zero
- Help stand up our preventive maintenance routine and spare parts list from scratch, and support demos and test runs end to end
- Other duties as assigned - this is an early-stage team and the work shifts

Required Qualifications

- Hands-on trade experience - mechanic, millwright, maintenance tech, fabricator, machinist, automotive/equipment tech, or similar, in a real physical setting
- Fabrication and mechanical work - confident with hand and power tools, drilling and tapping, basic metalwork, mounting and shimming things so they stay put
- Metrology - fluent with calipers, micrometers, dial indicators, squares, feeler gauges, and levels. You can measure to a stated tolerance, check flatness, squareness, and parallelism, verify fixture and tool alignment, and recognize when a stack-up of small errors is what's actually causing the problem. You trust the measurement over the eyeball
- Reading mechanical drawings and following a stated tolerance; comfortable with GD&T basics or willing to learn them fast
- Working knowledge of safe practices around industrial equipment - lockout/tagout, PPE, and the awareness that a robot cell can crush, pinch, or move unexpectedly
- Diagnostic instinct - able to work a problem from symptom to cause on a machine you didn't build, without a troubleshooting tree
- Comfortable with ambiguity and change: most of what we build has no manual and will be different next month
- Clear communication, including writing down what you did
- High school diploma or equivalent. Trade school, apprenticeship, or an associate's in a technical field is a plus, but we care far more about what you've built and fixed than about credentials

## Preferred Qualifications

- Electrical work - reading electrical schematics, terminating connectors, wiring control panels and remote I/O, using a multimeter to check continuity, voltage, and signal
- Pneumatics, hydraulics, VFDs, servos, or stepper systems
- Advanced metrology - laser trackers, CMM, optical alignment, or robot cell calibration work
- Robot cell experience - teach pendants, jogging arms, touching up taught points, tool changes, fixture setup
- Microcontroller tinkering - Arduino, Raspberry Pi, or any experience hacking a chip into something that didn't have one
- Welding, machining, or CNC
- Woodworking, framing, cabinet shop, or lumber handling background
- Forklift or scissor/aerial lift certification

Working Conditions

- On-site at our Northbrook, IL facility, 5 days/week
- Shop environment: noise, sawdust, moving machinery, and varying temperatures. PPE required
- Regularly lift and carry up to 50 lbs; stand, kneel, climb ladders, and move for a full shift
- Occasional evenings or weekends ahead of demos and milestones - we'll tell you in advance, and it isn't every week

## Why Join LightSpeed

- Build real machines: work hands-on with the robot cells, tooling, and fixtures in our manufacturing facility
- Direct impact: the systems you build and keep running produce homes and help address the housing crisis
- Grow with the system: learn robotics, controls, and automation alongside the engineers designing it
- Competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits

Employment Relationship This position is at-will, meaning either you or the Company may terminate employment at any time, with or without cause or notice.

## Equal Opportunity

LightSpeed Build Technologies is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. We welcome candidates from all backgrounds and experiences.

## About Lightspeed

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Lightspeed uses robotics and AI to manufacture precision-engineered panels and components for residential construction, aiming to build homes faster, smarter, and more affordably.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Startup)
- **Headquarters**: Northbrook, Illinois, United States
- **Founded**: Not publicly available (likely 2023-2024 based on current operations)
- **Founders**: Biju Kulathakal (serial entrepreneur behind Redbox and Halo Investing)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Construction Technology (Contech), Robotics, AI-Powered Manufacturing
- **Target customers**: Homebuilders, real estate developers, construction firms (B2B)
- **Mission or purpose statement**: "Housing for All" — building homes smarter, faster, and more affordable with robotics and AI.

## Products & Services
- **BRUTE Robotic System**: A robotic system designed for heavy-duty construction tasks, targeting a 50% reduction in build time versus traditional methods.
- **DEX Robotic System**: A precision robotic system for detailed assembly and finishing work.
- **AI-Powered Design & Engineering**: Proprietary AI algorithms that analyze architectural drawings to automatically generate optimized construction sequences, material lists, and robotic instructions.
- **Precision-Engineered Panels**: Prefabricated wall and floor panels manufactured to tight tolerances, enabling faster on-site assembly and reduced errors.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Not publicly available (likely pre-revenue or early-stage; funding status unknown)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Founder Biju Kulathakal previously founded Redbox and Halo Investing, suggesting strong investor connections, but no specific investors are named for Lightspeed.
- **Growth Signals**: The company is actively hiring (careers page on Ashby), signaling growth. They claim to target 70% reduction in construction errors, 20-30% labor cost savings, and 25% reduction in material waste.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Robotic Precision**: Claims tolerances "impossible with manual framing" — a significant differentiator in an industry where quality varies widely.
- **Founder Credibility**: Biju Kulathakal has a proven track record building Redbox (a massive kiosk network) and Halo Investing (a fintech platform), suggesting ability to scale.
- **Integrated AI-to-Robotics Pipeline**: Full vertical integration from architectural drawing analysis to robotic manufacturing, reducing human error and rework.
- **Sustainability Angle**: Precision manufacturing reduces construction waste by ~25%, aligning with ESG trends in real estate.

## Strategic Focus
- **Offsite Construction**: The company is riding the McKinsey-predicted trend that 20% of homes will be built offsite in the US by 2030.
- **Speed & Labor Reduction**: Core value prop is cutting build time in half and reducing labor dependency — critical as construction labor shortages worsen.
- **Scaling Manufacturing**: Likely focused on expanding production capacity at their Northbrook facility and proving the technology with initial clients.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-Driven**: "Housing for All" offers a tangible social impact — helping solve the housing affordability crisis through technology.
- **Founder Led**: Working directly with a serial entrepreneur who has scaled companies to national prominence.
- **Cutting-Edge Tech**: Hands-on work with robotics, computer vision, AI, and advanced manufacturing — appealing for engineers and operators.
- **Early-Stage Impact**: As a likely early-stage company, employees can wear multiple hats and shape the product and culture from the ground up.
- **Location**: Northbrook, IL (northern suburb of Chicago) offers a suburban office environment with access to Chicago's talent pool.
- **Work Policy**: Not explicitly stated, but the nature of robotics manufacturing suggests a strong on-site presence for hardware roles.

**Note**: There is a separate, publicly traded company called Lightspeed Commerce (NYSE: LSPD, TSX: LSPD) that provides POS and e-commerce software. This profile is for Lightspeed (lightspeed.build), the robotics construction startup. Do not confuse the two.

## Sources
1. [lightspeed.build](https://lightspeed.build/)
2. [lightspeed.build/about-us](https://lightspeed.build/about-us)
3. [lightspeed.build/contact-us](https://lightspeed.build/contact-us)
4. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/lightspeed](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/lightspeed)

## Other roles at Lightspeed

- [Residential Design & Preconstruction Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/residential-design-preconstruction-specialist-lightspeed-northbrook-a8sy1bxmccqz) — Northbrook, IL
- [Mechanical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-engineer-lightspeed-northbrook-yqf4rprszy0s) — Northbrook, IL
- [Perception Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/perception-engineer-lightspeed-northbrook-eq8c65rv5zn9) — Northbrook, IL
- [Robot Learning Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/robot-learning-engineer-lightspeed-northbrook-ham4vyk6erde) — Northbrook, IL
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