--- title: 'Staff Mechanical Engineer at Robust.ai' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/staff-mechanical-engineer-robust-ai-san-carlos-fc76n57b68yn' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-11' --- # Staff Mechanical Engineer at Robust.ai - **Company:** Robust.ai - **Location:** San Carlos, CA - **Compensation:** $160k–$210k - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-08-27 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11 - **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/robust-ai/3246c5cd-fa26-4412-a542-bda70b892384 ## Job description About you and this role: Robust AI is a fast-growing, early-stage startup founded in 2019 by an unsurpassed team of veterans in robotics, AI and business. We are a collaborative group with a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives, seeking talented individuals who are just as excited about robotics and AI as we are! Help us redefine the very foundation of robotics and build robots that are smart, collaborative, robust, safe, flexible and genuinely autonomous. As a mechanical engineer at Robust AI you will join a small fast-paced team working to design and deploy the next generation of warehouse robotic systems.  Working with the other engineers on the team you will help concept, design, build and test subsystems of our robot. You are someone who is excited about seeing robots deployed at a large scale.  You are someone who is comfortable working in an early stage startup environment and are able to pivot effectively.  The base pay range for this role is between $160,000 and $210,000, dependent on your skills, qualifications and experience. Main responsibilities: - Lead a project team developing new robot products - Design and manage components across the HW lifecycle (concept, design, fabrication, test, production) - Engage cross functionally with industrial design, electrical engineering, product and software to make sure design decisions fit within the constraints of the system - Propose and resolve issues with current robot systems while accounting for engineering effort and budget - Rapidly iterate on design by building quick prototypes - Design and execute test plans for your designs What you’ll bring to the table: - 9+ years of industry experience and BS in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent - ## Experience with Solidworks & PDM - ## Experience with user facing product design - Ability to communicate effectively cross functionally - ## Experience working with robotic or mechatronic systems - Ability to work independently - ## Experience working with and managing vendors What we offer: - Base pay between $160,000 and $210,000, dependent on your skills, qualifications and experience. - Stock options and huge potential for growth. - Strong startup (and fun) culture. - Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage. - Flexible vacation and sick leave practices. - Paid parental leave. Robust AI fosters a culture of belonging and a shared commitment to equality and equity. Having a diverse set of perspectives is key to ensuring AI and robotics serve the needs of all. ## About Robust.ai ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Robust.AI builds AI-powered collaborative mobile robots (Carter™) that work alongside people in dynamic warehouse environments to improve productivity and reduce errors. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series A – IV, total funding $42.5M–$45.25M per conflicting reports) - **Headquarters**: San Carlos, California, USA - **Founded**: 2019 - **Founders**: Anthony Jules (co-founder, former CEO, now Chief Innovation Officer) ## Core Business - Primary industry: Warehouse automation, robotics, logistics technology - Target customers: B2B – retail, e-commerce, and third-party logistics (3PL) operators - Mission: “Make robots work for people” – human-centric design, intelligent automation, and adaptable workflows. ## Products & Services - **[Carter™ Collaborative Mobile Robot](https://www.robust.ai/)**: A novel form of mobile robot designed for seamless collaboration with humans across picking, putaway, and value-added services. Easy to deploy with zero infrastructure changes, scalable, and offers rapid ROI via a no-CapEx, all-inclusive subscription model. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed - **Key Metric**: Annual revenue ~$2M (latest estimate); Total funding ~$42.5M (per Apollo.io) or $45.25M (per CB Insights) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Prime Movers Lab (lead, Series A), Playground Global (lead, Seed), Jazz Venture Partners (lead, Series A), APL Ventures, 15th Rock Ventures, Reimagined Ventures, Silicon Badia, and 18+ others - **Growth Signals**: 30.6% YoY headcount growth (52 employees), new CEO appointment (Marin Tchakarov, Aug 2026), and a new platform that “10X+ Carter’s value by turning robots into intelligence agents.” ## Competitive Advantages - **Human-centric design**: Robots are built to work alongside people, not replace them, driving higher adoption and employee satisfaction. - **Zero infrastructure change**: No retrofitting of warehouses required – rapid deployment and scalability. - **All-inclusive subscription model (no CapEx)**: Lowers financial barrier for customers. - **Strong IP**: 16 patents filed, covering perception, coordination, and embedded systems. ## Strategic Focus - Scaling commercial deployment of Carter™ and expanding into new warehouse workflows. - Launching a next-generation platform that transforms robots into “intelligence agents” – likely leveraging AI and real-time data. - Appointing a new CEO to accelerate go-to-market and capture whitespace left by legacy robotics companies. ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: Collaborative, fun, equitable workplace with a diverse team of backgrounds and perspectives. Emphasis on curiosity and tackling hard problems. - **Work policy**: On-site roles in San Carlos, CA (current open positions are all on-site/full-time). - **Benefits**: Competitive compensation, stock options, full medical/dental/vision, flexible vacation and sick leave, paid parental/family leave. - **Engineering culture**: Deep tech stack (Python, ROS, C++, Linux, Docker, PyTorch, CUDA, etc.) and cross-functional teams blending robotics, AI, and hardware. Talent sourced from top companies (Google, SRI, Stanford, etc.). - **Current open roles** (as of search date): Safety Systems Engineer, Senior Paralegal / Legal Operations Specialist. ## Sources 1. [robust.ai](https://www.robust.ai/) 2. [robust.ai/careers](https://www.robust.ai/careers) 3. [jobs.lever.co/robust-ai](https://jobs.lever.co/robust-ai) 4. [linkedin.com/company/robust-ai](https://www.linkedin.com/company/robust-ai) 5. [cbinsights.com/company/robust-ai](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/robust-ai) ## Other roles at Robust.ai - [Electrical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/electrical-engineer-robust-ai-san-carlos-zkrae7j63mnn) — San Carlos, CA - [Robotics Validation Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-validation-engineer-robust-ai-san-carlos-zh50qpx7dxkd) — San Carlos, CA - [Senior Manufacturing Test Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-manufacturing-test-engineer-robust-ai-san-carlos-dn95x87f2f87) — San Carlos, CA - [Technical Program Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/technical-program-manager-robust-ai-san-carlos-fm8j7nx14qb8) — San Carlos, CA - [Staff Mechanical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-mechanical-engineer-the-nuclear-company-columbia-9qzgad40by8q) — Columbia, SC - [Staff Mechanical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-mechanical-engineer-brindley-engineering-lisle-0ta2d9a3dy73) — Lisle, IL - [Staff Mechanical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-mechanical-engineer-vulcan-elements-research-triangle-park-yka35q0306zs) — Research Triangle Park, NC - [Staff Mechanical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-mechanical-engineer-mainspring-energy-menlo-park-r8hm4d42z9e5) — Menlo Park, CA - [Staff Mechanical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-mechanical-engineer-eight-sleep-san-francisco-nc26nf85z0bd) — San Francisco, CA - [Staff Mechanical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-mechanical-engineer-iceye-warsaw-b4f4t6339wan) — Warsaw, Poland