---
title: 'Staff Mechanical Engineer, Technical Lead at Path Robotics'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/staff-mechanical-engineer-technical-lead-path-robotics-columbus-nc0vg8yjatxr'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-28'
---

# Staff Mechanical Engineer, Technical Lead at Path Robotics

- **Company:** Path Robotics
- **Location:** Columbus, OH
- **Posted:** 2026-10-27
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-28
- **Apply:** https://boards.greenhouse.io/pathrobotics/jobs/8919551002?gh_jid=8919551002

## Job description

Build the Path Forward

At Path Robotics, we’re building the future of embodied intelligence. Our AI-driven systems enable robots to adapt, learn, and perform in the real world closing the skilled labor gap and transforming industries. We go beyond traditional methods, combining perception, reasoning, and control to deliver field-ready AI that is risk-aware, reliable, and continuously improving through real-world use.

Big, hard problems are our everyday work, and our team of intelligent, humble, and driven people make the impossible possible together

We're looking for a Technical Lead to guide our team's contribution to Path's manipulation products as we expand from autonomous welding into factory automation. On our Sensing and Embodied Intelligence team, you'll set direction for sensing end-of-arm tooling, the physical interfaces between robots, tools, sensors, and parts, and the tasks we design to train manipulation models.

This is a hands-on leadership role. You'll define architecture, make the hard tradeoff calls and build hardware yourself.

## What You'll Do

Technical Direction

- Own the technical roadmap for sensing end-of-arm tooling, physical interfaces, and training task design
- Translate product goals and model training needs into hardware requirements and interface specifications
- Lead design reviews and set standards for robustness, serviceability, and manufacturability
- Identify technical risks early and retire them before they reach the field

Sensing End-of-Arm Tooling

- Lead the design of end-of-arm tooling that integrates cameras, 3D, force/torque, tactile, and proximity sensors
- Define sensor placement, calibration, and mounting that hold accuracy under vibration, heat, spatter, dust, and repeated contact
- Drive tooling from concept through production release

Physical Interfaces

- Define mechanical, electrical, and data interfaces between robots, tools, tool changers, sensors, fixtures, and workpieces
- Establish standards that let tools and sensors be swapped, serviced, and reused across platforms
- Align physical interfaces with hardware abstraction, calibration, and control architecture

Task Design for Model Training

- Design the tasks, fixtures, parts, and environments used to collect demonstration and training data
- Define task variation, difficulty, and success criteria that represent real industrial work
- Partner with ML engineers to connect task design to model performance

## How You Deliver

- Own the full lifecycle — requirements, design, prototyping, validation, deployment, and improvement
- Align hardware with product goals across mechanical, electrical, software, and ML teams
- Mentor engineers and build sound engineering judgment across the team
- Work with vendors, suppliers, and our shop to turn designs into hardware — fast
- Drive root cause analysis and design improvements from field and reliability data

## What We're Looking For

- Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Robotics, or a related field, or equivalent experience
- 7+ years in robotics, automation, or industrial hardware development, with systems deployed in the real world
- A track record leading the technical direction of a hardware product or subsystem from concept through deployment
- Deep experience designing end-of-arm tooling, grippers, or sensor-integrated robotic payloads
- Strong grasp of how mechanical design affects sensor calibration and performance
- Experience defining interfaces in electromechanical systems: connectors, cabling, tool changers, and communication protocols
- Familiarity with imitation or demonstration-based learning and how data collection design affects model results
- Proficiency in SolidWorks or equivalent CAD with PDM-based release workflows

## Why You’ll Love Working Here

- Competitive salary and equity in a well-funded, high-growth robotics company
- Comprehensive health, dental, and vision benefits
- 401(k)
- Flexible PTO
- Hands-on, collaborative culture

## Who We Are

At Path Robotics we love coming to work to solve interesting and tough challenges but also because our ideas are welcomed and valued. We encourage unique thinking and are dedicated to creating a diverse and inclusive environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in the application process or any part of the hiring process, please contact HR@path-robotics.com. We are committed to providing equal access and will work with qualified individuals to ensure a fair and accessible hiring experience. We will respond to your request within 48 hours.

Regulatory and Compliance Requirements

This position may support work performed under U.S. Government contracts and requires compliance with applicable federal regulations, including FAR and DFARS where applicable.

The role may involve access to export-controlled information subject to ITAR and/or EAR.

Candidates must be able to comply with U.S. export control regulations, which may include meeting the definition of a “U.S. Person” where required.

This position may also involve handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and requires adherence to company and federal data protection and confidentiality standards. Employment may be contingent upon successful completion of a background check consistent with applicable requirements

## About Path Robotics

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Path Robotics builds physical AI systems that enable autonomous robotic welding for heavy industries, addressing the critical skilled labor shortage in manufacturing.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series D, $271M total funding)
- **Headquarters**: Columbus, Ohio, United States
- **Founded**: 2014
- **Founders**: Andy Lonsberry (CEO) and Alex Lonsberry (CTO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Industrial robotics, AI-powered manufacturing automation, heavy fabrication
- **Target customers**: B2B, Enterprise — specifically heavy industry, defense, utility & energy, data center construction, and general manufacturing
- **Mission**: Create real value for customers while rebuilding the backbone of American industry by helping manufacturers navigate the skilled labor shortage.

## Products & Services
- **Intelligent Welding Cells**: Fixed robotic cells that use AI and computer vision to see, understand, and adapt to part variations in real-time, enabling autonomous welding without precision fixturing.
- **Obsidian™ AI**: A foundational AI model for welding, trained on tens of millions of welded inches, enabling real-time adaptation for high-quality welds across part-to-part variations.
- **JobBuilder**: A web-based software application launched at FABTECH 2024 that simplifies part programming, reducing the setup bottleneck and expanding the addressable market to fabricators without specialized robotics staff.
- **Path Foundry (RaaS)**: A Robotics-as-a-Service model where Path owns and operates the welding cells, charging customers for welding capacity with $0 CapEx, targeting a 30% lower cost and 4x productivity improvement.
- **Rove**: A mobile welding system mounted on a quadruped platform (announced April 2026), extending adaptive welding capabilities beyond fixed-cell applications.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: $271M total funding raised (Series D, last raised ~2 years ago)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not publicly named in available sources; the company has a Board of Directors and leadership team including a Chief Revenue Officer (Heather Carroll) and EVP of Global Operations (Mike Renn).
- **Growth Signals**: 198 employees as of March 2026; launched Path Foundry RaaS model in October 2024; launched JobBuilder at FABTECH 2024; announced Rove mobile welding system in April 2026; serves 4 key industries (Defense, Data Centers, Utility & Energy, Heavy Industry); addresses a forecasted 600k welder shortage by 2030.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Perception-driven fit-up**: The core differentiator is the ability to recognize part geometry, compensate for dimensional variation, and execute a weld without precision fixturing — a capability traditional robotic welding lacks, which requires tight part consistency.
- **Obsidian™ foundational AI model**: A purpose-built, first-of-its-kind AI model for welding trained on tens of millions of welded inches, enabling continuous learning and real-time adaptation.
- **RaaS model (Path Foundry)**: Eliminates upfront CapEx for customers, lowering adoption barriers for mid-market fabricators who cannot justify six- or seven-figure capital commitments.
- **End-to-end autonomy**: The system handles pick, fit-up, and weld in a single automated flow, with 24/7 mission control support, targeting 4x productivity improvement.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scaling the RaaS model**: Path Foundry is the primary go-to-market strategy, requiring the company to manage fleet maintenance, logistics, service-level guarantees, and asset utilization across a distributed installed base.
- **Expanding addressable geometry**: The Rove mobile platform announcement signals a push beyond fixed-cell applications into more varied and mobile welding environments.
- **Defense and critical infrastructure**: The company is actively targeting defense (shipyards, arsenals), data center construction, and utility/energy sectors as key growth verticals.
- **Reducing programming friction**: JobBuilder aims to lower the barrier to adoption for fabricators without specialized robotics staff, expanding the total addressable market.

## Why Work Here
- **Impactful mission**: The company directly addresses a critical national problem — a forecasted 600,000 welder shortage by 2030 — by building technology that keeps American manufacturing competitive.
- **Cutting-edge technology**: Work at the intersection of AI, machine learning, computer vision, and robotics, building a foundational AI model (Obsidian) trained on tens of millions of welded inches.
- **Collaborative culture**: The company emphasizes "People + Robots Together" and states that "Our people are our competitive advantage," with a focus on creating real customer value.
- **Growth trajectory**: With $271M in funding, 198 employees, and a pivot to a RaaS model, the company is in a high-growth phase with significant runway.
- **Leadership**: Founded and led by brothers Andy Lonsberry (CEO) and Alex Lonsberry (CTO), who have scaled the company from a university basement to a leading physical-AI company.
- **Work environment**: Based in Columbus, Ohio, with a focus on collaborative, passionate teams working on cutting-edge machine learning and impactful real-world problems. The careers page highlights "Impactful," "Collaborative," "AI-Powered," and "Cutting-edge machine learning" as core themes.

## Sources
1. [path-robotics.com](https://www.path-robotics.com/)
2. [path-robotics.com/careers](https://www.path-robotics.com/careers)
3. [path-robotics.com/about](https://www.path-robotics.com/about)
4. [cbinsights.com](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/path-robotics)
5. [robotics.press](https://robotics.press/news/path-robotics-company-profile/)

## Other roles at Path Robotics

- [Customer Success Director](https://feeny.ai/job/customer-success-director-path-robotics-columbus-8wjgvw1b7mvd) — Columbus, OH
- [Senior HR Business Partner, Operations](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-hr-business-partner-operations-path-robotics-columbus-dxw0vzvrtpy6) — Columbus, OH
- [Senior HR Generalist, Onboarding and L&D](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-hr-generalist-onboarding-and-l-d-path-robotics-columbus-hphy6aq6rcjz) — Columbus, OH
- [Manufacturing Design Engineering Internship - Spring 2027](https://feeny.ai/job/manufacturing-design-engineering-internship-spring-2027-path-robotics-columbus-rqmxrkha0gdy) — Columbus, OH
- [Manufacturing Design Engineering Internship](https://feeny.ai/job/manufacturing-design-engineering-internship-path-robotics-columbus-c1aqp77bjw98) — Columbus, OH
- [Sales Development Representative](https://feeny.ai/job/sales-development-representative-path-robotics-columbus-kpqp0agjb2wg) — Columbus, OH
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- [Facilities Associate](https://feeny.ai/job/facilities-associate-path-robotics-columbus-b7h92c48mkta) — Columbus, OH
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