Robotics Engineering Lead
Santa Rosa, California
Full Time
As our Robotics Engineering Lead, you will own the automation of targeted manufacturing processes from concept to a running in production. You will assess which operations are the best candidates for automation, select the right technology, and then roll up your sleeves to make it real integrating collaborative robots (cobots) for assembly, handling, and test tasks, and deploying autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) to move material intelligently across the floor. This is a hands-on technical leadership role: you will be the deepest robotics expert in the our organization, setting the technical direction while personally programming, integrating, and commissioning the systems, and mentoring the engineers and technicians who work alongside you.
Your day will be filled with real problems and visible impact mapping a manual process, simulating a robot, dialing in a gripper or vision system, tuning an AMR route, and proving out safety before a line goes live. No two deployments are the same, and you will see your work directly improve throughput, quality, and the daily experience of the people on our production floor.
Responsibilities
Identify and prioritize manufacturing processes that are strong candidates for automation, building the business and technical case for each.
Design, program, integrate, and commission collaborative robot (cobot) for tasks such as assembly, material handling, machine tending, inspection, and test.
Deploy and integrate autonomous mobile robots AMRs for material movement, including route planning, fleet coordination, and hand-offs to workstations.
Own end-to-end delivery: requirements, concept design, simulation, build, factory and site acceptance testing (FAT/SAT), validation, and production hand-off.
Integrate robots, sensors, vision, and end-effectors with existing factory equipment and production lines.
Serve as the hands-on technical lead: set standards, review designs, and mentor engineers, technicians, and operators moving into robotics.
Evaluate and manage robot, cobot, AMR, and integration vendors; run pilots and scale the technologies that prove out.
Partner with the Keysight safety team to review designs, complete risk assessments, and ensure each robot and mobile robot deployment meets safety requirements before going live.
Develop and maintain documentation, run-books, and training so that production teams can operate and sustain each deployment.
Required
Bachelor, Master or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent industry research experience).
3+ years of experience in industrial automation or robotics, including deploying systems in a live manufacturing or production environment.
Strong mix of both software and mechanical engineering.
Hands-on experience programming and integrating collaborative robots (e.g., Universal Robots or similar) and their end-effectors, grippers, and vision.
Experience with AMRs and material-handling automation, including deployment and integration on a factory floor.
Experience with cobot simulation and offline programming tools to validate cobot cell layouts, cycle times, and reachability before physical deployment.
Demonstrated ability to lead a project and mentor others while remaining personally hands-on with the technical work.
Strong problem-solving, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
Preferred
Experience with ROS / ROS 2 and robot simulation or digital-twin tools (e.g., RobotStudio, RoboDK, or vendor equivalents).
Familiarity with 2D/3D machine vision, force/torque control, and pick-and-place applications.
AMR fleet management and integration with warehouse / manufacturing execution systems.
Experience in electronics or precision, high-mix / low-volume manufacturing.
Proficiency with CAD (e.g., Creo, SolidWorks, AutoCAD) for tooling and layout.
Vendor certifications in relevant robot or cobot platforms.
Working knowledge of machine safety standards and risk assessment for robotic and collaborative applications (e.g., ISO 10218, ISO/TS 15066, ISO 12100, ISO 13849).
