Forward Deployed Engineer - AI Partnerships (Teradyne Robotics, San Jose, CA)

At Universal Robots, part of Teradyne Inc., our vision is to create a world where people work with robots, not like robots. As the market leader with 75,000+ collaborative robots (cobots) installed worldwide, we employ 1000+ people across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Our team consists of smart, creative individuals working at the forefront of automation to solve critical manufacturing challenges. We embrace innovation and diversity, fostering a culture of inclusion where individual strengths drive better decisions and business results.

About the role

We are seeking a Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) to join our AI Partnerships team in the San Francisco Bay Area. This role sits at the intersection of robotics platforms, partner integration, and physical AI deployment. You will work directly with leading AI model builders, robotics startups, and strategic partners to help them build, validate, and deploy applications on Teradyne’s robotics platforms, including Universal Robots (UR) and Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR). This position is deeply partner-facing and deployment-oriented, ensuring partners successfully leverage our robotics platform stack to bring their products to life in real-world environments.

Responsibilities

• Partner-Facing Deployment & Integration
  • Work hands-on with strategic partners to integrate their applications onto UR and MiR platforms
  • Serve as the technical bridge between partner engineering teams and internal robotics/product teams
  • Debug and resolve issues across software, control, and system integration layers in real-world deployments
  • Support partner teams onsite during critical development and validation phases
• Robotics Platform Engineering
  • Enable partner success across key platform layers: motion planning, control interfaces, trajectory execution, Polyscope and URCap integration, robot APIs, SDKs, and communication interfaces
  • Develop and maintain reference implementations, integration examples, and tooling for partners
  • Contribute feedback to internal product teams based on real-world partner usage patterns
• Software Development & Systems Integration
  • Build and adapt software components using Python, ROS2, and Linux-based systems
  • Integrate partner software stacks with robot systems using standard and custom interfaces
  • Support debugging of latency, control loops, and system-level performance issues
  • Assist with simulation, testing, and deployment pipelines
• AI & Physical AI Collaboration (Supportive)
  • Work alongside AI/ML teams to ensure models interface effectively with robotic systems
  • Support integration of perception, VLA, or learning-based components into robot workflows
  • Help bridge sim-to-real gaps from a robotics execution standpoint (e.g., control, timing, actuation)

Requirements

• BS/MS in Robotics, Mechatronics, Computer Science, or related field
• 4+ years of experience in robotics engineering or systems integration roles
• Strong hands-on experience with:
  • ROS2 and Linux-based robotics systems
  • Python development (production-level codebases)
  • Robot control, kinematics, motion planning, and system integration
  • Working directly with robot hardware (integration, debugging, bring-up)
• Ability to troubleshoot across hardware/software/system boundaries in real deployments
• Strong communication skills with the ability to work directly with external partners/customers

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with industrial robot platforms (UR preferred) or similar systems
• Familiarity with:
  • Robot programming environments (e.g., URScript, PLCs)
  • Real-time control systems and motion optimization
  • Perception pipelines and sensor integration (RGBD, LiDAR, etc.)
  • Physical AI concepts (imitation learning, RL, or VLA models)
• Experience with simulation environments (e.g., NVIDIA Isaac Sim)
• Background working in startup, partner-facing, or customer-facing engineering roles

Skills

• A systems thinker who can move fluidly between software, control, and hardware
• Highly hands-on, comfortable working on robots in real-world environments
• Comfortable in ambiguous, fast-moving partner environments
• Strong bias toward execution and problem-solving in production contexts
• Able to translate between research, product, and deployment constraints

Why This Role

• Work directly with the most advanced AI model builders and robotics startups globally
• Play a critical role in shaping how physical AI systems get deployed in the real world
• Influence both partner success and the evolution of our robotics platform stack
• Operate at the cutting edge of robotics + AI commercialization

Pay

The base salary range for this role is $125,700 - $201,200. This range is a good faith estimate, and the amount of base salary will correspond with experience and skill set. This range can also fluctuate depending on demand and location. This job is eligible for discretionary bonus(es) based on financial performance.

Benefits

Teradyne offers a variety of robust health and well-being benefit programs, including:

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Retirement savings plans
• Life and disability insurance
• Paid vacation & holidays
• Tuition assistance programs