Mechatronics Engineer, VLA Gripping & Assembly (Lead)

About the role

This is a hands-on technical leadership seat. You will design the end-effector and mechatronics, integrate vision and force/tactile sensing into a 6DOF arm, and operationalize learned manipulation policies (VLA models) so the system reliably grips, places, and assembles in the real world. You work directly with the founder.

Responsibilities

• Own the VLA-powered (Vision-Language-Action) gripping and assembly system from concept to deployment, ensuring its technical success.
• Lead the design and implementation of the gripper and mechatronics, including end-effector, actuation, GD&T, rapid prototyping, and production-ready designs.
• Develop and integrate perception and sensing technologies, such as vision, force/torque, tactile sensors, and a 6DOF arm.
• Operationalize learned manipulation policies (VLA models) by creating demonstration data pipelines, inferring policies into real-time control, evaluating grasps and assemblies, and iterating between simulation and reality.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience taking robotic systems from concept to delivery.
• Identify as an AI-native engineer with real gripper/end-effector/movement experience and 6DOF arm integration.
• Comfortable working at the intersection of hardware and machine learning, able to integrate learned policies, run inference on a robot, curate demo data, and debug issues (ROS/ROS 2, OpenVLA/pi-0 style policies, imitation learning, sim-to-real).
• Strong proficiency in Python and physical prototyping tools (CAD, 3D printing, CNC, PCB).

Qualifications

• US citizen/visa only.

Skills

• C++, Python, Machine Learning, CAD Design

Benefits

• No benefits provided.

Pay

$170K - $190K

Schedule

Contract-to-hire or direct full-time. On-site in Van Nuys/Los Angeles.