Forward Deployed Robotics Engineer

Eka•Cambridge, MA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Eka Robotics is on a mission to build intelligence for the physical world - robots that are fast, general, and reliable. Our approach, grounded in physics, unlocks superhuman capabilities. We are defining the frontier of robotics research and deployment. Our team consists of pioneers in robotics and machine learning. We are now hiring to scale our R&D and commercialization efforts. We are looking for hands-on individuals who are excited to help shape the future of robotics.

Requirements

B.S. in Robotics, Mechatronics, Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
2+ years of hands-on experience debugging, troubleshooting, and performing root-cause analysis on complex systems with integrated hardware and software components in deployment.
Practical experience parsing log files and writing basic diagnostic scripts in Python.
Solid understanding of the interactions between mechanical, electrical, firmware, and software layers in robotic systems.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the demonstrated ability to articulate technical issues clearly during solo customer engagements and shift handoffs.

Nice To Haves

M.S. in Robotics, Mechatronics, Systems Engineering, or a related technical field.
Experience deploying learning-based control models (e.g., imitation learning, RL, or end-to-end vision-to-action policies) on physical manipulators in unstructured environments.
Proven track record of writing internal Python tools, CLI scripts, or automated calibration routines that reduce deployment and bring-up cycles.
Experience acting as the sole technical lead on customer sites or high-stakes field demos, managing on-site communication, de-escalation, and technical execution independently.
Hands-on experience integrating and configuring 6+ DoF industrial or cobot arms (e.g., Universal Robots, Franka, KUKA, FANUC) with industrial communications (EtherCAT, CANbus, Modbus) and safety controllers.
Experience managing edge devices, Linux network interfaces, and containerized robotics software stacks (Docker, ROS/ROS2, systemd).
Familiarity with modern robotics diagnostic tools (e.g., Foxglove Studio, ROS bags) to capture edge failure modes and feed data back into core ML pipelines.
Experience building field operational processes from scratch, including writing SOPs, conducting FMEA, and structuring field support workflows.

Responsibilities

Build, deploy, configure, and troubleshoot robotic arms, grippers and camera systems on-site.
Perform spatial/hand-eye calibrations and camera alignment during system setup.
Manage incoming fleet ticket queues, prioritize based on operational impact, and triage failures across hardware, software, and operational layers.
Execute physical inspections, run diagnostic tests at robot stations, and perform Root Cause Analysis (RCA) to isolate and reproduce field failures.
Analyze telemetry, sensor streams, and system logs to form and validate diagnostic hypotheses.
Partner with core hardware and software R&D teams to escalate complex issues.
Directly advise software engineering on new tooling, scripts, and diagnostic features needed to streamline field bring-up.
Develop standard diagnostic procedures, troubleshooting flowcharts, and operational guides.
Surface recurring fleet issues to engineering to drive design improvements.
Develop clear deployment documentation and procedures to support deployments by third party integrators.
Maintain clear, traceable logs for all diagnostic events, field modifications, and escalation workflows.
Travel 50%+ to lead on-site deployments, customer demonstrations, and operational support.