Project Hydra | Hardware Technician - Robotics Lab

Welo Global•California, CA

2d•$40 - $45•Onsite

About The Position

The Hardware Lab Technician owns the physical hardware supporting a large-scale robotics data collection operation. This hands-on role spans research and low-volume production, maintaining and building robot embodiments, grippers, camera rigs, and data collection stations. The technician supports a dedicated teleoperator team by keeping its hardware reliable, calibrated, and ready for use, and helps maintain data quality through dependable hardware operation. The position is fully onsite in Santa Clara, California, and is full-time W-2. The listed schedules are Monday through Friday, either 7:00 a.m.–3:30 p.m. or 9:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m.; flexibility for shift coverage is needed because the labs run extended hours. The start date is ASAP. The role is described as a 12-month contract with the possibility of extension. Compensation is $40–$45 per hour. The technician builds, wires, brings up, maintains, calibrates, and troubleshoots robotics stations and related hardware. The role also includes prototype assembly, bench-level electrical work, lab inventory and organization, vendor returns and RMAs, support during live data collection, and creating documentation such as maintenance logs, calibration records, and hardware SOPs. The technician works alongside engineers and researchers to bring up new embodiments and stations.

Requirements

At least 3 years of hands-on technician experience in a lab, prototyping, or low-volume build environment, such as robotics, medical devices, aerospace, or semiconductor equipment.
An associate degree in a technical field, a relevant trade or technical certificate, or equivalent hands-on experience.
Mechanical assembly fundamentals, including fasteners and torque, bearings, belts, and linkages.
Ability to read CAD and mechanical drawings using Onshape, SolidWorks, or similar tools.
Electrical skills including soldering, basic SMD rework, crimping, connectorization, and harness building.
Confident use of a multimeter and oscilloscope.
Comfort working in Linux command-line environments, including connecting to a workstation over SSH, running calibration scripts, and reading logs.
Experience with motors, encoders, and sensor integration, and understanding of how grounding or cable problems can affect data streams.
Methodical, self-documenting work habits.
Ability to work amid ambiguity and frequent change and prioritize when multiple labs need support.
Ability to work onsite in Santa Clara and provide flexible shift coverage as needed.

Nice To Haves

Experience with humanoid or bimanual platforms such as Unitree, Fourier, ALOHA/ARX-class rigs, and dexterous hands.
Maintenance and calibration experience with collaborative or industrial arms such as UR, Franka, xArm, or ARX, or equivalent.
Experience building and calibrating multi-camera rigs, including RealSense, ZED, or Orbbec-class depth cameras.
Experience running and maintaining FDM or SLA printers and designing simple fixtures and adapters.
Light scripting in Python or bash to automate repetitive bench or calibration tasks.
Experience in a high-throughput lab or production line where uptime or yield was tracked.
Vendor-facing experience with RMAs, lead times, and spares planning.

Responsibilities

Build, wire, and bring up data collection stations, including robot arms, multi-camera rigs, workstations, teleoperation hardware, and cable management.
Perform daily fleet checks, preventive maintenance, calibration routines, and fault diagnosis on robot arms, hands, and sensors.
Swap and integrate end-effectors, grippers, dexterous hands, force/torque and tactile sensors, and RGB-D cameras.
Run calibration and firmware procedures across the fleet and identify hardware drift before it affects data collection.
Assemble and iterate prototype hardware from mechanical and electrical engineers, including printed parts, off-the-shelf components, vendor-fabricated parts, and custom harnesses.
Perform soldering, crimping, connectorization, harness building, and PCB rework support at the bench.
Manage lab spares and consumables inventory, parts kitting, bench and tool organization, and shipping, returns, and RMAs with vendors.
Support teleoperators with hardware issues during live collection by triaging problems, fixing or escalating them, and restoring stations to operation.
Document work through build sheets, maintenance logs, calibration records, and hardware SOPs.
Help bring up new embodiments and stations in collaboration with engineers and researchers.