Prototype Engineer

Physical Intelligence•San Francisco, CA

12d

About The Position

Physical Intelligence is bringing general-purpose AI into the physical world. We are a team of engineers, scientists, roboticists, and company builders developing foundation models and learning algorithms to power the robots of today and the physically-actuated devices of the future. This role is part of the hardware team and involves collaborating cross functionally across research, deployments and operations.

Requirements

Experience with rapid prototyping of mechanical, electrical, and sensor systems.
Ability to translate experimental requirements into buildable hardware systems.
Proficiency in CAD for fabrication.
Experience with fabrication techniques.
Experience with wiring, sensor integration, and system validation.
Experience designing and iterating on fixtures, jigs, test rigs, and custom tooling.
Experience evaluating and selecting sensors, actuators, and off-the-shelf components.
Experience developing quick-turn PCBs, wiring harnesses, and cable assemblies.
Experience with hands-on assembly, troubleshooting, and debugging of electromechanical and robotic systems.
Experience collaborating with electrical and robot software engineers on hardware integration.
Understanding of hardware failure modes in real-world environments.
Experience documenting designs, test results, and build procedures.

Responsibilities

Rapidly design and fabricate mechanical, electrical, and sensor prototypes to support research experiments and engineering development.
Partner directly with researchers to understand experimental requirements and translate them into buildable hardware systems.
Build end-to-end prototype systems: from concept sketches through CAD, fabrication, wiring, sensor integration, and validation.
Design and iterate on fixtures, jigs, test rigs, and custom tooling to enable research workflows.
Evaluate and select sensors, actuators, and off-the-shelf components for integration into prototype systems.
Develop quick-turn PCBs, wiring harnesses, and cable assemblies for prototype electronics.
Perform hands-on assembly, troubleshooting, and debugging of electromechanical and robotic systems.
Collaborate with electrical and robot software engineers to integrate hardware with control systems, firmware, and runtime software.
Identify and address failure modes specific to hardware operating in unstructured, real-world environments (contact forces, wear, thermal effects, cable management, etc.).
Document designs, test results, and build procedures to support knowledge transfer and design iteration.