Senior Robotic Systems Engineer

Cohu • San Diego, CA

1d

About The Position

The Senior Robotic Systems Engineer will translate complex customer and market requirements into robust system concepts, integrating mechanical, electrical, thermal, and software domains into cohesive machine platforms. This role involves driving system-level innovation, guiding cross-functional teams through structured decision-making, and evaluating concept feasibility using physics and empirical modeling. The engineer will ensure system-level traceability, maintain architectural integrity, and act as a technical authority and mentor for interdisciplinary teams developing complex mechatronic systems. They will also drive development schedules to meet committed demonstration and ship dates.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in mechatronics, mechanical engineering, or electrical engineering.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in the system level leadership of the development of complex robotic, mechatronic systems, ideally in semiconductor backend equipment.
• Minimum of 5 years as a direct engineer in a discipline.
• Proven track record in system engineering, robotic machine concept development, and cross-discipline, electro-mechanical engineering leadership.
• Deep understanding of thermal systems, motion control, sensor integration, and machine intelligence.
• Experience with requirement engineering, risk management, and certification processes.
• Excellent English communication skills.
• Willingness to travel internationally up to 20%.

Nice To Haves

• MSc, MEng, etc. desired
• German and/or French is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Conduct system-level requirement analysis and author technical specifications and design briefs for robotic platforms, machines, and modules.
• Lead the evaluation and selection of technical concepts in collaboration with domain experts, based on functional, economic, and risk criteria.
• Ensure architectural consistency and interface compatibility across subsystems and modules.
• Guide the development of subsystem concepts and validate their feasibility through analytical modeling and simulation.
• Facilitate design reviews and ensure that development progress aligns with system-level objectives.
• Drive risk assessments and initiate necessary pre-development or technology validation activities.
• Ensure compliance with certification requirements (e.g., CE, SEMI, RoHS) and support the preparation of documentation.
• Support patent applications and the protection of intellectual property arising from system innovations.
• Present technical solutions and resolve system-level issues in collaboration with customers and stakeholders.
• May provide full system “architecture(s)” for new concepts and/or customer driven ideations.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior