Mechanical Engineer – Intern Summer 2026
About Elevate Robotics
Elevate Robotics, Inc., is a subsidiary of Apptronik. Elevate was formed to democratize superhuman mobile manipulation to improve worker safety and to help solve the ever-increasing labor shortage problem. Our team has a heritage of building some of the most advanced robots on the planet for years, dating back to the DARPA Robotics Challenge and before. We apply our expertise across the full robotics stack to some of the most important and impactful problems our society faces and expect our products and technology to change the world for the better. We value creativity, humility, integrity, passion, and curiosity to help us overcome existing technological barriers in the industry to create truly innovative products.
The Role
The team is seeking a Mechanical Engineering Intern with hands-on capabilities and a strong practical background. You will be treated as a junior engineer, tasked with designing real parts, validating them in the workshop, and integrating them into our robot.
Your time will split between CAD design, physical prototyping, and helping with workshop operations. You will be given full ownership of a specific sub-assembly or mechanism, while also acting as a "force multiplier" for the senior engineering team to help us hit critical roadmap milestones.
Requirements
MUST be an undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in an accredited academic program during the internship term located in the United States. (New graduates not enrolled in an accredited program for Fall 2026 are ineligible.)
Pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
Preference for those able to work full-time within 2 years (expected graduation date between 9/2026 - 9/2028)
Strong mechanical engineering fundamentals
General understanding of mechanisms, robotic systems, or similar
Hands-on experience through class work, previous internships, or self-motivated projects
Highly motivated with a passion for robotics
Excellent verbal & written communication skills
Open to learning skills outside of your area of expertise as needed
Great team player able to perform within a dynamic start-up environment
Very good CAD skills (OnShape, SolidWorks, Creo, or similar)
GPA of 3.0 or above
Qualities
Creativity, Humility, Integrity, Curiosity, Passion, Analytical, and Disciplined
A passion for building things. Fellow tinkerers are encouraged to apply.
*Design portfolios are required
*This is a direct hire. Please, no outside Agency solicitations.
ML Ops / Data Operations Engineer
Elevate Robotics, Inc., is a subsidiary of Apptronik. Elevate was formed to democratize superhuman mobile manipulation to improve worker safety and to help solve the ever-increasing labor shortage problem. Our team has a heritage building some of the most advanced robots on the planet for years, dating back to the DARPA Robotics Challenge. We apply our expertise across the full robotics stack to some of the most important and impactful problems our society faces and expect our products and technology to change the world for the better. We value creativity, humility, integrity, passion, and curiosity to help us overcome existing technological barriers in the industry to create truly innovative products.
JOB SUMMARY
We are seeking an experienced MLOps / Data Operations Engineer to own and scale the data foundation that powers our Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models for mobile manipulation. This role is data-centric: focused on how data is collected, curated, versioned, validated, and delivered to machine learning teams for training.
You will work closely with machine learning engineers, robot operators, and data labeling teams to ensure that high-quality, well-structured datasets are continuously produced and ready for use in model training. You will design processes and build tooling that make data collection efficient, reliable, and scalable as our robotic systems operate in the real world.
This role is critical to enabling rapid iteration and sustained model performance by ensuring both data quality and data volume keep pace with our training needs.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Data Collection & Curation (Core Responsibility)
Design, implement, and maintain processes and tools for collecting training data from robotic systems in real-world environments.
Define and enforce data quality standards, validation checks, and acceptance criteria for training readiness.
Curate datasets by filtering, cleaning, structuring, and annotating raw sensor data (e.g., images, video, metadata).
Work closely with robot operators and data labeling teams to improve collection protocols, labeling accuracy, and throughput.
Develop feedback loops to identify data gaps, failure modes, and distribution issues in existing datasets.
Dataset Management & Versioning
Own dataset versioning, lineage, and reproducibility across experiments and model iterations.
Build and maintain tooling for tracking dataset provenance, splits, and compatibility with different training runs.
Ensure datasets are discoverable, auditable, and easy for ML engineers to consume.
Data Scale & Efficiency
Drive strategies to increase effective data volume, including:
More efficient data collection workflows
Smart sampling and filtering
Data augmentation and transformation pipelines
Partner with operations and robotics teams to maximize useful data yield from deployed robots.
Collaboration with ML Engineers
Work closely with machine learning engineers to understand training requirements, data formats, and failure cases.
Translate model performance issues into actionable data collection or curation improvements.
Ensure data pipelines align with evolving model architectures and training workflows.
Infrastructure & Tooling
Build internal tools, scripts, and services to automate data ingestion, processing, validation, and export.
Maintain scalable storage solutions for large datasets (e.g., images, video, logs).
Implement monitoring and metrics for data quality, freshness, and coverage.
Training & Experiment Support (Nice to Have)
Support training workflows by enabling reliable access to curated datasets.
(Nice to have) Assist with scheduling or monitoring large training runs in collaboration with ML engineers.
Skills & Requirements
Strong software engineering fundamentals (Python required; testing, documentation, version control).
Professional experience in data engineering, MLOps, or ML infrastructure roles.
Hands-on experience building data pipelines for large-scale or production ML systems.
Experience managing large datasets, including storage, versioning, and validation.
Ability to work cross-functionally with ML engineers, robotics teams, and non-software operators.
Comfort operating close to real-world systems where data is messy, incomplete, or noisy.
Preferred / Bonus Qualifications
Familiarity with ML training workflows and frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow).
Experience with distributed systems or large-scale data processing.
Experience with robotics data (vision, perception, logs, sensor streams).
Experience supporting labeling workflows or annotation tooling.
Exposure to training job scheduling frameworks (e.g., Ray, Slurm).
Education & Experience
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
3+ years of experience in software engineering, data engineering, or ML infrastructure roles.
Experience building tools or platforms used by ML engineers or researchers.
Physical Requirements
Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
Ability to lift up to 15 pounds occasionally.
Vision to read printed materials and a computer screen.
Hearing and speech sufficient for communication
Senior Robotics Technician
JOB SUMMARY
Elevate Robotics, Inc., is a subsidiary of Apptronik. Elevate was formed to democratize superhuman mobile manipulation to improve worker safety and to help solve the ever-increasing labor shortage problem. Our team has a heritage of building some of the most advanced robots on the planet for years, dating back to the DARPA Robotics Challenge and before. We apply our expertise across the full robotics stack to some of the most important and impactful problems our society faces and expect our products and technology to change the world for the better. We value creativity, humility, integrity, passion, and curiosity to help us overcome existing technological barriers in the industry to create truly innovative products.
We are seeking a highly motivated and talented individual with hands-on experience and a passion for robotics to join our team of mobile manipulation engineers. Specifically, we seek a Sr. Robotics Technician with proven capabilities for electromechanical assembly and troubleshooting robotic manipulators. You will become a key part of the Elevate team as we develop and test our robots through manufacturing ramp-up, product launch, and beyond.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES or KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
Build/assemble electromechanical mobile robots:
Assemble and install wiring harnesses
Assemble mechanical subassemblies
Install electrical subassemblies like sensors, PCBA's, connectors, and actuators
Integrate and test subassemblies
Rework and repair PCBA’s, including surface mount components
Attend/provide feedback during engineering design reviews
Review/markup assembly instructions for robotic systems and subsystems
Troubleshoot degraded robots, identify root cause, and support repairs
Leverage hands-on technical skills to collaborate/support a cross-disciplinary team
Support hardware testing to generate subcomponent and full system test data and support continuous improvement
Occasionally travel for field support
SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS
Prototype development technician skills:
Reads/understands mechanical drawings, electrical schematics, panel wiring drawings, pneumatic/vacuum schematics, equipment instructions
Supports composition of assembly procedures through photo documentation and annotation
Supports design for manufacturing (DFM/DFX) analyses
Interfaces/communicates with vendors to procure catalog components, custom fabricated components, consumables, etc.
Operates 3D printer, drill press, bench grinder, power tools, and other light shop equipment
Executes assembly procedures (mechanical and electrical)
Performs minor part modifications i.e. makes it fit/work
Provides field technical support. Willing/able to travel occasionally on short notice.
Troubleshoots electromechanical equipment
Handles incomplete or incorrect documentation with grace and resourcefulness
BONUS prototyping skills: Machinist, welder, PCB layout/repair, carpenter, GD&T
EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE
5+ years of experience in technical trades/support of robotic (or a related) system operations
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
Must be able to lift 50 pounds at times
Vision to read printed materials and a computer screen
Hearing and speech to communicate
Senior Robotics Navigation Engineer
About Elevate Robotics
We build multi-purpose robots that solve scalable industrial use cases. Our executive team previously founded Plus One Robotics and Fox Robotics. We have a small, highly talented hardware and software team. We plan to deploy 1 million robots in 10 years. We’re not a humanoid company.
Why This Role Exists
We need to deliver v1 of an indoor navigation stack (mapping + localization + planning + control) by December 2025. You will own that charter end-to-end, from algorithm design through on-floor validation.
Must-Haves
5+ years shipping real-world navigation on mobile robots (warehouse or factory preferred).
Planning, trajectory optimization and control for wheeled, indoor robots.
C++, software development, software design.
Comfort debugging on-robot, log analysis, field testing.
Nice-to-Haves
Python
Deployment of lidar and/or vision-based SLAM or tightly-coupled localization.
NERF, Gaussian Splats, etc...
Safety-rated navigation, experience with B56.5 compliance.
Simulation for development and testing.
How We Work
High ownership, fast feedback, no bureaucracy
Intense, but not a death march
Small software team with relatively general skills
AI-friendly
Compensation includes significant equity.