Mechanical Engineer (Controls)
$100K - $135K•0.40% - 0.75%•San Francisco, CA, US
Role
Engineering, Mechanical
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About the role
Responsibilities
- Build and deploy control panels, including wiring, layout, labeling, and documentation
- Integrate sensors, valves, relays, and actuators with PLCs, Arduinos, and robot controllers
- Design and integrate safety systems, including e-stops, interlocks, and safety relays
- Test, tune, and troubleshoot pneumatic and electromechanical subsystems
- Collaborate with software and electrical engineers to improve performance and reliability
- Support setup and bring-up of robot cells at customer sites
- Design and assemble mechanical systems such as vises, grippers, and camera mounts
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s or Master’s in Mechanical, Mechatronics, or Robotics Engineering
- 1-2 years of experience in mechanical design and control system integration
- Experience building and wiring control panels from start to finish
- Familiarity with safety hardware and standards (e.g., e-stops, light curtains, safety PLCs)
- Understanding of pneumatic systems and basic control loops
- Proficiency in CAD (SolidWorks, Fusion 360, or Onshape)
- Comfortable working hands-on in lab and factory environments
- Willingness to travel for installations and field testing
About Pivot Robotics
Pivot Robots (YC W24) is building the AI brain for robot arms for high-mix manufacturing.
Pivot Robots combines off-the-shelf robots and vision sensors with recent breakthroughs in foundation vision models to give industrial robot arms the power to adapt. Our first product directly addresses the dangerous and unpopular task of grinding metal parts. Currently, our software is being deployed on 10+ robots at a large cast iron foundry.

