Staff Robotics and Automation Engineer
About the job
Job Title: Staff Robotics and Automation Engineer
Location: On-Site (San Leandro, CA)
Job Type: Full-Time
About SirenOpt
At SirenOpt®, we are building the manufacturing intelligence layer for advanced materials. We help manufacturers visualize, understand, and control the material behavior that determines yield, performance, and safety across energy, aerospace, automotive, electronics, and semiconductor applications.
We are working on this problem because advanced materials are becoming more critical and more complex, but the tools used to manufacture them have not kept pace. Manufacturers still lack real-time visibility into the small variations that shape quality on the line. We care because those invisible variations cause scrap, waste energy and materials, create higher costs, inconsistent product performance, and introduce avoidable safety risks.
We developed PlasmaSens™, our manufacturing intelligence platform, to close that visibility gap and to lay the foundation for truly autonomous manufacturing.
We are uniquely suited to solve this problem because our expertise and our platform connect material science, plasma physics, machine learning, and manufacturing in one system. The same core technology works in-line, at-line, and off-line, and across form factors ranging from electrodes and wafers to 3D components. That flexibility lets us meet manufacturers where they are and carry insight from the lab into mass production.
We have deployed multiple PlasmaSens products with customers and collaborators across the United States, Japan, Germany, and Taiwan. We pair that real-world experience with support from leading US, European, and Japanese venture investors, the National Science Foundation, the California Energy Commission, and the Department of Energy. Our combination of differentiated technology, manufacturing experience, and global scientific and industry partnerships gives us the foundation to solve material variability at scale.
Role Overview
SirenOpt is seeking a Staff Robotics Engineer to own the robotics and automation integration of our P2P platform, a robot-based material measurement system that combines cold atmospheric plasma sensing, robotic scanning, and software to inspect customer parts without damaging them. This hands-on individual contributor role requires 5-10 years of experience programming industrial robot arms and collaborative robots, including CAD-to-path workflows and industrial deployment. You will provide technical leadership from development and validation through commissioning and ongoing support.
A strong secondary skillset in mechanical design and engineering is essential. You will contribute directly to end-of-arm tooling, fixtures, sensor mounting, and workcell design to deliver safe, accurate, and repeatable measurements. Working with mechanical, electrical, systems, software, and applications engineers, you will drive P2P integration and resolve issues across subsystem interfaces. Controls engineering experience is a plus.
What You'll Do
Own P2P robotics and automation integration across development, commissioning, validation, deployment, and support; define system architecture, requirements, interfaces, and acceptance criteria, lead technical design reviews, and guide engineering priorities.
Program and maintain industrial robot arms and cobots, including the FANUC CRX platform, for homing, warm-up, positioning, raster scanning, continuous scanning, and safe recovery from faults.
Develop CAD-to-path workflows that convert part geometry into executable scan trajectories; control tool orientation, surface coverage, stand-off distance, speed, and acceleration, and validate reachability and collision clearance.
Develop and validate sensor-based path correction to maintain the required tip-to-surface distance and measurement consistency over varying part geometries.
Integrate robot controllers with SirenOpt PC software through robot APIs and Ethernet communication; implement commands, motion handshakes, heartbeats, position and status reporting, fault handling, and data synchronization.
Develop, test, and maintain robot programs and integration software using version control, documented interfaces, repeatable configurations, and controlled releases.
Use offline programming and simulation tools to validate trajectories, identify collisions and singularities, and reduce commissioning time before testing on hardware.
Establish calibration and verification procedures for tool center points, robot and workpiece coordinate frames, alignment, and scan accuracy; investigate drift and repeatability issues using measured data.
Design and improve end-of-arm tooling, fixtures, sensor mounts, and related mechanical assemblies with the mechanical engineering team; evaluate tolerances, stiffness, payload, cable routing, workcell layout, access, and serviceability.
Lead robotics safety risk assessments with the engineering team and validate protective measures, emergency stops, interlocks, safe operating modes, and responses to communication loss or critical faults.
Plan and execute integration, reliability, factory acceptance, and site acceptance testing; troubleshoot motion, software, communication, and mechanical issues and document corrective actions.
Coordinate automation contractors and vendors, review their programs and deliverables, and retain internal ownership of source code, configurations, technical documentation, and system knowledge.
Support customer installation and commissioning, train operators and engineers, and maintain operating, calibration, maintenance, and troubleshooting procedures for P2P systems.
What We're Looking For
5-10 years of hands-on experience programming and deploying industrial robot arms and collaborative robots in industrial or manufacturing environments.
A strong secondary skillset in mechanical design and engineering, demonstrated through hands-on design of robotic tooling, fixtures, or automation equipment. Proficiency with a 3D CAD tool and practical understanding of tolerances, material selection, fabrication, and assembly are required.
Demonstrated technical leadership and ownership of robotic system architecture and integration from requirements through commissioning and acceptance testing; ability to guide design decisions and mentor engineers as a Staff-level individual contributor.
Strong robot programming skills and practical knowledge of kinematics, coordinate transformations, tool center points, motion planning, calibration, collision avoidance, and singularities.
Practical experience generating robot paths from CAD geometry, including surface-following trajectories, tool orientation, offline programming, and validation on physical hardware.
Experience developing robot integration software and working with controller APIs, Ethernet communication, I/O handshakes, position feedback, error handling, and PC-based control.
Hands-on experience with industrial robot and cobot safety, including risk assessment, emergency stops, interlocks, protective measures, and validation of fault responses.
Ability to diagnose problems across robot motion, mechanical hardware, sensors, electrical interfaces, and software, supported by clear test plans and measured results.
Clear technical documentation and communication skills, with the ability to organize priorities, coordinate contractors, and work independently within a multidisciplinary team.
Nice to Have
Controls engineering experience with PLCs, motion control, industrial networks, safety controllers, or closed-loop control.
Direct experience with FANUC CRX robots, FANUC APIs and development tools, ROBOGUIDE, and RoboDK.
Experience with robotic inspection or metrology, machine vision, distance sensors, or adaptive path correction.
Experience bringing prototype automation systems into production and supporting equipment at customer sites.
