Founding Fabrication Technician
Founding Fabrication Technician at Pave Robotics — San Francisco, CA, US
- Company: Pave Robotics
- Location: San Francisco, CA, US
- Employment type: FULL_TIME
- Salary: USD 80000–120000 / year
- Posted: 2026-07-17
About this role
This is a full-time, in-office role building real robots that operate in messy, real-world road environments. If you love turning half-baked ideas into rugged hardware, thrive in early-stage chaos, and want your work deployed in the field, not stuck in CAD, this role is for you.
Key Responsibilities
Build and iterate on early-stage robotic systems designed for unstructured outdoor environments
Fabricate custom robot components using CNC machining, welding, 3D printing, and manual machining
Work hands-on with metal and plastic fabrication (aluminum, steel, composites, polymers, etc.)
Rapidly prototype, assemble, modify, and repair robot hardware in support of aggressive field testing
Collaborate closely with EE and CS teams to integrate mechanical systems with electronics, sensors, and compute
Own mechanical builds from concept through deployment, including tolerancing, fixturing, and assembly
Troubleshoot mechanical failures in the field and redesign for durability, reliability, and serviceability
Improve manufacturability and repeatability of designs as systems mature
Help define and build out the company’s fabrication processes, tooling, and workshop capabilities
Move fast, make tradeoffs, and get hardware working under real constraints of time, cost, and environment
Qualifications
Proven experience building robots or complex electromechanical systems at early-stage startups
Strong hands-on experience with:
CNC machining (mills and/or lathes)
Welding (MIG/TIG preferred)
3D printing (FDM/SLA)
General metal and plastic fabrication
Comfortable reading and working from CAD and engineering drawings
Experience assembling systems that integrate motors, actuators, sensors, wiring, and enclosures
Experience working cross-functionally with electrical and software engineers
Ability to rapidly prototype, test, break, fix, and improve hardware in tight iteration loops
Strong intuition for mechanical design tradeoffs: strength, weight, cost, tolerances, and reliability
Comfortable operating in a fast-paced startup environment with incomplete information
Self-directed, detail-oriented, and biased toward action
Portfolios, photos of past builds, or examples of shipped hardware are highly encouraged.