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Contract Robotics Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

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Contract Robotics Engineer information

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$28.6K

$104.2K

$166.8K

How much do contract robotics engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 7, 2026, the average yearly pay for contract robotics engineer in California is $104,222.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $82,400.00 and $125,300.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a contract robotics engineer?

To thrive as a Contract Robotics Engineer, you should possess strong proficiency in robotics systems design, programming (such as C++, Python, or ROS), and a relevant engineering degree. Experience with CAD tools, embedded systems, control algorithms, and, optionally, certifications like Certified Robotics Programmer are valuable assets. Excellent problem-solving abilities, communication skills, and adaptability help individuals excel in contractor environments where teams and projects change frequently. These skills ensure you can efficiently deliver innovative solutions, collaborate with multidisciplinary teams, and navigate the unique demands of contract-based work.

What types of projects and daily tasks can a contract robotics engineer expect to work on?

As a Contract Robotics Engineer, you may work on a variety of projects, such as developing robotic automation for manufacturing lines, designing mobile robot prototypes, or troubleshooting existing robotic systems. Your daily tasks could include writing and testing control software, integrating hardware components, conducting system simulations, and collaborating with cross-functional teams like mechanical engineers or project managers. Assignments are often dynamic, requiring you to quickly adapt to new technologies and workflows. This variety offers opportunities to build diverse technical skills and make impactful contributions across multiple industries.

What is a contract robotics engineer?

A Contract Robotics Engineer is a professional who designs, develops, and programs robotic systems on a temporary or project-based basis. They typically work with companies to create automation solutions, improve manufacturing processes, or develop new robotic applications. Unlike full-time employees, contract engineers are hired for specific projects and may work with multiple clients. Their responsibilities often include hardware design, software development, system integration, and testing. This role requires expertise in robotics engineering, programming, and problem-solving to deliver efficient and innovative robotic solutions.

What are the most commonly searched types of Robotics Engineer jobs in California? The most popular types of Robotics Engineer jobs in California are:
What job categories do people searching Contract Robotics Engineer jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Contract Robotics Engineer jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for Contract Robotics Engineer jobs? Cities in California with the most Contract Robotics Engineer job openings:
Infographic showing various Contract Robotics Engineer job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 86% Full Time, and 14% Contract. Highlights an 100% In-person job distribution, with an average salary of $104,222 per year, or $50.1 per hour.

Staff Robotics Engineer - Surface Dominance

Anduril Industries

Costa Mesa, CA • On-site

Full-time

Re-posted 6 days ago


Anduril rating

9.1

Company rating: 9.1 out of 10

Anduril

Based on 17 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

7.4

Company rating compared to similar companies: 7.4 out of 10

Manufacturers average

Based on 75,035 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz


Job description

Anduril Industries is a defense technology company with a mission to transform U.S. and allied military capabilities with advanced technology. By bringing the expertise, technology, and business model of the 21st century's most innovative companies to the defense industry, Anduril is changing how military systems are designed, built and sold. Anduril's family of systems is powered by Lattice OS, an AI-powered operating system that turns thousands of data streams into a realtime, 3D command and control center. As the world enters an era of strategic competition, Anduril is committed to bringing cutting-edge autonomy, AI, computer vision, sensor fusion, and networking technology to the military in months, not years.
ABOUT THE TEAM
Anduril's Maritime Division has assembled a diverse team of experts in software, robotics, artificial intelligence, sensor fusion, and data analysis to create software and hardware solutions that radically evolve the capabilities of our customers. We are fielding the next generation of autonomous systems to tackle the extremely challenging industry demands of maritime operations. Anduril has brought to market a unique, ultra-long-range, full-ocean-depth underwater vessel platform and a completely refreshed maritime vehicle and flexible manufacturing architecture that scales from "small" to "extra-large" vehicle sizes. Today, Anduril is executing on billion-dollar contracts while simultaneously performing Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) AUV operations.
We are seeking to sustain our early successes with deep investment in an expanded product portfolio. These products, including Dive-XL, Dive-LD, Copperhead, Seabed Sentry, and other unannounced systems, will deliver a coherent system-of-systems, enabling the end-to-end conduct of a variety of autonomous missions in the maritime domain. If you are passionate about solving problems that have real impact and working on systems that directly contribute to achieving national strategic priorities, we want you to join Anduril's Maritime Division and help us build the future of defense capability.
ABOUT THE JOB
Staff Robotics Engineers lead the delivery of vehicle perception and planning capability integrated in to our products, acting as technical leads, extremely senior individual contributors, and/or as team leads that are also hands-on contributors. . This includes systems analysis, sensor selection and integration, perception architecture and implementation, motion planning, health management, behaviour analysis, simulation and test infrastructure, and interfaces with lower- and higher-level systems. We expect Staff Robotics Engineers to demonstrate unparalleled end-to-end outcome ownership, driving the rapid architecting, design, delivery, support, and evolution of safe and effective vehicle autonomy on Anduril's autonomous platforms through their entire product life-cycle.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
  • Own customer success through the design and delivery of a multi-year, multi-stakeholder software roadmap that spans across multiple teams.
  • Leverage internal product and program-specific engineering teams to rapidly deliver capability beyond the scope of current platforms, with a clear path for both architecture and capability evolution over time
  • Partner with external teams, collaborating on interfacing requirements between diverse systems and technologies
  • Lead teams that architect, design and implement trusted safe navigation, collision avoidance, and situational awareness systems that balance constraints, restrictions and requirements in a multi-stakeholder environment.
  • Drive the development and implementation of sensor suites, perception algorithms, planning algorithms, and test fixtures to deliver safe navigation and effective operation of Anduril's autonomous vehicles
  • Perform high impact IC work in architecture and implementation across the whole perception and planning stack
  • Utilize advanced techniques in computer vision, sensor fusion, and machine learning to enhance perception and planning capabilities of Anduril vehicles
  • Conduct thorough testing and validation of perception and planning algorithms through development and use of simulation and analysis of data from real-world experiments, including evolving the data analysis tooling.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including software engineers, mechanical engineers, and systems engineers, to ensure effective system integration and testing
  • Travel to co-locate with end-users and/or other teams up to 20% of the time
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
  • Bachelor's degree in Robotics, Mechatronics, Computer Science, Engineering, a relevant field, or equivalent experience
  • Experienced and proficient in C++ and/or Python software development
  • Familiarity with autonomous vehicle hardware and sensors such as radar, sonar, LIDAR, and cameras
  • Demonstrated knowledge of at least one of: computer vision, sensor fusion, SLAM, motion planning, machine learning
  • Experience in a senior perception or planning role for the delivery of a robotic system
  • Capacity to act as the technical owner for a system, including stakeholder engagement, requirements definition, roadmap management, team co-ordination, design, implementation, sustainment and evolution
  • Ability to collaborate with stakeholders to define and implement robust validation and verification strategies for perception and planning modules
  • Capacity to learn and grow individually, while mentoring junior team members effectively, building team cohesion and capacity
  • Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
  • Experience with autonomous systems in the ground, air, maritime or space domains
  • Experience with simulation tools and frameworks, such as Gazebo, Unity, or Unreal Engine, for algorithm validation and testing
  • Knowledge of safety standards and certification processes for autonomous systems
  • Familiarity with System Engineering concepts

Anduril is an equal-opportunity employer, and we encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply. If you are someone passionate to work on problems that matter, we'd love to hear from you!
US Salary Range
$253,000-$336,000 USD
The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary offer may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. Highly competitive equity grants are included in the majority of full time offers; and are considered part of Anduril's total compensation package. Additionally, Anduril offers top-tier benefits for full-time employees, including:
Benefits
At Anduril, we invest in our people. Our comprehensive, competitive benefits package (available at little to no cost to employees) ensures you're supported in health, recovery, and whatever comes next. For more information, Explore Our Benefits.
Protecting Yourself from Recruitment Scams
Anduril is committed to maintaining the integrity of our Talent acquisition process and the security of our candidates. We've observed a rise in sophisticated phishing and fraudulent schemes where individuals impersonate Anduril representatives, luring job seekers with false interviews or job offers. These scammers often attempt to extract payment or sensitive personal information.
To ensure your safety and help you navigate your job search with confidence, please keep the following critical points in mind:
  • No Financial Requests: Anduril will never solicit payment or demand personal financial details (such as banking information, credit card numbers, or social security numbers) at any stage of our hiring process. Our legitimate recruitment is entirely free for candidates.
  • Please always verify communications:
    • Direct from Anduril: If you receive an email from one of our recruiters, it will only come from an @anduril.com address.
    • Via Agency Partner: If contacted by a recruiting agency for an Anduril role, their email will clearly identify their agency. If you suspect any suspicious activity, please verify the agency's authenticity by reaching out to contact@anduril.com.
  • Exercise Caution with Unsolicited Outreach: If you receive any communication that appears suspicious, contains grammatical errors, or makes unusual requests, do not engage. Always confirm the sender's email domain is @anduril.com before providing any personal information or clicking on links.
  • What to Do If You Suspect Fraud: Should you encounter any questionable or fraudulent outreach claiming to be from Anduril, please report it immediately to contact@anduril.com. Your proactive caution is invaluable in protecting your personal information and upholding the security and trustworthiness of our recruitment efforts.

Data Privacy
To view Anduril's candidate data privacy policy, please visit https://anduril.com/applicant-privacy-notice/.
By submitting your application, you consent to Anduril Industries using a third-party service provider to conduct pre-employment risk, integrity, and due diligence screening and assessing potential risks as part of your application process. This third-party service provider provides risk-intelligence services that may include analysis of sanctions and watchlists, adverse media, public-record information, and other lawful open-source or commercial data sources. This third-party service provider does not act as a consumer reporting agency. Use of this provider helps to ensure compliance with applicable laws and protect technology, intellectual property, and organizational security.

Working at Anduril

About Anduril, in their own words

From Anduril

As the world enters an era of strategic competition, Anduril delivers cutting-edge autonomy, AI, computer vision, sensor fusion, and networking technology to the warfighter in months, not years.


What Anduril employees say

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Get the full story on Breakroom


Anduril Industries logo

About Anduril Industries

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

Anduril Industries is a trailblazer in the technology industry based in Costa Mesa, CA, US. Founded in 2017 by Palmer Luckey, the creator of Oculus VR, the company focuses on developing innovative technology to equip and empower those in the defense sector. Its primary products include cutting-edge autonomous systems and AI software that assist in combating threats to national and global security. The mission of Anduril Industries is to integrate technology and defense by building transformative, scalable solutions that ensure a safer world.

Industry

Guided missile and space vehicle manufacturing

Company size

501 - 1,000 Employees

Headquarters location

Costa Mesa, CA, US

Year founded

2017

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