Robotics Engineer Jobs in Somerville, MA (NOW HIRING)

This role focuses on ensuring fleet-scale reliability, availability, and performance of large-scale robotic systems. You will diagnose and resolve complex system-level issues across software, hardware, controls, and infrastructure, while driving continuous improvements in robustness, fault tolerance, and scalability. The position combines hands-on debugging, data-driven performance optimization, and close collaboration with cross-functional and field teams to keep thousands of deployed robots operating reliably in production environments.

Responsibilities

• Identify, triage, and determine root causes of system-level issues impacting large-scale robotic fleets.
• Drive improvements in system reliability, availability, and performance across thousands of deployed robots.
• Define, implement, and monitor system performance guardrails tied to customer KPIs such as throughput, error rates, recovery time, and uptime.
• Partner with field teams to debug and resolve production issues in live environments.
• Work across robotics software, hardware, controls, perception, and infrastructure to diagnose complex system interactions.
• Debug issues spanning embedded systems, distributed services, real-time control loops, and operational workflows.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to implement fixes and long-term solutions for systemic issues.
• Contribute to system design improvements that enhance robustness, fault tolerance, and scalability.
• Analyze robot logs, telemetry, and diagnostics data to identify failure modes and performance bottlenecks.
• Build and use tools such as SQL queries, Python scripts, and dashboards to investigate trends and validate hypotheses.
• Develop mechanisms for regression detection, failure trend analysis, and ongoing performance monitoring.
• Drive continuous improvement through structured experiments and data-backed decisions.
• Own reliability metrics and contribute to improving system observability and debuggability.
• Document failure modes, key learnings, and standard operating procedures for issue resolution.
• Support release validation to ensure new changes meet reliability and performance expectations.
• Act as a technical escalation point for complex system issues in production environments.

• At least 5 years of experience in robotics, automation, or complex distributed systems.
• Strong systems engineering mindset with hands-on experience in robotics control software, real-time systems, and hardware-software integration.
• Proven experience in structured root-cause analysis and failure investigation.
• Proficiency in data analysis and scripting using Python, SQL, or similar languages.
• Experience working with logs, telemetry systems, and large-scale operational data.
• Familiarity with Linux environments and version control systems such as Git.
• Experience working in production environments with deployed systems rather than only lab prototypes.
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to work effectively across ambiguous, cross-functional system boundaries.
• Experience in Agile development environments.
• Background in reliability engineering, test engineering, or systems engineering with a focus on complex hardware and software systems.
• Hands-on experience with robotics controls and real-time operating systems (RTOS).
• Demonstrated capability in hardware integration, validation, and debugging.
• Experience performing failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) or similar structured reliability techniques.

• Experience with test equipment and hardware debug in robotics or automation environments.
• Familiarity with integration and validation of embedded systems and distributed services.
• Exposure to operational workflows in large-scale robotic or automated fleets.
• Comfort building dashboards and analytical tools to support observability and performance monitoring.
• Ability to clearly document technical findings, failure modes, and standard operating procedures for broader team use.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills for working with cross-functional engineering and field operations teams.

This role operates in a production-focused environment supporting large-scale robotic fleets. You will work closely with deployed systems rather than solely lab prototypes, collaborating with software, hardware, controls, and field operations teams to resolve issues in live settings. The technology stack includes robotics control software, real-time operating systems, embedded systems, distributed services, Linux-based environments, and tools such as Python, SQL, telemetry platforms, and version control systems like Git. The work emphasizes system observability, data-driven analysis, and Agile development practices, with a strong focus on reliability, performance, and continuous improvement across complex, integrated systems.

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract position based out of Wilmington, MA.

The pay range for this position is $47.00 - $78.00/hr.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following:
• Medical, dental & vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

This is a fully onsite position in Wilmington,MA.

This position is anticipated to close on Jul 29, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.