Robotics System Engineer

FieldAI’s Irvine team is where embodied AI meets real robots, real sensors, and real field deployments. Based in the heart of Southern California’s robotics ecosystem, we build risk-aware, reliable, field-ready AI systems that solve the hardest problems in robotics and unlock the full potential of embodied intelligence. If you want your work to ship, get tested on hardware, and improve through real deployments, Irvine is the place. We go beyond typical data-driven approaches or pure transformer-only architectures, combining rigorous engineering with learning systems proven in globally deployed solutions that deliver results today and get better every time our robots run in the field.

What You Get to Do

• Translate product goals, field learnings, and engineering assumptions into system-level, subsystem-level, interface, and platform requirements

• Identify ambiguous, incomplete, or difficult-to-validate requirements and improve clarity and traceability

• Develop system-level understanding of autonomy software, robotic platforms, operational constraints, and release workflows

• Define interface expectations across autonomy software, sensors, compute, and platform behavior

• Improve cross-component alignment and reduce integration risk through clearer ownership and interface definitions

• Establish validation criteria, release readiness expectations, and measurable acceptance thresholds

• Map requirements to validation methods, metrics, scenarios, and release evidence

• Review field and integration learnings to identify recurring system-level issues and convert them into reusable validation cases or requirement updates

• Partner cross-functionally with Autonomy, Robotics, Hardware, Simulation, Infrastructure, and Field teams to drive alignment on system behavior and release readiness

What You Bring

• 8+ years of experience in robotics, autonomy, autonomous vehicles, mobile robots, humanoids, industrial robotics, or complex cyber-physical systems

• Strong understanding of autonomy systems including perception, localization, planning, controls, sensors, compute, and platform integration

• Experience defining system-level requirements, interfaces, validation criteria, or integration expectations for robotic or autonomous systems

• Ability to translate engineering knowledge and field behavior into measurable requirements and release criteria

• Strong systems thinking across software, hardware, operations, and deployment environments

• Experience working cross-functionally with engineering teams and technical stakeholders

• Strong written communication skills for requirements, interface definitions, architecture notes, and technical reviews

What Sets You Apart

• Experience improving systems engineering, validation, release-readiness, or reliability processes for robotics or autonomy products

• Experience with fielded robotic systems operating in real-world environments

• Familiarity with ODDs, validation coverage, requirements traceability, or release acceptance frameworks

• Familiarity with safety, fault handling, degraded modes, hazard analysis, or operational risk

• Experience with simulation, log replay, HIL/SIL testing, automated evaluation pipelines, or field-data-driven validation

• Comfort operating in fast-moving environments where rigor must remain practical and execution-oriented

$170,000 - $190,000 a year

Our salary range is generous and we consider each individual’s background and experience when determining final compensation. Base pay may vary based on role scope, job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and the Irvine, California market.

Why Join FieldAI in Irvine?

In Irvine, you will work where the robots are. Our local team builds and tests systems on real hardware with real sensors, then ships them to operate in unstructured, previously unknown environments around the world. We are solving one of robotics’ hardest challenges: reliable deployment outside the lab. Our Field Foundational Models™ raise the bar for perception, planning, localization, and manipulation, with an emphasis on explainability and safety for real-world use.

You will collaborate with a world-class team that thrives on creativity, resilience, and bold thinking. We bring deep experience from organizations such as DeepMind, NASA JPL, Boston Dynamics, NVIDIA, Amazon, Tesla Autopilot, Cruise, Zoox, Toyota Research Institute, and SpaceX, along with a track record of field deployments and strong performance in DARPA challenge segments.

Be Part of the Next Robotics Revolution

We are looking for builders who want their work to leave the whiteboard and show up on robots. If you enjoy tackling tough, uncharted questions and working across disciplines, you will find your people here. Our teams span AI, software, robotics engineering, product, field deployment, and technical communication, all focused on shipping systems that perform in the real world.

Our headquarters is in Irvine, and we partner closely with teams there as well as colleagues across the US and around the world. Join us in Southern California and help define what dependable, field-ready autonomy looks like.

We value diverse perspectives and are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace. We evaluate candidates and employees based on merit, qualifications, and performance, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or any other legally protected statu