Full-Time

Mechanical Engineer

Updated on 8/1/2026

Pivot Robotics

Pivot Robotics

1-10 employees

AI-powered robot-arm automation for high-mix manufacturing

No salary listed

San Francisco, CA, USA

In Person

Work is performed on a factory floor and may include deployments at customer facilities.

Category
Mechanical Engineering (1)
Required Skills
Welding
Robotics

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Requirements
  • The candidate must have solid mechanical engineering fundamentals and strong computer-aided design skills.
  • The candidate must have proof of building real hardware.
  • The candidate must be willing to learn robotic grinding and surface finishing.
  • The candidate must be comfortable working on a factory floor.
Responsibilities
  • Design and build parts of grinding and finishing cells, including fixturing, end effectors, mounts, guarding, and machine mechanisms.
  • Turn designs into real hardware through computer-aided design, fabrication, assembly, and iterative development.
  • Deploy and debug cells in customer facilities.
  • Develop ownership of increasingly difficult mechanical problems.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience with robot integration, fixturing, or automation.
  • Hands-on fabrication skills, including machining or welding.
  • Exposure to manufacturing or foundry environments.

Pivot Robotics provides AI-powered software that lets standard industrial robotic arms handle high-mix, low-volume manufacturing tasks without reprogramming for each part. Its Proteus system uses computer vision and AI to scan parts, detect defects, and automatically generate grinding paths for tasks like metal surface finishing in foundries. This vision-first approach enables one system to adapt to many part variations, differentiating it from traditional automation that relies on custom programming for each part. The company aims to reduce the U.S. manufacturing labor gap by expanding automation across industries and regions, starting in North America and expanding to global hubs.

Company Size

1-10

Company Stage

Seed

Total Funding

$130K

Headquarters

San Francisco, California

Founded

2023

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Surface finishing expands into grinding, cutting, sanding, machining, and spraying.
  • North America foundries provide a repeatable beachhead for production rollouts.
  • Foundation vision models reduce reprogramming and speed customer onboarding.

What critics are saying

  • ABB, FANUC, and Yaskawa can bundle similar adaptation features.
  • A failed foundry pilot would stall credibility and future deployments.
  • Grinding errors create safety, liability, and customer shutdown risks.

What makes Pivot Robotics unique

  • Vision-first software adapts off-the-shelf robots to high-mix parts.
  • Proteus automates grinding while also inspecting defects and toolpaths.
  • 10+ robot pilot at a cast-iron foundry shows real deployment.

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