Engineering Intern

Gradient Robotics

Posted 5 months ago

Internship

Menlo Park, California

In Person

Smart Summary

Responsibilities

The intern will work with founding engineers to design mechanical components, build ML training pipelines, and integrate sensors and actuators into robot hardware. Responsibilities include prototyping fixtures, running experiments, and developing tools to accelerate the engineering team.

Qualifications

You are currently pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, CS, or a related field and are a hands-on builder with personal projects. You possess strong fundamentals in mechanical design, embedded systems, controls, or machine learning and are comfortable with ambiguity and a fast-paced environment.

Must Have Skills for ATS

CAD

SolidWorks

Fusion 360

Onshape

Python

PyTorch

ROS

embedded C/C++

3D printing

machining

electronics

Job Description

About Gradient Robotics

Gradient Robotics is building intelligent robots for data centers and factories. We believe the fastest practical path to capable general-purpose robotics is through industry deployment. We're here to change the world with robotics.

We own and build our full robotics stack — designing the hardware, building the software systems, training ML models, and manufacturing through a global supply chain — for world-class iteration speed, reliability, and scale.

We've built 3 generations of robots with a team of 7, backed by top-tier investors and working toward pilots with the world's largest data center builders. Our team created and built the best-selling open-source humanoid robots in the US at K-Scale Labs and worked on generations of foundation software for Tesla Optimus.

The Role

As an engineering intern at Gradient, you'll work directly alongside our founding engineers on real problems — not side projects. Depending on your background and interests, you could be designing mechanisms in CAD, writing ML training pipelines, building test rigs, or debugging hardware on the bench. You'll ship work that ends up on our robots.

What You Might Work On

  • Design and prototype mechanical components, fixtures, or test rigs

  • Contribute to ML training, evaluation, or data collection pipelines

  • Integrate sensors, actuators, or electrical subsystems into robot hardware

  • Build tools, scripts, or dashboards that accelerate the engineering team

  • Run experiments, analyze results, and present findings to the team

What We're Looking For

  • Currently pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, CS, or a related field

  • Hands-on builder — you've made things outside of class (personal projects, research labs, competition teams, etc.)

  • Strong fundamentals in at least one of: mechanical design, embedded systems, controls, or machine learning

  • Comfortable with ambiguity and moving fast — you'll figure things out as you go

  • Bias toward action — you'd rather build a rough prototype than wait for a perfect spec

Nice to Have

  • CAD proficiency (SolidWorks, Fusion 360, Onshape)

  • Experience with Python, PyTorch, ROS, or embedded C/C++

  • Hands-on work with robots, 3D printing, machining, or electronics

  • Prior internship or research experience in robotics or hardware

You're a Fit If You

  • Get excited about building physical things that work in the real world

  • Want to learn fast by working next to experienced engineers on hard problems

  • Would rather intern at a 5-person robotics company than a 5,000-person one

At Gradient, interns don't shadow — they ship. If that excites you, we should talk.

Gradient Robotics

Runway Icon
Boost Your Interview Chances

With Runway

See Your Fit for This Role

1-5 min

Your Score

?

Top Applicants

90%

Your Job Search Advantage

Key Gaps & Next Steps:

Address these in your resume & Interview

Top Strengths For This Role

Highlight these in your cover letter & interview

Your Interview Guide

A Personalized Interview Strategy

Freshest Opportunities

Never Miss a Good Fit

Get notified when jobs mach your criteria