AI Applications Engineer

About Standard Bots

Standard Bots is pioneering the next evolution in industrial robotics, delivering powerful, affordable hardware designed for scalability. As the leading U.S. industrial robotics company by unit shipments, our robots serve a wide range of customers from independent machine shops to large organizations like NASA and Lockheed Martin.

Note: This position involves extensive domestic travel—up to 50% currently—which is expected to decrease as the team grows. If frequent travel is a concern, this role may not be suitable.

Important: This is not a role focused on model training or coding exclusively. Instead, it combines mechanical, electrical, and software expertise with AI as an empowering tool. The factory floor will be your primary work environment.

Role Overview

The AI Applications Engineer operates at the crossroads of robotics, AI, and field deployment. You aren't solely a software nor hardware engineer; your responsibility is to analyze manufacturing challenges, determine how AI techniques such as computer vision or language models can enhance robot intelligence, and then develop and implement these solutions in real environments.

You will collaborate closely with sales, software, and applications teams to define AI-driven solutions, create proofs of concept in our facility, and travel onsite to install and commission systems. You'll oversee your projects fully—from conception to deployment and customer training.

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate with customers and sales to identify AI opportunities (computer vision, object detection, visual language models) that improve production workflows.
• Create and validate proofs of concept before formal agreements.
• Produce documentation, sample code, and integration guides to enable replication and scalability by clients and internal teams.
• Travel to client locations to install, configure, and commission AI-augmented robotic systems.
• Manage comprehensive integration tasks including camera placement, calibration, model deployment, I/O configuration, testing, and final approval.
• Perform onsite troubleshooting until successful operation.
• Provide operator and engineer training on AI functionalities within Standard Bots deployments.
• Serve as a trusted technical contact for customers expanding their use of the system.
• Relay practical deployment insights to engineering and product teams to drive improvements.
• Engage with internal teams on new feature testing, peripheral integrations, and platform growth.
• Contribute to the internal knowledge base documenting AI application outcomes and lessons learned.

Required Qualifications and Skills

• Proficiency in robot programming or closely related software experience; ability to program robots even without prior direct exposure.
• Demonstrated experience working with robots, from educational to professional levels.
• Familiarity with machine learning models such as convolutional neural networks, object detection, and visual language models capable of in-depth discussion without external references.
• Technical competence within engineering environments, including documentation skills, project management, and teamwork.
• Willingness to undertake up to 50% domestic travel initially.

Preferred Specializations (At least one required)

• Mechanical design skills relating to pneumatics, camera mounts, and end-of-arm tooling; gripper design experience is a plus.
• Electrical design capabilities including custom board creation and wiring for automation control components.
• Hands-on expertise deploying machine vision systems with an understanding of camera and lens selection in real-world applications.

Additional Desirable Experience

• Experience with collaborative robot brands such as UR, Fanuc, KUKA, or ABB.
• Practical involvement with vision systems like Cognex, Basler, FLIR in industrial or lab settings.
• Knowledge of ROS or other robotics middleware frameworks.
• Background in manufacturing or industrial automation settings.
• Startup experience demonstrating ability to innovate within resource constraints.

Compensation and Benefits

The annual base salary offered ranges from $120,000 to $150,000 depending on experience and seniority. Compensation will be tailored accordingly. All full-time employees are eligible for stock options. Additional benefits include paid time off, medical, dental, and vision insurance, life and disability coverage, and 401(k) plans.