Senior Engineer, Physical AI Lab Technical LeadEmployer: Inabia Solutions & Consulting
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Work Arrangement: Onsite, five days per week
Employment Type: W-2
Compensation: Competitive compensation
Work Authorization: U.S. Citizen or Green Card Only
About the RoleThis is not a traditional lab technician position. Inabia Solutions & Consulting is seeking a Senior Engineer and Physical AI Lab Technical Lead who can own technical execution from initial design through testing, troubleshooting, and final documentation.
You will not simply follow test plans. You will help create them. You will design and build test benches, lead prototype hardware integration, diagnose complex failures, and establish reliable testing and documentation practices for the lab.
This position is designed for an experienced, hands-on engineer who is equally comfortable reading a schematic, analyzing a communication bus, writing a Python test script, and physically assembling or modifying hardware.
You will support foundational Physical AI work involving next-generation robotic platforms. The work spans electrical bring-up, mechanical integration, test automation, reliability engineering, and system-level troubleshooting. You will collaborate directly with hardware engineers, AI researchers, and lab operations personnel to ensure builds are completed correctly and test results are accurate and repeatable.
Key ResponsibilitiesTest Bench Design and Execution- Design, build, configure, and operate test benches for prototype robotic hardware, including power systems, motion actuation, sensor arrays, and communication interfaces.
- Develop test plans and acceptance criteria in partnership with hardware engineers.
- Own test execution, data collection, results analysis, and documentation.
- Build custom fixtures, jigs, and test setups using mechanical fabrication, electrical wiring, and software scripting.
- Operate and maintain diagnostic equipment, including oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, multimeters, and signal analyzers.
- Train junior lab personnel on equipment operation, testing procedures, and safe laboratory practices.
- Improve test processes to increase repeatability, accuracy, and efficiency.
Hardware Builds and Systems Integration- Support and lead prototype hardware builds involving actuators, sensors, compute modules, power distribution systems, and communication networks.
- Integrate sensors such as force and torque sensors, inertial measurement units, encoders, and vision systems.
- Perform PCB bring-up, board-level debugging, and system-level validation.
- Read and interpret electrical schematics, PCB layouts, wiring diagrams, and mechanical drawings.
- Diagnose hardware issues at the component, board, subsystem, and platform levels.
- Validate communication buses and protocols, including CAN, EtherCAT, and RS-485.
- Troubleshoot communication timing, signal integrity, configuration, and protocol issues.
- Provide Design for Manufacturability and Design for Assembly feedback based on hands-on build and integration experience.
Troubleshooting and Failure Analysis- Lead root-cause analysis for hardware failures involving power, compute, communications, actuation, sensing, and mechanical systems.
- Reproduce and document failures using a structured and repeatable process.
- Prepare clear failure-analysis reports with findings, supporting data, recommended corrective actions, and resolution status.
- Develop and maintain a lab debugging playbook that documents known failure modes, diagnostic methods, and resolution procedures.
- Serve as the primary technical escalation point for complex laboratory and prototype hardware issues.
- Translate hands-on troubleshooting findings into clear information that engineering teams can use to make design and program decisions.
- Track corrective actions through validation and closure.
Reliability Engineering- Design and execute reliability and environmental test programs, including thermal cycling, vibration, mechanical stress, and long-duration soak testing.
- Analyze failure data to identify trends, recurring issues, and systemic hardware risks.
- Partner with hardware engineers to recommend and validate design improvements.
- Support reliability planning using established engineering methods and test standards.
- Maintain calibration records and test equipment certifications.
- Ensure measurement accuracy, testing consistency, and data integrity throughout the lab.
- Establish repeatable procedures for equipment maintenance, calibration, and test readiness.
Technical Leadership- Provide hands-on technical direction during prototype builds, hardware bring-up, testing, and failure investigations.
- Review test plans, build procedures, and engineering documentation for completeness and technical accuracy.
- Mentor junior engineers and lab personnel in hardware testing, troubleshooting, equipment use, and documentation.
- Identify laboratory capability gaps and recommend equipment, tooling, fixtures, and process improvements.
- Coordinate with engineering and lab operations teams to prioritize work and resolve technical blockers.
- Promote a disciplined approach to safety, configuration control, test execution, and documentation.
Required Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related field, or equivalent practical experience.
- At least seven years of hands-on experience in hardware development, test engineering, systems integration, reliability engineering, mechatronics, or a related discipline.
- Advanced proficiency with electronic test and diagnostic equipment.
- Demonstrated experience troubleshooting hardware at both the component and system levels.
- Ability to independently read and interpret electrical schematics, PCB layouts, wiring diagrams, and mechanical drawings.
- Experience designing and building test benches, custom test fixtures, and laboratory setups from the ground up.
- Experience leading prototype hardware builds, bring-up activities, or complex integration efforts.
- Strong understanding of electrical, mechanical, and embedded hardware interfaces.
- Ability to document testing procedures, build instructions, troubleshooting methods, and failure-analysis findings clearly.
- Strong technical judgment and the ability to work effectively in a fast-moving environment with changing requirements.
- Ability to work onsite in Boston five days per week.
Preferred Qualifications- Experience working in robotics, Physical AI, autonomous systems, or an advanced hardware research and development environment.
- Familiarity with high-degree-of-freedom robotic systems, servo drives, motor controllers, or embedded motion-control systems.
- Experience with reliability engineering methods such as Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, Highly Accelerated Life Testing, Highly Accelerated Stress Screening, or Weibull analysis.
- Python scripting or programming experience for test automation, data logging, instrument control, and results analysis.
- Experience with Hardware-in-the-Loop testing systems and methodologies.
- Experience with CAD tools such as SolidWorks, Fusion 360, or similar platforms for fixture design and technical documentation.
- Experience with CAN, EtherCAT, RS-485, or other industrial and embedded communication protocols.
- Knowledge of laboratory safety practices, equipment calibration, configuration management, and engineering change control.
What Success Looks LikeSuccess in this position means prototype builds proceed with fewer avoidable delays, test results are accurate and repeatable, and complex failures are diagnosed through a structured process. The lab has clear build procedures, test plans, calibration records, and debugging documentation that allow engineering teams to move quickly without sacrificing quality or safety.
You will be expected to solve difficult technical problems directly while also building the processes and technical capability needed to prevent those problems from recurring.
A Day in the RoleYour morning may begin with the bring-up of a new actuator module. You verify power sequencing and communication before handing the module to the robotics engineering team. When a CAN bus timing issue appears, you analyze the logic trace, identify a firmware configuration mismatch, validate the correction, and document the resolution for future builds.
Later, you may meet with hardware engineers to review the test plan for an upcoming environmental stress campaign. Based on prior test results, you recommend strengthening an acceptance criterion before testing begins.
The afternoon may involve instrumenting a new test bench for a six-axis force and torque characterization run. Before leaving, you update the build log, record equipment configurations, and communicate the day's technical findings to the broader team.
