We're looking for someone who already knows this problem. Not robotics in the abstract — the specific, gnarly reality of putting an abrasive against a metal part with a robot and getting a good result, repeatably, in a production environment. If you've wrestled with wheel wear, force control, fixturing that survives a foundry, cycle times that actually close a business case, and the thousand small failures between a clean demo and a cell that runs a shift unattended, you're who we want.
You'll shape how we build cells, what tooling we standardize on, and how we solve finishing problems we haven't seen yet.
What you'll doOwn the mechanical design of our grinding and finishing cells (end effectors, tool changers, force compliance, fixturing, dust and safety systems).
Solve real process problems: material removal, surface-finish targets, wheel and media selection, contact mechanics, cycle time.
Get on the floor, and have your designs constantly tested in production.
Set the standard for how we approach new parts and new customers mechanically.
Direct experience with robotic grinding, deburring, or surface finishing. You've shipped or deeply worked on systems that drive a tool against a part.
Real grasp of the process, not just the mechanism: abrasives, contact forces, material removal, finish quality.
Comfort with force/torque control, compliance, and the sensing that makes finishing work (we run ATI sensors, Yaskawa and KUKA arms, Zivid vision).
Someone who thrives in the field and on the floor, not only in CAD.
The judgment to know what's good enough to ship and what isn't.
Foundry, casting, or heavy-manufacturing exposure.
Experience taking a cell from prototype to running-a-shift-unattended.
Familiarity with industrial robot integration and machine safety systems.
Skills Required
- Direct experience with robotic grinding, deburring, or surface finishing
- Mechanical design of grinding and finishing cells (end effectors, tool changers, force compliance, fixturing, dust and safety systems)
- Practical process knowledge: abrasives, contact forces, material removal, surface finish quality
- Comfort with force/torque control, compliance, and sensing (experience with ATI force/torque sensors, Yaskawa and KUKA robots, Zivid vision)
- Field and production-floor testing experience; ability to iterate designs in production environments
- Judgment to determine when designs are ready to ship
- Foundry, casting, or heavy-manufacturing exposure
- Experience taking a cell from prototype to running-a-shift-unattended
- Familiarity with industrial robot integration and machine safety systems
What We Do
Pivot Robotics builds AI-powered robotic systems that automate grinding and finishing processes in manufacturing, using AI vision control software to enable industrial robots to adapt.
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