Physical AI Sr. Engineer - Lab Technical Lead

Senior Engineer, Physical AI Lab Technical Lead

This 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering,…