Hardware Engineer, Entry Level

About BurnBot

Wildfire has stopped being a season. BurnBot builds the machines that get ahead of it — remotely operated systems that apply and contain prescribed fire, and platforms that clear heavy fuel on terrain that isn’t safe for crews.

Our fleet is at work today for PG&E, CAL FIRE, the U.S. Forest Service, Caltrans, fire districts, and tribal nations across California, Oregon, and Washington — treating land at up to 40x the pace of conventional methods. We’re roboticists, engineers, and career fire practitioners. Hardware we design in South San Francisco is in the dirt within weeks, and the people who designed it are usually standing next to it.

THE ROLE

If you like machines, this is a very good place to start. Our shop builds heavy equipment that goes to work in the dirt weeks after it’s designed, and you’ll have your hands on all of it.

You’ll design real parts with a mentor, build and instrument the tests that prove them, and go out with the field team to see what the terrain does to your work.

WHAT YOU’LL OWN

• Detail design of parts and subassemblies — your own CAD models and drawings, reviewed by a senior engineer
• Test rigs and instrumentation: build the fixture, wire the sensors, run the test, write up what happened
• Builds and retrofits, in the shop and sometimes at a field site
• Documentation crews can follow — service procedures, spares lists, and assembly instructions that work at 5 a.m.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING

• 0–5 years of experience. New graduates are genuinely welcome here
• Working CAD ability in a major platform — SolidWorks, NX, CATIA, or Creo/Pro-E — and the willingness to live in it
• Shop instincts: you’ve built things, broken things, and fixed them
• Enough data analysis to turn a test into a conclusion
• Willingness to be outside, in the dust and heat, when that’s where the answer is
• B.S. in mechanical, electrical, or mechatronics engineering, or equivalent hands-on experience

NICE TO HAVE

• Formula SAE, Baja, a robotics team, or anything else where you built a machine on a deadline
• Machining, welding, or fabrication skills
• Internships in heavy equipment, agriculture, automotive, or aerospace
• Basic electrical debug — harnesses, sensors, a multimeter
• An interest in wildfire, forestry, or climate work

HOW WE WORK

• Based onsite in South San Francisco — design, build, and test all happen in one building, and being near the machines is most of the point
• Flexible within that. You own your calendar: work the hours where you’re sharpest, and go remote on heads-down days.
• Expect a few days a month in the field across California, Oregon, and Washington. Watching your work run on a live burn is the best part of the job.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

Base salary: $115,000 – $150,000 — final offers reflect experience and demonstrated scope.

• Equity — Incentive Stock Options
• Health, dental, and vision
• Flexible paid time off

Still interested? Please apply by visiting BurnBot.com/Careers, or by sending your resume to [email protected].

Burnbot is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including but not limited to, pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with one or more disabilities, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

If you need assistance or accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us at (415) 795-9124 x 1010 or [email protected].