Robot Operator
Robot operators at AI robotics companies spend their days running humanoid or autonomous robots through real-world tasks, identifying malfunctions, and relaying technical feedback to engineering teams through structured issue tracking. What distinguishes this work from general equipment operation is the emphasis on data quality, teleoperation coordination, and close collaboration with AI training pipelines—operators are not just managing hardware but actively generating the observations that improve robot learning and autonomy. These roles sit within operations or deployment teams at companies building general-purpose robotics, working shifts that span 24/7 coverage and often requiring physical coordination, sustained focus, and the ability to troubleshoot mechanical and electrical issues under tight timelines.
Measured across 32 of 32 open postings.
This role is advertised at one level, so a single figure for the role would describe none of them. Experience and pay are the midpoints for each level on its own.
| Level | Share | Median years | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry | 78%(25) | 2 | — |
A dash means too few postings stated it to report a midpoint. Most companies do not publish a salary band, so pay is indicative rather than a market rate. 2 levels with fewer than 10 open postings are not shown.
“Comfortable with agentic coding tools (Claude Code, Codex, etc.)”
Requirements are a share of every open posting, so a role missing from this list is one where almost nobody asks. Work mode is different: many postings never say, so that figure counts only the ones that do.
Skills
What companies are looking for in this role.
Technical issue diagnosis
Equipment maintenance and calibration
Hardware bring-up and debug
Process design and improvement
Escalation and incident response
Electromechanical assembly and rework
Incident response and reliability
Reliability and failure analysis
Rapid prototyping and fabrication
Technical drawing interpretation
Hardware test and validation
Hardware and embedded systems
Training data curation
Teleoperation and training data collection
Robotics systems engineering
Technical documentation
Detail and documentation rigor
Technology
The tools and technologies that define this role.
Open Jobs
32 open Robot Operator jobs across 9 companies.
Other Physical Systems roles
Engineers designing and building electronic hardware, electrical systems, power electronics and signal chains. Covers circuit design, PCB layout, power delivery, RF/antenna design and signal integrity.
Engineers working on integrated circuit and system-on-chip design, including RTL design, physical design, silicon verification, ASIC/FPGA development, SoC architecture, and advanced packaging.
Engineers writing software that runs directly on hardware — firmware, embedded systems, RTOS, device drivers, microcontroller programming, and board support packages.
Engineers building physical robotic systems — manipulation, locomotion, motion planning, controls, perception for physical interaction, and autonomous navigation. Covers the full robotics stack from hardware integration through control software. Distinguished from Simulation Engineer (research_science) which builds virtual environments for training AI.
Engineers ensuring the safety of physical systems through functional safety analysis, hazard assessment, system safety engineering, and verification & validation of safety-critical systems.