Senior Mechanical Engineer (Robotics & Industrial Automation)

Take a working robotic cell and make it a machine we can build again and again.

Robotine is a Brisbane applied robotics company. We build practical automation for small manufacturers, starting with the Cabinet Assembler: a robotic cell that assembles kitchen cabinets from pre-cut chipboard and melamine panels, sized for joinery businesses that are too small for a conventional automation project. The same engineering team also designs precision components for competition robotics under our Offset Robotics brand.

The Cabinet Assembler is moving from engineering development toward field validation and our first customer installation. Our first unit taught us what works. The next generation is being designed for a batch build with our manufacturing partner, and for installation and service at customer sites. We need a senior mechanical engineer to lead that design.

The machine you will work on

• Welded and machined steel frames with datum features that hold panel flushness to ±0.5 mm
• A multi-axis gantry using linear rails, curved rails, rack and pinion, belts and ballscrews
• Servo-driven and pneumatic clamping, vacuum panel handling and robot end-of-arm tooling
• A screwdriving end-effector with its own feed and cable management
• Guarding, dust protection and service access for a busy joinery floor
• Designed in Autodesk Inventor, with iLogic rules for configurable geometry

What you will do

• Lead the mechanical design of the next-generation cell, from concept and calculations to a complete, build-ready package.
• Design for manufacture and assembly: tensioning and adjustment features, datum strategy, tolerance stack-ups, and fewer parts that need hand fitting.
• Produce and own the drawings, BOMs and revision control that our manufacturing partner builds from, and answer their questions quickly and precisely.
• Prepare line layout drawings for each customer site, showing how the cell integrates with their existing machines and floor plan.
• Size and select motion and pneumatic components, and back your choices with calculations or FEA.
• Prototype and test in our workshop, run factory acceptance testing, and feed what you learn from assembly and commissioning back into the design.
• Support installation and commissioning at customer sites, and design for maintenance by a technician who is not you.
• Work daily with our controls and software engineers, and mentor the engineering students who make up much of our team.

What you bring

• A degree in mechanical or mechatronics engineering, or equivalent.
• 5+ years designing automated machinery, special-purpose machines or robotic equipment, including at least one design you took from concept to a built and running machine.
• Strong 3D CAD skills. Inventor is ideal; SolidWorks or Creo experience transfers.
• Automation line and cell layout drawings produced with a dedicated layout tool, showing how equipment connects to CNC machines, edgebanders, infeed and outfeed. Autodesk Factory Design Utilities or AutoCAD is ideal; line simulation tools such as Visual Components are a plus.
• Manufacturing drawings with GD&T, tolerance analysis, and a practical grasp of welded fabrication, sheet metal and CNC machining.
• Experience selecting linear motion, drive trains, bearings and pneumatics.
• Working knowledge of machine guarding and the safety requirements for industrial machinery in Australia.
• A product mindset. You design for the tenth unit, not just the first.
• Hands-on in the workshop. You build, adjust and fix what you design.
• Clear English, and the ability to work with suppliers and customers as well as engineers.

Useful, not essential

• Gripper, vacuum or end-of-arm tooling design for robots.
• Woodworking, furniture or panel handling machinery.
• Configurable design with iLogic or similar rule-based CAD.
• Experience working with overseas fabricators or machine builders.

What we offer

• Design ownership of a product going to market, with direct access to the founders.
• A workshop in Brisbane where you design, build and test in the same building.
• Superannuation and NES leave entitlements.
• Occasional interstate travel for installation and commissioning.

Work rights and visa sponsorship

You must already live in Australia and hold current work rights. People who have migrated to Australia are welcome to apply, including those on temporary visas. For the right candidate, Robotine will consider employer visa sponsorship.

How to apply

Applications are only accepted through our recruitment portal. Submit your CV and a cover letter here: https://jobs.robotine.com.au/senior-mechanical-engineer-robotics

• In your cover letter, no longer than one page, tell us about a machine or mechanism you designed that was built: what you owned, one design decision you would change today, and why. Two or three drawings or screenshots of your work are welcome if you are free to share them.