Head of Robotics Engineering
Quick facts
- Pay
- $200K-$350K base salary plus competitive equity
- Type
- Full-time
- Location
- Fremont, California
- Background
- PhD
- Skills
- Engineering, C++
- Industry
- Engineering — 264 open jobs
- Visa in listing
- H-1B, OPT
- Apply
- Free to apply — never pay anyone for a job offer or visa sponsorship
Job description
Our client is building a unified platform for physical AI that combines robotic hardware with a universal operating system, making robots easier to build and deploy for developers and enterprises. Founded in 2024, the company has raised $41M, is backed by a major strategic technology investor, and is growing a roughly 30-person team from its South Bay headquarters.
You will report to the CTO and lead the robotics software and firmware organization, owning the stack from embedded firmware and real-time controls through planning and teleoperation. This is a hands-on technical leadership role managing 5-10 engineers today and scaling the organization to roughly 15.
Requirements
Lead and grow engineers across firmware, controls, planning, and teleoperation while continuing to write and review production code. Own architecture for real-time control loops, sensor and actuator interfaces, safety systems, and onboard compute. Bring 8+ years of robotics engineering experience, or 5+ years with a PhD, spanning firmware, controls, and embedded systems. Current or recent experience at a US robotics company shipping complex robots is required. You should have led at least five engineers and bring expertise in RTOS, C/C++, ROS, real-time controls, manipulation, teleoperation, and robotics data pipelines. An MS or PhD in Robotics, EE, ME, CS, or a related field is expected.
Benefits
$200K-$350K base salary plus competitive equity. Full-time and on-site five days per week in Fremont, California. Visa transfers, including OPT and H-1B transfers, may be considered. This is a ground-floor opportunity to define the robotics engineering organization and platform architecture at a well-funded physical AI company.
Visa sponsorship record
No public sponsorship records foundWe didn't find H-1B, H-1B1, E-3 or green card (PERM) filings under the name Raydar in the Department of Labor and USCIS data. That doesn't mean the job can't be sponsored — the company may file under a different legal name, be new to sponsorship, or sponsor a visa that isn't in these datasets (for example H-2B or J-1).
Tip: ask the recruiter early, in writing, which visa they sponsor and whether they cover the legal and filing fees.
Which visas can work for this job
Occupation: Engineers, All Other (SOC 17-2199) — estimated from the job title.
- Mentioned in the listing
H-1B, OPT
- H-1B cap-exempt employer
Regular cap-subject employer — a new H-1B needs to win the lottery in March (unless you already hold cap-counted H-1B status).
- TN (citizens of Canada and Mexico)
This kind of role may fit the USMCA profession “Engineer” — it depends on the actual duties. No lottery, no cap; you need the matching degree or license.
- E-3 (Australia) and H-1B1 (Chile, Singapore)
Same degree requirement as H-1B, but no lottery and a separate quota that is rarely filled.
- O-1 (extraordinary ability)
For candidates with awards, publications, press, a high salary or critical roles at distinguished organizations. No cap, no lottery; the employer files a petition.
- STEM OPT extension (F-1 students)
Requires an E-Verify employer. We didn't find this company in the E-Verify list — ask HR.
Salary vs prevailing wage
Level IV (fully competent)Engineers, All Other · San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. Annual prevailing wages set by the Department of Labor (OFLC).
| Level | Prevailing wage | H-1B lottery odds* |
|---|---|---|
| Level I | $98,051 | ~15% |
| Level II | $130,146 | ~31% |
| Level III | $162,261 | ~46% |
| Level IV | $194,355 | ~61% |
This job pays $200,000–$350,000 a year — that's Level IV (fully competent). In the wage-weighted H-1B lottery a Level IV registration gets 4 entries; estimated selection chance about 61% — better than average.
* Odds are DHS projections for the FY2027 wage-weighted lottery (actual results vary by year and employer). Since the FY2027 cap season the H-1B lottery is weighted by wage level: Level I = 1 entry, II = 2, III = 3, IV = 4. The level is set by the offered wage against the prevailing wage for the occupation and worksite. Separately, a $100,000 fee for new H-1B petitions for workers outside the US was announced in 2025; as of September 2026 a federal court ruling keeps it unenforceable while appeals continue — check the current status.
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor OFLC disclosure data (H-1B/H-1B1/E-3 LCA, PERM), OFLC prevailing wage data, USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub, E-Verify participating employers. Data loaded: LCA FY2024–FY2026, PERM, USCIS Data Hub, OFLC wages; updated 2026-10-03. Employers are matched by name, so records of companies with similar names can occasionally be mixed up. This is general information, not legal advice — talk to an immigration attorney about your case.