Hardware Operations Engineer - Robotics, Real-World Test Lab

Niantic SpatialSan Francisco, CAEngineering

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Opens the official Niantic Spatial careers page

Salary

$142.2K – $193K

Job type

Full-time

Work mode

Remote

Posted

29 Sept 2026

Status

Open · checked 7d ago

About this role

This role is suited for a hands-on roboticist who excels at managing physical hardware, instrumentation, and test environments in San Francisco, CA. The Hardware Operations Engineer owns the physical layer of evidence at Niantic Spatial's Real-World Test Lab, bridging the gap between simulation and the real world.

Role Overview

Niantic Spatial is hiring a Hardware Operations Engineer with a robotics specialism to oversee the physical layer of evidence in the Real-World Test Lab. Reporting to the Director of the Real-World Test Lab, the person in this role will manage robot fleets, design controlled test environments, and build instrumentation to generate quantitative data. This position is located in San Francisco, CA, and operates on a full-time basis.

Key Responsibilities

Own and characterize the fleet of capture devices, sensors, and robots end-to-end, managing inventory, calibration, firmware, maintenance, logistics, and spares.

Engineer the physical test environments by designing and operating spaces with controlled layout, lighting, markers, obstacle configurations, and survey-grade ground truth references.

Build the instrumentation, rigs, mounts, and measurement setups that convert physical runs into quantitative data.

Integrate physical runs into the automated evaluation system in collaboration with the AI Automation Engineer.

Execute robot runs, device-in-the-loop tests, robot bring-up, teleoperation, and scripted trials.

Manage the physical half of sim-to-real workflows by matching physical counterparts to simulated scenarios and instrumenting runs to track divergence.

Define and maintain safe operating procedures for robots and powered equipment in test spaces.

Automate repetitive tasks such as configuration, calibration checks, data offload, and condition logging.

Requirements

Hands-on engineering experience with robotic hardware, including mobile or wheeled platforms, covering bring-up, integration, teleoperation, troubleshooting, and maintenance.

Experience building test rigs, fixtures, or instrumentation to produce quantitative measurements of physical systems.

Background in designing and running structured physical experiments with ground truth methodology and rigorous documentation.

Familiarity with sensor calibration, multi-sensor synchronization, coordinate frame conventions, and error propagation.

Strong Python and command-line proficiency for automating hardware configuration, data offload, or test execution.

Operational management of hardware fleets, including inventory, firmware, calibration schedules, logistics, and repair coordination.

Practical safety experience operating powered equipment or robots around people.

A bachelor's degree in a relevant field, or equivalent experience.

Nice to Have

Experience with ROS or ROS 2, including writing nodes or integrating sensor drivers.

Usage of NVIDIA Isaac Sim or Isaac Lab to run scenarios.

Experience with professional capture hardware such as terrestrial laser scanners, NavVis, Leica systems, LiDAR, 360 cameras, or drones.

Background in establishing survey-grade or motion-capture ground truth for localization or navigation evaluation.

Support experience for photogrammetry, Gaussian splat, or 3D reconstruction capture workflows.

History of running test operations at customer or partner sites.

Skills and Tools

Python

Command-line tools

ROS / ROS 2

NVIDIA Isaac Sim / Isaac Lab

LiDAR and 360 cameras

Terrestrial laser scanners (NavVis, Leica)

Salary and Benefits

Salary range of $142.2K – $193K

Equity offerings

Bonus offerings

About the Company

Niantic Spatial builds physical AI technology powered by a proprietary database of over 30 billion posed images. Their mapping and Visual Positioning System technology delivers precise positioning and reconstruction capabilities for customers across robotics, the public sector, and energy and industrial markets.

How to Apply

Candidates should apply directly on the official Niantic Spatial careers page.

Skills and tech stack

Python ROS ROS 2 NVIDIA Isaac Sim Isaac Lab LiDAR NavVis Leica

Questions candidates ask

Where is this job located?

This position is located in San Francisco, CA.

Who does this role report to?

This role reports to the Director of the Real-World Test Lab.

What is the salary range for this position?

The salary range is $142.2K – $193K, with offers for equity and bonus.

What level of education is required?

A bachelor's degree in a relevant field, or equivalent experience, is required.

Is visa sponsorship available?

Visa sponsorship information is not stated in the job posting.

Ready to apply?

The application is on the official Niantic Spatial careers page.

Apply on company site