Deployment Engineer

Root AI is a tech company solving the biggest challenges facing agriculture today. We’re on a mission to rebuild farming from the ground up, starting with advanced robotic systems that can see, care for, and harvest crops. As an early stage start-up, Root is assembling a foundational team of passionate and talented professionals. Every member of the team has a critical role, and every decision we make matters, so we hire with that in mind.

As Root AI’s first Deployment Engineer, you will be leading advance deployments of a new fleet of autonomous harvesting robots. These site deployments will test bleeding edge advancements in our harvesting, perception, and artificial intelligence systems and will focus on conducting field experiments, characterizing the evolution of system capabilities over time, and interfacing with both the customer and product management stakeholders to develop new concepts for improving system performance and user experience.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the expert point of contact for both the customer and internal technical and product stakeholders to facilitate communication about progress and emerging issues
• Execute advance development experiments, collect datasets, and communicate outcomes
• Perform root cause analysis to test and resolve operational issues, bugs, and breakages on a first of its kind autonomous harvesting robot
• Advise product management stakeholders and technical team as the voice of the user
• Develop new processes and standard methods to improve operational excellence
• Travel up to 60% to support deployed system operation and characterize performance of the harvesting fleet to ensure product excellence

Core Skills

• Hands on practical experience designing, debugging, and operating complex automated electro-mechanical systems, especially systems with moving parts
• Highly resourceful with a talent for implementing hotfixes that solve critical problems in the field, especially where standard methods of identification and resolution have not yet been developed
• Ability to communicate about systems at multiple levels of abstraction
• Strong analytical thinking and organizational skills, with attention to detail
• Intermediate computer skills (follow procedures on a command line)
• BSE or greater in relevant field (ME, EE, Mechatronics, EECS, etc.)

Familiar with several of the following

• Project management tools and techniques (JIRA, Asana, or similar)
• Experience with mechanical or electrical assembly and documentation
• Machine shop, metal fabrication, or rapid prototyping skills
• Basic electrical diagnostic, prototyping, and rework skills
• Familiarity with basic operations in a Linux based operating system
• Previous professional experience in maintenance, installation, or service work in a related (robotic, equipment or automation) industry a plus