Robotics Engineer job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

16

O*NET task statements

Preparation

Job Zone 4 of 5

considerable preparation

Typical entry education

Bachelor's degree

BLS 2025–35 · broader occupation

Median pay

$122,930

BLS May 2025 · broader occupation

1. Review or approve designs, calculations, or cost estimates. importance 4.1 of 5
2. Process or interpret signals or sensor data. importance 4.0 of 5
3. Build, configure, or test robots or robotic applications. importance 3.9 of 5
4. Create back-ups of robot programs or parameters. importance 3.9 of 5
5. Provide technical support for robotic systems. importance 3.8 of 5
6. Design end-of-arm tooling. importance 3.8 of 5
7. Design robotic systems, such as automatic vehicle control, autonomous vehicles, advanced displays, advanced sensing, robotic platforms, computer vision, or telematics systems. importance 3.8 of 5
8. Supervise technologists, technicians, or other engineers. importance 3.8 of 5
9. Design software to control robotic systems for applications, such as military defense or manufacturing. importance 3.8 of 5
10. Conduct research on robotic technology to create new robotic systems or system capabilities. importance 3.7 of 5
11. Investigate mechanical failures or unexpected maintenance problems. importance 3.7 of 5
12. Integrate robotics with peripherals, such as welders, controllers, or other equipment. importance 3.7 of 5
13. Evaluate robotic systems or prototypes. importance 3.7 of 5
14. Install, calibrate, operate, or maintain robots. importance 3.7 of 5
15. Document robotic application development, maintenance, or changes. importance 3.6 of 5
16. Write algorithms or programming code for ad hoc robotic applications. importance 3.4 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Working with Computers, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Getting Information, Thinking Creatively and Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Design or program robotics systems for environmental clean-up applications to minimize human exposure to toxic or hazardous materials or to improve the quality or speed of clean-up operations.
• Plan mobile robot paths and teach path plans to robots.
• Design robotics applications for manufacturers of green products, such as wind turbines or solar panels, to increase production time, eliminate waste, or reduce costs.
• Automate assays on laboratory robotics.

Knowledge areas: Engineering and Technology, Design, Computers and Electronics, Mechanical and Mathematics.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Autodesk AutoCAD, Dassault Systemes SolidWorks, Git, The MathWorks MATLAB, C, C#. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for the broader occupation.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists no typical on-the-job training once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 4 of 5 (considerable preparation). A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board and see how to become a robotics engineer.

The most common answer among O*NET's occupation experts for this occupation is a bachelor's degree (50%).

Job title: Robotics Engineer
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a Robotics Engineer to research, design, develop, or test robotic applications.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Review or approve designs, calculations, or cost estimates.
- Process or interpret signals or sensor data.
- Build, configure, or test robots or robotic applications.
- Create back-ups of robot programs or parameters.
- Provide technical support for robotic systems.
- Design end-of-arm tooling.
- Design robotic systems, such as automatic vehicle control, autonomous vehicles, advanced displays, advanced sensing, robotic platforms, computer vision, or telematics systems.
- Supervise technologists, technicians, or other engineers.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a bachelor's degree as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in critical thinking, complex problem solving and judgment and decision making
- Working knowledge of Engineering and Technology and Design
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Autodesk AutoCAD or Dassault Systemes SolidWorks]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

For the broader BLS occupation Engineers, All Other, the median annual wage was $122,930 in May 2025. The broader occupation's median hourly wage was $59.10.

BLS counts the O*NET occupation Robotics Engineers within Engineers, All Other and publishes no separate wage for it, so the figure is for that broader occupation.

BLS projects employment in the broader occupation Engineers, all other to grow 3.7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 8,800 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

See the full robotics engineer salary breakdown by percentile, state and metro.

• Read a real robotics engineer posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Review or approve designs, calculations, or cost estimates”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only robotics engineer work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (critical thinking and complex problem solving).