Robotics engineer

What does a robotics engineer do?

A robotics engineer designs, builds and tests robots and the software that runs them.

The work covers sensing, motion control and decision-making. Singapore's occupation classification (SSOC 2024) files the job under automation engineer, a group that also covers factory, warehouse and process automation.

In Singapore you find the job in manufacturing plants, electronics and semiconductor firms, logistics and port operations, hospitals, building services, and robotics start-ups. Some roles sit in research labs and universities.

You work with mechanical and electrical engineers, software and data teams, and the operations staff who use the robots every day. Safety officers and customers' site managers often join design reviews too.

What the work involves

• Write and test ROS software in Python or C++ for navigation, arm control or task planning.
• Tune sensors such as cameras and lidar, and fix problems in how the robot sees its surroundings.
• Run trials on the factory floor, in a warehouse or in a test lab, then log what failed and why.
• Work with mechanical and electrical colleagues to fix faults in motors, wiring and controller boards.
• Integrate robots with other systems, such as warehouse software, conveyors or machine controllers.
• Write technical notes, test reports and handover documents for operations and maintenance teams.

Pay in Singapore

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Skills a robotics engineer needs

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Robotics engineer job description

We are hiring a robotics engineer to design, build and improve robotic systems for use in Singapore.

You will write software for perception, motion and control, test it on real hardware, and support deployment at customer sites. You will work with mechanical, electrical and software colleagues. A degree in engineering or computing and hands-on ROS experience are typical requirements.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop robot software for navigation, manipulation and task planning.
• Write and maintain code in Python and C++ on Linux.
• Integrate sensors such as cameras, lidar and encoders, and calibrate them.
• Develop computer vision and machine learning functions for detection and picking.
• Write firmware or low-level drivers for motor controllers and microcontroller boards.
• Test robots in simulation first, then on site, and record the results.
• Diagnose faults across software, electronics and mechanical parts.
• Connect robots to warehouse, factory or building systems through standard interfaces.
• Support risk assessments and safety checks with the safety team.
• Prepare documentation, test reports and training notes for operations staff.

Requirements

• A diploma or degree in mechatronics, electrical, electronic, computer or mechanical engineering, or computer science.
• Hands-on use of ROS or ROS 2, in school projects, internships or work.
• Working skill in Python and C or C++, and comfort using the Linux command line.
• Basic knowledge of control, kinematics and sensors, plus some computer vision or machine learning.
• Employers often ask for experience with microcontrollers and debugging tools such as oscilloscopes.
• A portfolio of robot projects, competition entries or internship work, shown through code or demo videos.

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Robotics engineer career path

Robotics engineers usually start on one part of a robot, such as perception or control, then take on whole systems and later whole teams.

Titles vary by company, so the steps below show common Singapore patterns.

1. Junior robotics engineer

   Entry

   You fix bugs, write tests and support trials under guidance. You learn the robot platform, its sensors and the team's code.

2. Robotics engineer

   Mid

   You own a function such as navigation, vision or arm control. You run site trials and work alone on most tasks.

3. Senior robotics engineer

   Senior

   You design the system as a whole, choose sensors and software, and review other engineers' work. Customers and other teams turn to you for hard faults.

4. Lead robotics engineer

   Lead

   You lead a small team, set technical direction and plan delivery with project managers. You balance cost, safety and schedule.

5. Head of robotics

   Head

   You set the robotics strategy for the organisation, manage budgets and hiring, and report to senior management.

The titles are ones commonly used in Singapore; employers may name the levels differently.

Related jobs and their pay

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Robotics engineer interview questions

We wrote these questions from the skills this job needs. They are not an official question bank.

1. What are the main differences between ROS 1 and ROS 2, and why might a team choose ROS 2?

   What a good answer covers

   • ROS 2 uses DDS for communication and has no central coordinating node.
   • It supports quality-of-service settings for unreliable networks.
   • It has better support for real-time work and multi-robot setups.
   • You can name migration costs, such as package gaps and the learning curve.

2. Explain nodes, topics, services and actions in ROS. When would you use each?

   What a good answer covers

   • Topics suit continuous streams such as sensor data.
   • Services suit short request and reply calls.
   • Actions suit long tasks with feedback and cancellation, such as navigating to a goal.
   • Gives a concrete example, such as an arm pick command.

3. How does a mobile robot work out where it is inside a warehouse?

   What a good answer covers

   • Combines wheel odometry, an IMU and lidar or camera data.
   • Mentions SLAM for mapping and a localisation method such as particle filters or an extended Kalman filter.
   • Explains drift and how loop closure or map matching corrects it.
   • Notes problems such as repetitive aisles and changed shelf layouts.

4. How would you calibrate a camera on a robot arm so it can pick parts accurately?

   What a good answer covers

   • Separates intrinsic calibration from extrinsic and hand-eye calibration.
   • Uses a checkerboard or similar target and checks reprojection error.
   • Explains the transform from camera frame to robot base frame.
   • Tests accuracy by picking known positions and measuring error.

5. A motor encoder sends pulses faster than your microcontroller can poll. How do you read it reliably?

   What a good answer covers

   • Uses interrupts or a hardware timer in encoder mode.
   • Keeps interrupt handlers short and marks shared variables volatile.
   • Protects data shared with the main loop, for example with atomic access.
   • Checks the pulse rate against the maximum speed of the clock and bus.

6. What C++ habits keep a real-time control loop predictable?

   What a good answer covers

   • Avoids dynamic memory allocation and blocking calls inside the loop.
   • Preallocates buffers and uses fixed-size containers.
   • Separates the control thread from logging and communication.
   • Measures loop timing and jitter directly.

7. Your robot's ROS node stops responding on an embedded Linux board over SSH. How do you investigate?

   What a good answer covers

   • Checks CPU, memory and temperature with tools like top and dmesg.
   • Reads service logs with journalctl and the ROS log files.
   • Checks the network, device permissions and USB or serial connections.
   • Reproduces the fault and records the cause for the team.

8. You trained an object detection model that works on a laptop. How do you get it running on the robot's small computer?

   What a good answer covers

   • Measures latency, memory and power on the target device.
   • Reduces model size with a smaller network, quantisation or pruning.
   • Uses an optimised runtime for the hardware.
   • Checks that accuracy holds after compression on real robot images.

1. A robot navigates well in your lab but drifts and gets lost on the customer's polished warehouse floor. What do you do?

   What a good answer covers

   • Suspects wheel slip and bad odometry on smooth floors.
   • Checks lidar reflections from shiny surfaces and glass.
   • Adds or reweights other sensors, such as an IMU or visual odometry.
   • Tests changes on site and records the conditions of each run.

2. A hospital wants a delivery robot for wards. What technical and operational issues do you raise first?

   What a good answer covers

   • Lift access and integration with building systems.
   • Crowded corridors, people with wheelchairs and beds, and safe stopping behaviour.
   • Hygiene, battery life and charging locations.
   • Staff training and a clear way to call for help when the robot is stuck.

3. Your vision-based picking system misses items when afternoon sunlight hits the work cell. How do you fix it?

   What a good answer covers

   • Confirms the cause by comparing images taken at different times of day.
   • Adds controlled lighting or shielding, or changes camera exposure settings.
   • Adds training data that covers glare and shadow.
   • Adds a check that flags low-confidence picks instead of guessing.

1. Tell us about a time hardware failed just before a demo or customer trial. What did you do?

   What a good answer covers

   • Describes the situation and the deadline clearly.
   • Shows how you found the fault step by step.
   • Explains the fallback, such as a simulation or backup unit.
   • Names what you changed afterwards to prevent a repeat.

2. Describe a disagreement with a mechanical or electrical engineer over a design choice. How did it end?

   What a good answer covers

   • States both positions fairly.
   • Uses tests or data to settle the question.
   • Shows you listened and adjusted your own plan.
   • Explains how the team documented the decision.

1. Your robot's cameras record people in a shopping mall or office. What do you consider under the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA)?

   What a good answer covers

   • Images of identifiable people can count as personal data.
   • Notify people through signs and have a clear purpose for collecting images.
   • Collect and store only what you need, and set a retention limit.
   • Protect stored footage with access control and encryption.
   • Involve the organisation's data protection officer early.

2. You are deploying a robot next to workers in a Singapore factory. How do you approach safety?

   What a good answer covers

   • Starts with a risk assessment that covers the robot, its tools and the people nearby.
   • Knows workplace safety duties in Singapore are overseen by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
   • Designs safeguards such as speed limits, protective stops, emergency stop buttons and zones.
   • Tests safety functions and records the results.
   • Trains the operators and maintenance staff before handover.

Common questions about a robotics engineer job

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