Who we are:

Paradigm Robotics is an Austin, Texas based robotics startup building rugged, scalable robotic solutions to provide mission critical situational awareness in hazardous environments. We serve firefighting, emergency response, public safety, oil & gas, defense, and industrial markets. Our mission is to create a new paradigm of incredibly scalable, reliable, and useful robots for real-world hazardous operations - providing needed, critical solutions to the most dangerous and persistent problems out there.

We believe that humans shouldn’t be sent to scary places. Send robots instead. We build the robots that go where humans can’t and shouldn’t go. Our robots save lives. Join us to mitigate the dull, dirty, and dangerous, one robot at a time.

You’ll be joining at the ground floor of a fast-moving, engineering-first company. We move quickly, prototype and build aggressively, and test in the real world alongside the people who need our robots most. This isn’t theoretical work. It’s hardware, software, and sweat.

We've raised an oversubscribed round from top-tier venture firms (unannounced). We’re working directly with over 80 of the largest fire departments, law enforcement agencies, industrial teams, and military units across the U.S., including the Air Force, Army, and SERDP. Our robots are built with and for firefighters, first responders, warfighters, and emergency crews.

Why this will be challenging and meaningful work:

We’re solving problems that matter, and they’re not easy. Building robots that operate in fire, heat, debris, water, and chaos (reliably, repeatedly, and safely) is hard. Building them in a way that scales? Even harder. That’s why we're obsessed with engineering rigor, fast iteration, and deep user feedback.

This is high-stakes work. We ship real robots, into real fires, for real customers. This means every team member operates with urgency, clarity, and ownership. Everyone touches hardware. Everyone talks to users. Everyone builds.

We’re small, but mighty. Our team includes engineers from NASA, Tesla, Lockheed, and DoD. We write our own firmware, design our own boards, build our own control systems, write full-stack web interfaces, design rugged electromechanical assemblies. We stress-test our systems in fire training ranges, explosive zones, gun ranges, and disaster zones.

We value curiosity, autonomy, discipline, and low-ego collaboration. We keep it honest, we keep it fast, and we push each other to be better every week. We celebrate wins, own mistakes, and always return to the mission: building robots that save lives.

Role:

Mechanical Engineering Intern / Co-Op

[Rolling applications accepted year-round for fall, spring, or summer placement]

Role Type:

Full-Time

Role Description:

As a Mechanical Engineering Intern at Paradigm Robotics, you’ll be expected to contribute meaningfully from day one. From helping design, prototype, build, and test mechanical systems that survive real-world fires, floods, and high-risk environments to traveling to customer sites to test and deploy robots.