Field Robotics Technician - Bolingbrook (Chicago, IL)
About us
At Gideon, we’re transforming the world of logistics with Trey, our autonomous forklift - already deployed in real operations and backed by a strategic partnership with Toyota. You’ll be at the center of real-world deployment, helping customers go live with advanced robotics in high-impact environments.
Our team consists of 100+ super-talented people, including top-notch experts in the field of hardware and software engineering, and is devoted to developing robots with a mission of making people's work easier.
We are an ambitious group of tech enthusiasts with different backgrounds, skills, and experiences, very excited and passionate about what we do! And above all, we cherish team spirit, constant learning and kindness. There is much more to learn, so we hope this piqued your curiosity!
About the role
As a Deployment Technician, you are the person who brings our autonomous robots live on a customer site. You receive and inspect the hardware, set up the network, run the calibrations, build the site configuration, execute missions, verify the safety system, and hand the finished system over to the customer’s operators.
You work alongside a Deployment Engineer, who sets each site up and owns the calls that require engineering judgment. You are assigned to one site at a time and see it through from delivery to go-live.
Two capabilities define success in this role - diagnostic ability with hardware and technical communication. Your Deployment Engineer is often diagnosing remotely from your description alone, and the customer’s team looks to you to explain what is happening on their floor. Precise, specific reporting is what turns an observation into a solved problem.
When something does not match the documentation, you stop and escalate rather than improvise - recognizing that boundary is a skill in itself, and one we value highly.
This is also the entry point into our deployment engineering track. Technicians who build strong diagnostic and communication skills here become our strongest internal candidates for Deployment Engineer, and we would rather grow that expertise than go looking for it.
The travel is substantial - estimating 70-80% during active deployments. We say so plainly up front, because it is the single factor that most determines whether this role fits your life.
Responsibilities we’ll trust you with:
Site execution
- Unload and receive robots on site, and perform the hardware walkaround and damage inspection.
- Initial network setup - connect and verify to documented values.
- Fleet Manager and robot connection setup - connect, verify, and record.
- Onsite calibrations and verifications, with full measurement and evidence records.
- Project and site setup - build the site to the design provided by Applications Engineering: docks, positions, lanes, and zones, then confirm them.
- Charging setup and verification to documented thresholds.
- Mission setup and execution - configure to the site plan, run, observe, record.
- Dock door automation verification.
- Punch list follow-up, stabilization, and go-live support.
Safety
- Execute the On-Site Safety Risk Assessment using the approved template and scoring method, documenting site-specific hazards and required risk-reduction measures.
- Run the safety-system verification procedure and capture the evidence.
- Stop work and escalate on any failed safety test. A failed safety test blocks deployment — there is never a workaround.
Testing and verification
- Functional and safety testing to the approved procedure, with evidence capture.
- Optimization testing - run the robots, watch how they perform, and report anything sub-optimal to your Deployment Engineer.
Issues and communication
- Recognize problems, capture the evidence, and report them precisely to your Deployment Engineer - what you saw, where, under what conditions, and what you had already tried.
- Change one thing at a time and record what you changed, so the evidence stays useful to whoever picks it up next.
- Keep customer staff informed in language they can act on, including when the answer is that it is not fixed yet.
- High level operator training.
Handoff and documentation
- Own the operator handoff and site closeout, including on-site training for the customer’s operators.
- Complete deployment checklists and the closeout package.
Your area of expertise:
- A strong hands-on technical background. Industrial maintenance, field service, automation, material handling, and military maintenance backgrounds are all excellent fits.
- Strong hands-on technical background in industrial maintenance, field service, automation, material handling, or military maintenance.
- Strong electrical and mechanical troubleshooting skills, including reading schematics and using a multimeter.
- Familiarity with PLCs, I/O modules, breakers, relays, contactors, power supplies, and control cabinets.
- Ability to distinguish between mechanical, electrical, and software-related issues.
- Basic networking knowledge, including IP addressing and equipment connectivity.
- Strong technical communication skills, with the ability to document issues, work with more experienced deployment engineers, and communicate clearly with customers.
- Comfortable training customer operators and representing the company on-site.
- Willingness to travel 70–80% during active deployments.
- ValidUS work authorizationand avalid driver’s license.
Compensation:
The hourly rate for this position is $28–$35 USD per hour, depending on experience, qualifications, and market considerations. Overtime is paid in accordance with applicable laws and company policies. Candidates will be eligible for overtime pay for hours worked beyond the applicable standard workweek.
Bonus points:
- Forklift, pallet jack, or material handling equipment experience.
- Experience with AMRs, AGVs, or other mobile robotics.
- Industrial automation, conveyor, or dock equipment experience.
- Basic Linux or command line familiarity - helpful, not required.
- Programming or scripting familiarity - Python, Bash, or PLC logic. Not needed for the job, but it is genuinely useful here and it will help you grow.
- Familiarity with issue tracking tools such as Jira.
- Experience training or instructing others on equipment.
- Based within reach of our Bolingbrook, Illinois facility. Between deployments there is assembly and service work running out of Bolingbrook, so living nearby means more continuity of work when you are not on a site.
Steps in the selection process:
Introduction
Tell us about your experiences and interests, and we will tell you more about the position, about our team and Gideon as a whole. We cherish the individual approach to every candidate and we are always curious to hear how we fit into your plans!
Technical Assessment
This stage will show you how the actual job will look like and how you fit in. You will get an insight into technical details by completing the technical task and discussion with one of our senior experts.
Final interview
The final step is a more in-depth conversation where you will get a full picture of how your work in Gideon would look like and what kind of culture we cherish.
Offer!
If all goes well, this is when we send you the offer with the information and details about compensation, vacation policy, benefits plan and all the other working details.
