Architecture and Engineering · Holland code RIC

Robotics Engineers

Research, design, develop, or test robotic applications.

Also called: Automation Engineer, Autonomous Vehicle Design Engineer, Design Engineer, Factory Automations Engineer, Research Engineer, Robotic Systems Engineer.

O*NET 17-2199.08

At a glance

US median annual pay: $122,930; Middle half earn $90,970 to $158,090. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 50% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Review or approve designs, calculations, or cost estimates.
Process or interpret signals or sensor data.
Debug robotics programs.
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.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.9 / 5
Active Listening3.9 / 5
Monitoring3.9 / 5
Writing3.8 / 5
Mathematics3.8 / 5

Knowledge areas

Engineering and Technology4.8 / 5
Design4.6 / 5
Computers and Electronics4.5 / 5
Mechanical4.2 / 5
Mathematics4.2 / 5
English Language4.0 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic86
Investigative77
Artistic13
Social8
Enterprising13
Conventional58

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

automation engineer · DE Automatisierungsingenieur/Automatisierungsingenieurin · FR ingénieur en automatismes/ingénieure en automatismes
mechatronics engineer · DE Ingenieur Mechatronik/Ingenieurin Mechatronik · FR ingénieur mécatronicien/ingénieure mécatronicienne
robotics engineer · DE Ingenieur Robotik und Autonome Systeme/Ingenieurin Robotik und Autonome Systeme · FR ingénieur en robotique/ingénieure en robotique
microsystem engineer · DE Ingenieur Mikrosystemtechnik/Ingenieurin Mikrosystemtechnik · FR ingénieur microsystèmes/ingénieure microsystèmes
sensor engineer · DE Ingenieur Sensortechnik/Ingenieurin Sensortechnik · FR ingénieur spécialité capteurs, instrumentation et mesures/ingénieure spécialité capteurs, instrumentation et mesures
mechatronics engineering technician · DE Maschinenbautechniker Mechatronik/Maschinenbautechnikerin Mechatronik · FR technicien mécatronique/technicienne mécatronique

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Quantity surveyors (2453)45,300 employed
Aerospace engineers (2126)41,700 employed
Quality assurance technicians (3115)36,100 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.79. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (17-2199).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test