Shop Steward

Tutorintelligence
Watertown, MA
On-site

Who this role is best for

Strong fit for hands-on individuals who build systems and manage physical spaces, working in a collaborative robotics engineering environment in Watertown, MA.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with experience managing physical spaces and organizing tools for engineers
    — “Experience running a stockroom, tool crib, makerspace, or lab.”
  • Candidates who are detail-oriented and can maintain order in a dynamic R&D shop
    — “Extremely organized and detail-oriented.”

Things to consider

  • The role involves physical labor including lifting 40+ lbs and operating heavy machinery
    — “Able to lift 40+ lbs, operate a pallet stacker, and work around robots and machine tools.”
  • Candidates must be willing to take on tasks beyond their official responsibilities
    — “Willingness to run the CNC occasionally for small jobs. We will teach you.”
  • The role requires managing inventory and consumables to avoid blocking engineers
    — “Buy shop supplies and keep consumables stocked before anyone is blocked.”

How to stand out

  • Highlight hands-on skills with hardware tools and equipment like 3D printers and CNC machines
    — “Comfortable with hand and power tools, and able to tell a fastener, a connector, and a piece of stock apart.”
  • Showcase ability to create and enforce systems that others follow consistently
    — “Set a clear, visible cleanliness standard with simple daily or weekly routines the whole team follows.”
  • Demonstrate initiative in managing inventory and adapting to changing needs
    — “Plan the layout as the team grows; order, receive, and assemble furniture, workbenches, and racks.”
  • Include examples of creating or improving organization systems in previous roles
    — “A track record of building your own organization solutions.”
Pace · SteadyCollaboration · LowAutonomy · HighDecision Impact · Individual

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • manage day-to-day of R&D shop
  • plan layout as team grows
  • keep shared areas clean
Typical background
Experience in a similar roleComfortable with hands-on work

Skills & requirements

Required

Inventory ManagementTool OrganizationSpace PlanningPurchasing

Preferred

3D PrintingCNC Machine Operation

Stack & domain

Inventory ManagementPurchasingReceivingLayout PlanningTool Organization3D PrintingElectronicsCNC MachinesRoboticsOrganizationDetail-orientedHands-onWarm And DirectSystems BuildingProblem-solvingTeamworkCleanlinessAI RoboticsHardware EngineeringR&D Shop Management

About the role

Original posting from Tutorintelligence via Lever

About Tutor

We believe general-purpose, generally-intelligent robots will be built in our lifetimes. Robots will work in our factories, move our goods, walk on our streets and eventually be in our homes. To build that future, research and deployment must work in lockstep: real-world operation must make the technology better and better technology must make deployment easier. We're looking for the thinkers, builders, and researchers who want to be part of that loop.

As an AI robotics company that deploys its inventions directly into the facilities that need them, on state-of-the-art hardware, every robot we build at Tutor has a direct impact on the global, physical economy.

The Role

Our hardware engineers design, build, and test robots in the same building, often in the same afternoon. That only works when the shop works: the part is where the system says it is, the tool is on the wall, and this morning's delivery is already in the building and unpacked, and the space is clean.

We are looking for the person who owns that. You will run the day-to-day of our R&D shop, the Garage: its storage, inventory, tools and equipment, some purchasing, receiving, and layout. You report to the Hardware Engineering Manager. You will work with the Engineering Manager to own and adapt the space as our needs change and grow.

The core idea is simple: things without a home do not get put away. Your first job is to give everything in the shop a home, make it obvious, and keep it true.

Everyone keeps the Garage clean. Engineers own their benches and their messes. You set the standard, keep shared spaces in shape and help others meet the standard.

No degree is required, and you do not need to be an engineer. You do need to be comfortable tinkering and wrenching, and excited to work around 3D printers, electronics, CNC machines, and robots.

Requirements:

What you will own

  • Give every tool, part, material, and project a labeled home, and set the pattern engineers copy for their
  • Plan the layout as the team grows; order, receive, and assemble furniture, workbenches, and racks.
  • Have tools, a computer, a desk, and a workspace ready for every new engineer on day one.
  • Buy shop supplies and keep consumables stocked before anyone is blocked.
  • Manage the reciept of larger orders like furniture or components that come crated or on pallets
  • Keep tools organized and working, and maintain the 3D printers, CNC machine, and other shop equipment.
  • Willingness to run the CNC occasionally for small jobs. We will teach you.
  • Set a clear, visible cleanliness standard with simple daily or weekly routines the whole team follows.
  • Keep shared areas, storage, and the robot testing space clean yourself, and nudge people back to the standard. When something keeps getting left out, fix its home first.
  • Purge hardware we no longer need on a regular schedule: confirm with the owning engineer, sell what has value, recycle the rest.
  • Manage teardown of retired robots, recovering the parts worth keeping.
  • Handle scrap, recycling, and removal of bulk material like crates, pallets, and scrap metal.

Who you are

  • Extremely organized and detail-oriented.
  • Hands-on. You would rather build the shelf and label the bins today than write a plan for it.
  • Warm and direct. You assume good intent, and you can tell a busy engineer their bench has slipped in a way that feels like help.
  • A systems builder who knows the difference between a system people use and one they work around.
  • Comfortable with hand and power tools, and able to tell a fastener, a connector, and a piece of stock apart.
  • Able to lift 40+ lbs, operate a pallet stacker, and work around robots and machine tools.
  • Willing to pitch in when something lands outside your scope.

Nice to haves

  • Experience running a stockroom, tool crib, makerspace, or lab.
  • Hands-on experience with 3D printers, electronics, CNC machines, or sheet metal.
  • Shipping, receiving, and freight experience; pallet jack or forklift certification.
  • Purchasing experience (McMaster-Carr, Digi-Key, and similar).
  • Familiarity with inventory or MES software; ION is a plus.
  • Experience with equipment teardown, salvage, or reselling surplus.
  • A track record of building your own organization solutions.

Compensation:

Tutor offers competitive benefits including fully employer-covered health insurance, a managed 401(k), and regular in-office meals. We also offer unlimited PTO and holidays. We host social events and maintain a collaborative, low-ego work culture where people are trusted to take ownership and solve real problems. Tutor is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applicants from all backgrounds.

Source: Tutorintelligence careers (Lever)

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