Graduate R&D Engineer

Role overview

Puralink is looking for a graduate R&D engineer to help evolve and expand the Ferret autonomous pipe robot as the business grows across sanitation and moves into energy, mining, agriculture, data centres, and other sectors. This position is a mechatronics role with a strong mechanical focus, so most of the work will involve mechanical design and integration while collaborating across electrical, firmware, and controls boundaries.

What you’ll do

• Develop durable, manufacturable electromechanical hardware for a robot that must operate in extremely demanding conditions.
• Contribute to part and assembly design with design-for-manufacture and design-for-assembly considerations built in from the start.
• Work on compact, intricate components where fit, tolerance, and repeatability directly affect performance.
• Support electromechanical subsystems in which motors, actuators, sensors, cabling, and structural elements must all fit within tight space constraints.
• Help create hardware intended for harsh settings such as marine, mining, and energy applications, where moisture, pressure, debris, vibration, and corrosion are normal operating conditions.
• Build, instrument, and test prototypes, then use test and field data to guide the next design iteration.
• Collaborate closely with mechanical, electrical, mechatronics, firmware, and manufacturing engineers in a genuinely cross-functional environment.

Requirements

• A qualification in mechatronics, mechanical engineering, or a closely related field.
• Strong grounding in mechanical engineering fundamentals, including machine design, materials, and tolerancing.
• Practical experience with at least one CAD tool; OnShape is used internally, though SolidWorks, Inventor, and Fusion 360 are also acceptable.
• A working understanding of the mechatronics interface, including basic electronics, actuation, sensing, and controls.
• Evidence of hands-on engineering through university projects, competitions such as FSAE or robotics teams, internships, or personal builds.
• A data-led approach to problem solving, with a preference for testing and measurement over assumptions.
• Ability to learn quickly, accept feedback constructively, and manage work independently without detailed step-by-step direction.

About the opportunity

This role gives you the chance to work on real robot subsystems early in your career, with live field data from operational pipe environments shaping design decisions. You’ll be part of a small, multidisciplinary team solving problems together across mechanical, electrical, mechatronic, and manufacturing functions. The position offers broad exposure across the mechatronics stack, while also allowing room to deepen mechanical expertise. You’ll be contributing to a company that is expanding beyond sanitation into energy, mining, agriculture, and data centres, with modern CAD tools and an R&D lab built for rapid iteration and short feedback cycles.

Who should apply

This opportunity is suited to graduates who are excited by robotics, fast iteration, and building hardware that makes an impact in tough real-world environments.