Mechatronics Intern

TLDR

• 3 days/week internship with potential pathway to full-time role
• Own field testing operations for cutting-edge autonomous drone systems
• Multi-day field deployments every 3 weeks (overnight stays in remote locations)
• Perfect for drone hobbyists who build/fly FPV and love hands-on hardware work
• Based at Cicada Innovations, Sydney - work alongside experienced robotics engineers
• Join an exciting startup backed by globally recognised investors at the bleeding edge of physical AI

About Breaker

The way humans interact with robots is broken. Today's robotic systems require specialized training and constant manual control - a joystick operator for every drone, a trained pilot for every mission. We've built software which enables you to simply tell a robot what you need done, and it figures out how to do it.

Breaker sits at the bleeding edge of physical AI - deploying models directly onto robotic platforms to enable natural, intent-driven control. Our software lets operators command drones, ground vehicles, and other autonomous systems through voice, transforming complex robotic operations into simple conversations. Instead of piloting a drone through a search pattern, you say "survey this area and flag anything unusual" - and the robot does the rest.

This is harder than it sounds. We're solving problems most AI companies never touch: real-time inference on edge hardware with strict latency constraints, intent interpretation that maps to safe physical actions, and autonomous execution in unpredictable environments. These aren't incremental improvements - they're fundamental challenges at the intersection of AI, robotics, and embedded systems.

We're backed by some of the best investors globally and are growing our team across Sydney, Australia and Austin, Texas. We're a small team of experienced engineers, moving fast on technology that will define how humans and machines work together for decades to come.

Join us if you want to help create the robots we were promised

About the Role

We're looking for a hands-on Mechatronics Intern to own the operational backbone of our field testing program. This is an opportunity to become the person who ensures our testing cycles run smoothly - from workshop preparation to field deployment - enabling our engineering team to focus on building and validating cutting-edge autonomous systems.

You'll work directly with our hardware team to prepare systems for field testing, maintain our workshop capabilities, and own the logistics that make rapid iteration possible. This means building test fixtures, managing hardware configurations, troubleshooting platforms before deployment, and ensuring every piece of equipment is field-ready when testing begins. You'll also join field testing operations, supporting deployments where our systems are validated in real-world environments.

This role is perfect for someone who loves working with hardware, has a passion for drones and robotics, and wants to be embedded in a team pushing the boundaries of what autonomous systems can do. You'll build the foundation for efficient testing operations while working alongside engineers solving some of the hardest problems in physical AI.

While this starts as a 3-day-per-week internship, we see it as a potential pathway to a full-time role as our testing operations scale and the company grows.

Key Responsibilities

• Prepare and coordinate all equipment for field testing cycles, ensuring systems, batteries, cables, and hardware are field-ready
• Work with engineers across teams to understand testing requirements and gather necessary equipment for their specific tests
• Support multi-day, field deployments at the end of each sprint cycle, including overnight stays in at our testing location
• Maintain organised documentation of test configurations, hardware status, and field observations
• Build and maintain test fixtures, jigs, and workshop tooling that support development and testing workflows
• Perform mechanical assembly, modifications, and maintenance on drone platforms and robotic systems
• Troubleshoot and resolve hardware issues including gimbal systems, flight controllers, and sensor integration
• Manage system provisioning, parameter configuration, and platform readiness
• Coordinate with the team to ensure testing schedules are supported by proper equipment preparation
• Document bugs, hardware issues, and system configurations with clear written reports
• Own the operational details that enable rapid testing iteration

Requirements

Required Skills and Experience

• Currently pursuing a degree in Mechatronics, Mechanical Engineering, or related field
• Strong hands-on mechanical skills - comfortable assembling, modifying, and maintaining hardware systems
• Experience building and flying drones beyond off-the-shelf systems (FPV flying, custom builds, flight controller tuning)
• Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail
• Strong written and verbal communication for documentation and coordination
• Australian citizenship or permanent residency
• Driver's license
• Comfortable with regular travel for multi-day field testing (week-long deployments in remote locations)

Highly valued experience

• Active involvement in the drone community or robotics hobby projects
• Experience with vehicle maintenance, fabrication, or maker projects (CNC, 3D printing, etc.)
• Familiarity with UAV hardware components, sensors, and integration
• Understanding of basic electrical systems and connections
• Prior hands-on work in workshop or field environments

Benefits

You'll be an owner, not a renter. We're at the stage where foundational decisions are still being made and entire systems need to be built from scratch. Your work won't be maintaining someone else's legacy - you'll be creating what comes next. The problems you solve and the systems you build will define how Breaker scales.

You'll work with people who've done this before. Our team has shipped production robotics systems, scaled infrastructure, and solved the kind of hard integration problems that only come up when software meets the physical world. You won't be the only person in the room who's debugged a sensor fusion pipeline or optimized inference on a Jetson.

You'll solve problems that don't exist anywhere else. Most companies are building incremental improvements on established technology. We're defining new categories - which means the work is harder, more ambiguous, and infinitely more interesting.

You'll work hard, together. We're in the office every day, grinding on hard problems alongside great people. We've built a workspace where the best work happens - access to hardware, quick decisions, real collaboration. We're flexible when life requires it, but we're looking for people who want to show up, get stuck in, and build something significant with a team they respect.

We're going global. Backed by globally recognised investors, we're growing teams across Sydney, Australia and Austin, Texas. If you want exposure to international expansion and the opportunity to help build across regions, that path exists here.

Location. Cicada Innovations, Eveleigh, Sydney, Australia (National Innovation Centre)

If you're excited about the opportunity to work at the bleeding edge of physical AI, we'd love to hear from you.