Robotics Engineers
Research, design, develop, or test robotic applications.
$122,930 a year (for the broader BLS group this job sits in).
of the working time. Estimate.
- 82%
- 3%
- 15%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 3%. Today's estimate: 4%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 24 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design robotic systems, such as automatic vehicle control, autonomous vehicles, advanced displays, advanced sensing, robotic platforms, computer vision, or telematics systems.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 10% | 1.7 work weeks2.1 work days to 1.5 work months | 0%Half by Aug 2029 | |
| Design software to control robotic systems for applications, such as military defense or manufacturing.Done more than yearly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 10% | 1.7 work weeks1.7 work days to 1.5 work months | 0%Half by Oct 2029 | |
| Conduct research on robotic technology to create new robotic systems or system capabilities.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 10% | 1.7 work weeks2.1 work days to 1.6 work months | 0%Half by Aug 2029 | |
| Conduct research into the feasibility, design, operation, or performance of robotic mechanisms, components, or systems, such as planetary rovers, multiple mobile robots, reconfigurable robots, or man-machine interactions.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 10% | 1.7 work weeks2.1 work days to 1.9 work months | 0%Half by Oct 2029 | |
| Design automated robotic systems to increase production volume or precision in high-throughput operations, such as automated ribonucleic acid (RNA) analysis or sorting, moving, or stacking production materials.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 10% | 1.7 work weeks2.1 work days to 1.5 work months | 0%Half by Aug 2029 | |
| Design or program robotics systems for environmental clean-up applications to minimize human exposure to toxic or hazardous materials or to improve the quality or speed of clean-up operations.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 9% | 1.7 work weeks2.1 work days to 1.5 work months | 0%Half by Aug 2029 | |
| Process or interpret signals or sensor data.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 6% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.7 work days | 21%Half by May 2027 | |
| Design robotics applications for manufacturers of green products, such as wind turbines or solar panels, to increase production time, eliminate waste, or reduce costs.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 5% | 1.7 work weeks2.1 work days to 1.5 work months | 0%Half by Aug 2029 | |
| Write algorithms or programming code for ad hoc robotic applications.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 4.2 work days | 6%Half by Jan 2028 | |
| Build, configure, or test robots or robotic applications.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 4.2 work days | Stays with people | |
| Integrate robotics with peripherals, such as welders, controllers, or other equipment.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 1 work week | Stays with people | |
| Debug robotics programs.Done more than monthly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 3% | 3.3 h50 min to 2.1 work days | 18%Half by Jul 2027 |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.