Description of Current Work

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Q: Can you describe your current position, and what field or space you work in?

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A: I work as a robotics engineer in the chemical industry. The company I’m working at is trying to automate some of their manufacturing processes.

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Typical Daily Tasks

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Q: Can you give us some insight into your day-to-day work?

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A: I recently joined this company after moving from New York, so I’ll speak about my previous role. I worked at a food delivery robotics company that built robots to deliver food and groceries on sidewalks—essentially replacing a human delivery person with a robot. My day involved software development, writing code, testing it on robots, and deploying it to live systems. I would meet with clients, examine the environments where the robots needed to operate, identify challenges, communicate them to the software team, and develop and deploy solutions to address those challenges.

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Career Path

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Q: Can you give us a quick overview of your career journey, including education and previous jobs?

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A: I earned my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in automotive engineering. My master’s program had a concentrated track in robotics and autonomous vehicles, which led me into the robotics field. After graduating, I joined Aton, the food delivery robotics company, before moving into the chemical industry. Transitioning from mechanical engineering to robotics software was challenging—I didn’t have any programming experience, so I had to learn C++ and Python, along with the mathematics and theory of robotics, all at the same time.

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Emerging Career Opportunities

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Q: What career opportunities do you see emerging in the next five years?

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A: Generative AI is starting to be applied in robotics. Previously, developing an AI application required building everything from scratch, and the code would only work for a specific task. Now, with generative AI and available base platforms, development is faster and more flexible. I see major growth in generative AI for robotics and computer vision.

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Advice for Aspiring Robotics Engineers

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Q: Do you have any advice for someone interested in your field?

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A: Be prepared to deal with a lot of mathematics—linear algebra, calculus, and related concepts. Even if you use publicly available software, you should understand what’s happening internally so you can troubleshoot and adapt it effectively.

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Career Reflections

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Q: Is there anything you would have done differently in your career journey?

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A: Shifting from automotive engineering to robotics was a major change. That’s the most significant decision point in my career so far.

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Why the Career is Cutting-Edge

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Q: Why would you consider your work cutting-edge?

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A: The problems I’ve worked on are ones that few companies are tackling. For example, in delivery robotics, only a small number of companies are addressing this challenge. In my current role, the company is developing robots for laundry purposes—something that hasn’t been attempted anywhere in the world. If we succeed, it could be a unique and potentially monopolistic product.

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Career Goals

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Q: What are your short- and long-term goals?

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A: My short-term goal is to move deeper into AI. Until now, I’ve focused on robotics, which can operate without AI, but I’m now transitioning into AI and deep learning. My long-term goal is to build a career that combines AI and robotics.

 

Intersection of AI and Robotics

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Q: How do AI and robotics work together?

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A: Think of AI as the brain and robotics as the body. Robotics provides the mechanics, while AI provides the intelligence. They need to work together to achieve meaningful results. In robotics companies, roles vary—computer vision engineers focus on interpreting the environment, while robotics engineers focus on movement and interaction within that environment.

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Human-Robot Collaboration

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Q: Do you think there will be more collaboration between humans and AI-controlled robots in the workplace?

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A: Yes, that’s highly possible in the next 10–15 years. I see robots assisting humans, but not fully replacing them—technology isn’t yet at the point where robots can perform complex tasks as quickly and effectively as humans. Collaborative robots, or cobots, will likely be common, but full autonomy at human-level speed isn’t there yet.

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Favorite Part of the Work

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Q: What is your favorite part about your job?

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A: I enjoy working at the cutting edge—it feels like we’re building the future. It’s self-satisfying to know I’m doing something new, even though I could have taken a more traditional job with the same pay.

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We would like to thank Mr. Challa for the time he spent speaking with us, and we hope you were able to learn something from the insight he provided.

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From,
Cooper