Manufacturing Technician - Contract

About the role

London, E17 | 8-week contract, starting 2 November 2026 | 5 days per week on-site About us We're automating homebuilding. Construction is one of the least automated industries in the world, and homes are still built largely by hand, in slow, expensive and fragmented processes. AUAR is a physical AI and robotics company changing that. Our software platform, MasterBuilder, turns a building design into the instructions needed to manufacture a home's timber structure. Our robotic MicroFactory then deploys directly onto a homebuilder's site and produces the wall, floor and roof panels they need, on demand. It arrives in a shipping container, sits on a footprint of max 30 by 30 ft and runs off generators on a gravel pad: no grid connection, no permanent site works. We own and run the equipment, our customers buy the panels it produces, not the machine. We're past pure R&D and shipping our first commercial MicroFactories this year, across the UK, Europe and North America. Backed by Planet A, PT1, Shadow Ventures and ABB Robotics, we're a team of around 40 engineers, roboticists, operators and designers working from an 11,000 sq ft R&D and demonstration facility in London. The systems we build now will decide how homes are manufactured at scale. The role We're looking for a hands-on technician to help build our next MicroFactory in our London workshop, from kit of parts to finished machine. The work is largely mechanical, from fitting sensors to assembling large tables. It's physical, varied and real, and you'll see the whole build from start to finish. Our designs aren't perfect. You'll build to drawings, and where a drawing doesn't work in practice, you'll work with our engineers to adapt it as you go. You'll work in a team of mechanical and electrical fitters, guided by our design engineers, reporting to Ric Zhang, Hardware Design Engineer. Problems you'll work on • Kitting - Gather parts and put together complete kits for each sub-assembly. • Mechanical assembly - Assemble and install mechanical hardware to drawings, from small brackets and sensor mounts to large tables. • Electrical and sensor install - Install electrical and sensor hardware alongside our existing team of fitters. • Inspection - Check finished sub-assemblies against the drawings before they move on. • Workshop standards - Keep the workshop tidy, safe and well-organised. Tools where they belong, nothing left to chance. • Feeding back - Flag problems early and feed what you see back to the engineering team. What good looks like • In your first week, you know the workshop, the drawings and the build plan, and you're kitting and assembling with the team. • Within your first month, you're building sub-assemblies from drawings with minimal guidance, and you're raising drawing issues before they cost time. • By the end of the contract, the MicroFactory is built, and every issue you found is logged with the engineering team. • Throughout, the workshop ends every day clean, safe and ready for the next shift. Who this is for You're the person who takes things apart to understand how they work and puts them back together properly. You don't wait to be told what needs doing. If something's not working, you're already looking at it. If the workshop's a mess, you sort it. You care about things being done right, not just done. This isn't for you if you want a fixed, finished set of instructions to follow. The drawings will change as you build. It also isn't a desk role: the work is physical and on your feet, every day. What we're looking for • Hands-on build experience: You've built, fixed or made things, through an apprenticeship, a university project, a personal project habit or something else entirely. Show us what you've done. • Workshop experience: You've worked in a workshop environment with a range of hand and power tools. • Reading technical drawings: You're confident building from engineering drawings. • Mechanical and sensor knowledge: You understand mechanical systems and sensors. • Self-direction: You're detail-oriented and comfortable figuring things out without a manual. Formal qualifications (engineering degree, apprenticeship or equivalent) are welcome but not required. We care about what you can do, not what's on your certificate. Bonus If You Have • Experience with electrical or pneumatic assembly. • A background in fabrication, timber construction or manufacturing environments. • A forklift licence. What we offer • Competitive day rate, outside IR35 • An 11,000 sq ft R&D and demonstration facility in E17, where you work directly on robotic manufacturing hardware every day • High autonomy, high accountability, and a team of industry experts that takes the mission seriously • We provide all the tools you need Our values • #ownyourmission - we take responsibility and execute with focus and urgency. • #forpeopleandplanet - we strive to do the best for people and planet. • #buildtogether - we succeed through deep collaboration with our team, partners and customers. • #gooddesign - we centre good design in everything we do, holistically. • #beboldberadical - we think creatively; we are ambitious, bold and radical. Application process We expect the full hiring process to take around 1-2 weeks, and we aim to be as transparent as possible throughout. • Initial Application - a human will review your CV & full application • Hiring Manager Call (20 mins, remote) - with Ric Zhang (Hardware Design Engineer) • Case-based Working Session (45 mins, in-person) - you'll be given a real AUAR challenge to tackle in your own time and present to a panel of AUAR team members. We'll also discuss our Values. • Offer This is a London role, 5 days a week in our E17 workshop. Standard hours are 9am-6pm with an hour of breaks, and these may change to shifts during the contract (excludes nights). You'll need the right to work in the UK. If this is a fit, tell us, we'd rather hear from you than not. We're building a team as diverse as the communities we serve. If you see a part of this role that excites you, even if you don't meet 100% of the criteria, we encourage you to apply. Let's make housing better, together. We are committed to creating an equitable, inclusive and diverse workplace. We intend to run an equal, fair and inclusive hiring process. If you feel there is any area we could improve, please let us know at info@auar.io.