AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 17-2199.08

Will AI replace Robotics Engineers?

Robotics Engineers: AI can already handle 3 of 24 tasks; the work mostly needs a frontier-tier model.

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Every task, scored

The 24 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Robotics Engineers, from most to least exposed. 3 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.

Task AI exposure Evidence Model tier Importance
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. 90 Estimated Frontier 3.5
Process or interpret signals or sensor data. 65 Estimated Standard 4.0
Evaluate robotic systems or prototypes. 65 Estimated Standard 3.7
Debug robotics programs. 55 Estimated Standard 3.9
Create back-ups of robot programs or parameters. 55 Estimated Efficient 3.9
Provide technical support for robotic systems. 55 Estimated Frontier 3.8
Supervise technologists, technicians, or other engineers. 55 Estimated Frontier 3.8
Conduct research on robotic technology to create new robotic systems or system capabilities. 55 Estimated Efficient 3.7
Investigate mechanical failures or unexpected maintenance problems. 55 Estimated Efficient 3.7
Integrate robotics with peripherals, such as welders, controllers, or other equipment. 55 Estimated Frontier 3.7
Write algorithms or programming code for ad hoc robotic applications. 55 Estimated Standard 3.4
Make system device lists or event timing charts. 55 Estimated Efficient 3.2
Automate assays on laboratory robotics. 55 Estimated Standard 2.7
Design end-of-arm tooling. 50 Estimated Frontier 3.8
Design robotic systems, such as automatic vehicle control, autonomous vehicles, advanced displays, advanced sensing, robotic platforms, computer vision, or telematics systems. 50 Estimated Frontier 3.8
Design software to control robotic systems for applications, such as military defense or manufacturing. 50 Estimated Frontier 3.8
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. 50 Estimated Efficient 3.6
Document robotic application development, maintenance, or changes. 50 Estimated Efficient 3.6
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. 50 Estimated Frontier 3.5
Plan mobile robot paths and teach path plans to robots. 50 Estimated Standard 3.3
Design robotics applications for manufacturers of green products, such as wind turbines or solar panels, to increase production time, eliminate waste, or reduce costs. 50 Estimated Frontier 3.1
Review or approve designs, calculations, or cost estimates. 40 Observed Efficient 4.1
Install, calibrate, operate, or maintain robots. 20 Estimated Efficient 3.7
Build, configure, or test robots or robotic applications. 15 Estimated No tier 3.9

Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 1 of 24 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 23 of 24. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.

The model tier this role needs

A frontier-tier model or lower covers 96% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 96% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 5% is hands-on.

Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.

Wages, employment and outlook

US employment
154,070
Median annual wage
$122,930
Middle half of earners
$90,970 to $158,090
Projected change, 2024 to 2034
+2.1%

Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034. BLS publishes these figures by SOC code, so O*NET occupations that share a SOC code show the same figures.

Adjacent roles

The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.

Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.

Questions about Robotics Engineers and AI

Will AI replace Robotics Engineers?

AI already handles 3 of the 24 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 52 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by +2.1% from 2024 to 2034.

What is the AI exposure of Robotics Engineers?

52 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 1 of the 24 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 23 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.

Which Robotics Engineers tasks can AI already do?

The tasks with the highest exposure are: 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; Process or interpret signals or sensor data; Evaluate robotic systems or prototypes. They are the tasks that reach 60 or more.

What AI model tier does this role need?

A frontier-tier model or lower covers 96% of the role's importance-weighted task work. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.

How many people work as Robotics Engineers, and what do they earn?

154,070 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $122,930 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +2.1% from 2024 to 2034.

How to cite

Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.

JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Robotics Engineers. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/robotics-engineers

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