Your portfolio should be a dedicated website (like GitHub Pages or a simple personal site) that acts as a digital showcase of your technical abilities and project experience.
1. Focus on Quality Over Quantity
Recruiters don’t have time to wade through twenty mediocre projects. Focus your efforts on 3 to 5 truly impressive, well-documented projects that show a wide range of skills.
Project Type
What it Demonstrates
Examples
Hardware Integration
Ability to work with sensors, actuators, wiring, and real-world constraints.
Building a custom PCB for a mobile robot, creating a PID controller for a motor.
Complex Software/Algorithms
Proficiency in high-level programming, math, and specific robotics concepts.
A SLAM implementation using LIDAR data, a path planning algorithm for a drone.
Open-Source Contribution
Collaboration, code review, familiarity with Git/GitHub, and industry standards.
Fixing a critical bug in the ROS 2 navigation stack, adding a feature to a major robotics library.
2. Document Everything (The “Why” and the “How”)
This is the most crucial step. A portfolio project isn’t just a GitHub link. It’s a comprehensive story that answers:
The Problem (The “Why”): What real-world challenge were you trying to solve? (e.g., “We needed an autonomous system to inspect agricultural fields.”)
The Solution (The “What”): What did you build? (e.g., “A custom-built, four-wheeled mobile robot running ROS 2 and utilizing a camera for vision.”)
The Technical Details (The “How”): Which tools, languages, and concepts did you use? Be specific! Mention Python, C++, ROS 2, Docker, Git, OpenCV, the specific sensors, etc.
The Results (The “Proof”): What was the outcome? Did it work? Include performance metrics, graphs, or videos.
The Lessons Learned (The “Growth”): What went wrong? What would you do differently? This shows self-awareness and a learning mindset.
3. Visuals are Non-Negotiable
Robotics is a visual field. You need to prove the robot moves and the code works.
High-Quality Videos: Record a short, clear video (30-60 seconds) for every project showing it in action. Upload it to YouTube or Vimeo and embed it directly on your project page. A working demo is 10x better than a static image.
Clear Images: Use clean photos of the physical hardware, diagrams of your system architecture, and screenshots of data output or simulation results (like Rviz).1
Clean Code Presentation: Link directly to the GitHub repository, and ensure the README file is professional, organized, and follows the structure outlined in point #2.
4. Highlight the “Soft” Skills
A portfolio doesn’t just demonstrate technical mastery; it demonstrates professionalism.2
Testing Proficiency: If you used unit tests or functional tests, mention it! This shows you build robust, reliable code.
Documentation: Did you create API documentation? Did you use a project management tool? Detail your process.
Collaboration: For group projects, clearly define your specific role and contributions. If you worked on an open-source repo, emphasize the experience of multi-cultural, distributed teamwork.
💡 Portfolio Best Practices at a Glance
Do This
Avoid This
Embed a video of your project running.
Just linking to a GitHub repo with no context.
Use clear headings and bold important technologies (e.g., SLAM, Docker, C++).
Walls of text or overly complex technical jargon.
Explain the “why” behind your design choices.
Just describing “what” the robot does.
Mention tests, deployment methods (Docker), and Git flow.
Forgetting to mention the tools you used.
Have a separate, dedicated page for your Open-Source Contributions.
Mixing open-source work in with personal projects.
Going to conferences (like ICRA, IROS, or specialized local meetups) is where you get the most leverage. You have to be proactive to make it count.
Phase
Action
Why it Works
Before the Event
Do Your Homework. Review the schedule, speakers, and attendee list (if available). Identify 3-5 specific people or companies you must meet. Research their recent papers or projects.
It turns a general meeting into a targeted, meaningful conversation. You have an intelligent talking point ready.
Before the Event
Reach Out (The Pre-Pitch). Send a brief, personalized email or LinkedIn message to the people you want to meet: “I really enjoyed your paper on [topic] and would love to chat briefly about it at the conference. Would you be open to grabbing a quick coffee?”
This breaks the ice and guarantees you a meeting, instead of relying on luck.
During the Event
Master the Elevator Pitch. Prepare a concise (30-second) summary of who you are and, more importantly, what you are currently working on (i.e., your portfolio project).
You sound confident and memorable. It quickly shows your value rather than just stating your job title.
During the Event
Ask Great Questions. Focus 80% on the other person. Ask about their work, challenges they are facing, or what they think the next big thing in the field will be. The goal is to be curious, not to sell yourself.
People love talking about themselves. This creates a positive, reciprocal relationship and makes you a good conversationalist.
During the Event
Utilize Poster Sessions and Socials. Poster sessions are great for detailed discussions with researchers. Attend the evening social events—these casual settings are where the best, unpressured connections are made.
It provides relaxed settings outside the formal presentations to build rapport.
During the Event
Be the Connector. Introduce people to each other (“Sarah, meet John. John is working on SLAM, and Sarah just presented a great paper on multi-robot path planning”).
Being a valuable connector makes you indispensable and memorable.
2. The Digital Ecosystem (The Consistency)
Networking doesn’t stop when the conference ends.2 You need to keep the conversation going and engage in online robotics communities.3
LinkedIn is Your CRM: Immediately after meeting someone, send a personalized LinkedIn connection request. Reference what you talked about: “It was great chatting about the challenges of hardware integration on the mobile robot you presented at ICRA.”
The Follow-Up is Crucial: Within 24-48 hours, send a brief, personalized email.4 Offer something of value first.
Bad: “Do you know of any job openings?”
Good: “Following up on our conversation about visual navigation, I found this great paper/tool that might interest you. Let me know what you think. If you ever need an extra pair of hands for an open-source contribution, I’m keen to help.”
Engage in Robotics Communities: Actively participate in places like robotics subreddits, ROS forums, and especially GitHub.5 Solving problems for others or giving insightful commentary establishes you as a knowledgeable and helpful peer.
Nurture Existing Contacts: Don’t just contact people when you need a job. Every few months, send a quick update on a cool project you finished or share an industry article relevant to their work. This keeps the relationship warm.
3. The Mindset Shift: Give Before You Take
The fundamental secret to successful networking is to stop thinking of it as transactional (What can this person do for me?) and start thinking of it as collaborative (How can I help or add value to this person?).
If you consistently show that you are competent, curious, and willing to help others, people will naturally want to refer you, collaborate with you, and ultimately, hire you.
So, You Want a Job in Robotics? Let me tell you something …
The robotics world is exploding, right? Everyone wants to be part of it. But let’s be honest, the old way of getting a job—just sending your resume—is not working anymore. Recruiters cannot manage the number of applications, and thanks to AI tools, they all look equally good (even if in reality they are not).
Due to those AI tools, it is extremely difficult for employers to distinguish between the real robotics engineers and the Instagram ones (look cool but nothing really inside). If you are one of the fakers, just stop here, this post is not going to help you because it requires real work. On the other hand, if you are one of the real tough engineers, keep reading, I can give you some useful advice.
To actually land your dream robotics job, you need to skip the typical path and get strategic. Here’s the insider’s guide to how to do it.
Forget the Diploma, Show What You’ve Built
I know what you’re thinking: “But I need a fancy degree!”
Honestly, the general opinion is that degrees are becoming less and less important. Really. It is plenty of students that just got their degree and really know nothing. Those are what I call the Instagram profiles.
What matters way more is having a good portfolio—a solid record of projects you’ve actually finished. Think of it as proof that you can do the work, not just talk about it.
Your portfolio is your spotlight. Fill it with projects that excite you, whether you’re building actual robots (hardware is cool!) or programming them (software skills are key!). Every project, big or small, is a point of evidence of your skills.
The portfolio allows the employer to see what you really know about it, and more importantly, ask you questions about it. You cannot fake a portfolio because if you do it, you will be caught during the questioning by your employer (afterall, if you did all those projects, you need to be able to answer the questions about it 😉
Here’s a pro tip for leveling up your portfolio: contribute to an existing open-source robotics repository.
Why? It’s not just about showing off your code and learning in the process. When you jump into an important existing repo, fix an issue, or add a feature, you’re proving a few things:
Teamwork: You show that you can work effectively in multi-cultural teams distributed all over the globe. That kind of collaboration skill is gold.
Credibility: If your code gets accepted, your name is forever attached to that project. It’s a permanent, public demonstration that you truly know your craft—which is far more powerful than any bullet point on a CV.
Some interesting repos to contribute, related to robotics:
If you like making autonomous robots, contribute to ROS 2 Navigation
If you prefer to work on control, contribute to ROS 2 Control
If you like more robot arms and manipulation, Moveit 2
And if you prefer reinforcement learning for humanoids, mjlab
How to start contributing?
Start simple. This means, visit the repo and get a local copy of it. Then go to the repo’s list of pending issues and search for #good-first-issue . This will provide you with a list of simple pending issues that you can start with. Select one and solve it. Then create a PR for it.
Check this simple guide to learn how to do it: https://github.com/firstcontributions/first-contributions
NOTE: you will need to push the guys in charge of the repo to review and accept your issue. This is part of your job. Those guys are very busy so they will be reluctant to review it. That is how it works. Do not panic. Just push them. After all, they are happy somebody solved the bug.
You Gotta Master the Basics (and the Tools)
Even if I said that degrees are no longer a must, you can’t skip this part. You need to master all the basic knowledge in robotics. That means deep-diving into robotics theory (kinematics, control, etc.) and getting super comfortable with robotics programming (hello, ROS and Python/C++).
Especially C++. You need to master it. You can never have enough of C++ knowledge. The more you know the better. Maybe you think that with AI tools it is not necessary to know that much C++. Wrong! AI tools are just a tool to speed you up, not to allow you to skip C++ mastering. You need excellent C++ skills because:
Companies will test you on this (without AI tools), and they are expecting you to know a lot of it, because it is the key to robust robots
Even if you use AI, you need to be able to identify where AI is wrong and that requires a lot of knowledge
But don’t stop there. You also need to be fluent in the modern developer toolkit:
Git for version control
Docker for consistent environments
Unit testing and functional testing for building reliable systems
These tools are non-negotiable for any serious robotics company, so you need to master them.
Ditching the Application Page: Two Paths In
Since sending your resume into the digital void doesn’t work anymore, you need to bypass the standard application page and connect directly with people. Here are your two best bets:
1. The Internship Hustle
This is the most direct route. Apply for an internship at a robotics company. Your goal is simple: get your foot in the door and demonstrate that you are the best employee they’ve ever had.
The Win: If you get a job offer afterward, awesome!
The Backup Plan: If you don’t, no worries! You’ve gained real experience. Include everything you’ve done in that internship as a huge, verified chunk of your portfolio. Most importantly, take advantage of the contacts you’ve made. Ask them, “Hey, who do you know at other companies that I should talk to?”. Then keep repeating the internship process.
2. Cultivate Your Connections (aka, Show Up)
The robotics industry is built on people. Hence, you need to cultivate your connections. That doesn’t mean that you need to work on LinkedIn and get as many contacts as possible. LinkedIn contacts are in the same Instagram category. They are fake. Useless to get a job. The only contacts that matter are the ones you make in real life (either interacting online, or interacting offline). Of all of the possibilities, offline connections are the best. So…
Go to the main conferences for the robotics subject you care about. Don’t just sit in the back! Here some recommendations:
ROSCon
RoboBusiness
Robotics Summit and Expo
European Robotics Forum
Nvidia GTC
IREX
Automatica
Interact as much as possible with as many attendants as possible. Shake hands, ask smart questions, and genuinely listen.
Cultivate your relationships with these people over time.
These relationships are where the best, unadvertised jobs come from. Getting a job in robotics today isn’t about what you know—it’s about who knows you and the cool stuff you can build.
If the strategies above feel overwhelming,try this 6-month online program
The Robotics Developers Masterclass from The Construct Robotics Institute is an ONLINEtraining program created to bundle everything you need into one program:
Master the Basics & Tools: Comprehensive training in robotics theory, ROS 2, C++, and all the essential corporate development tools (Git, Docker, CI/CD, Jenkins).
Build an Unbeatable Portfolio: You work on several deep, hands-on projects, including a final Capstone Project, using simulated and real robots that form the cornerstone of your experience portfolio.
Get the Experience: The Masterclass offers a 3-month practical internship at a leading robotics company, giving you the critical experience and contacts needed to bypass the standard application process.
Stop trying to piece together your path—get the complete system.
