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RideScan Integration
Hackathon

Build the future of robot reliability,  in one week, from anywhere.

43 days : 15 hrs : 00 min : 00 sec
Apply for this hackathon
Apply for this hackathon

The Challenge

We need one engineer who can make robots talk to us, not someday. Now.RideScan is already running on a quadruped robot in a regulated industrial environment. Customer integrators across the UK, Europe, and Japan are waiting in line. We need someone who can ship integrations as fast as we can sign deals.
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We could post a job. You’d send a CV. We’d read 200 of them. We’d guess wrong.
Instead, pick any robot, integrate it with RideScan, show us what you can build in a week.

The work in plain terms

You’re going to integrate a robot, any robot with RideScan’s monitoring platform. Quadruped, humanoid, industrial arm, drone, mobile platform, your lab build, your favourite simulation environment. Your choice.
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You’re going to get telemetry flowing. You’re going to surface something useful, an anomaly, a risk score, a performance insight, a maintenance signal.
You’re going to write the README a future engineer will actually thank you for.
You’re going to show us a 5-minute demo of the whole thing working end-to-end.
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We’re keeping it open-ended on purpose. We want to see how you approach a real integration problem when nobody’s looking over your shoulder.
Integration iconIntegration iconIntegration iconIntegration icon
Read this before you apply

This is for you if

You’ve integrated at least one real robot platform and you have the scars to prove it
You’re already too good for your current job and you know it
You enjoy being the person customers call when something breaks at 9pm
You can write Python or C++ that other engineers don’t immediately want to rewrite
You’d rather be employee number-something at a company doing real work than  employee 4,000 at one that isn’t
You believe robots are about to be everywhere, and you want to be one of the people making sure they don’t kill anyone

This is not for you if

You need a market-rate salary on day one (we’ll get there, but not on day one).
You want a clearly defined scope written down in a Notion doc.
You haven’t actually shipped a robot integration before.
You’re looking for a comfortable role, this is the opposite of that.
This is some text inside of a div block.
We’re being honest because we’d rather you self-select out than waste a week.

Why this exists

Right now, somewhere in the world, an autonomous robot is doing a job it wasn’t quite ready for. Nobody is independently watching it. When it fails, the operator finds out from a frustrated customer, a damaged warehouse, or sometimes, a regulator.
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The robotics industry is shipping fast. The reliability layer underneath it is missing.
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That’s what we’re building. RideScan is the independent safety and reliability platform for autonomous robots, the “Fitbit for robots.” We’re already deployed on a quadruped inspection robot in a regulated industrial environment. We have active integrator conversations across the UK, Europe, and Japan. We’re backed by YOPE (the Splunk founder’s Silicon Valley accelerator), Humanoid Global ($ROBO), Conception X and Innovate UK.
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We’ve been finalists for the Made in Scotland Digital Technology Award and a Tech Impact Award at London Tech Week for Best Digital Safety Initiative.
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We are not a slide deck. The product exists. Customers exist. The runway exists.
What we’re missing is one engineer who can integrate as fast as we can sell.
What you actually get to do

This isn’t a "win £500 and disappear" hackathon. The winner becomes our Integration Engineer. Here’s what that means in real life

Week 1

Onboard to the codebase. Meet the founding team. Get your hands on the production deployment. Ship a small integration to staging.

Month 1

Own your first customer-facing integration. Be on the call with a real integrator partner. Make architectural decisions that ship.

Month 3

Lead an integration with one of the humanoid or industrial arm partners we’re already talking to. Performance review. Full-time conversion. Equity grant.

Year 1

Be the technical face of RideScan to our integrator network. Travel to customer sites. Demo at industry events. Help us hire the next engineer.
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If that sounds like the next chapter of your career, keep reading.
How we choose

Three phases. Each one earns you the next.

Phase 1 — Fit screen

3–4 days after applications close
We read every application. We’re looking at three things: your motivation, the skills you already have, and your location and availability. If you make it through, we send you the kickoff brief and you’re in.

Phase 2 — Prove you can move a robot

Weeks 1–2 of the hackathon
Before we hand you the keys to the RideScan API, we want to see you do the hard part: get a robot to perform a task, successfully and repeatably, in simulation or on real hardware. This is where the field thins.
Make it through Phase 2 and you get RideScan API access for Phase 3.

Phase 3 — Build the integration

Final week
Now you have the API. Build the full integration. Surface something interesting. Make us look twice.

We judge Phase 3 on four things

Creativity: did you do something we didn’t expect?
Self-initiative: did you build beyond what was asked?
Communication: can you explain your work like an adult?
Technical deployment accuracy: does it actually work, reliably?
Demo day is live on Zoom. Winners are notified within 48 hours.

What you win

The role

Integration Engineer at RideScan. Trial-to-hire over 3 months, equity discussion on the table from day one, full-time conversion at competitive market salary subject to performance review. Direct access to the founding team. Real ownership. Real product. Real customers.
Honest framing: the first 3 months are below market on cash.

We’re an early-stage deep-tech startup deploying capital carefully. The trade-off is the equity, the ownership, and the trajectory. If that’s not the trade you want to make right now, this isn’t for you and that’s fine.

Talent pipeline

Strong runners-up join our pipeline for current and future roles. We make intros to our investor and partner network where relevant. Even if you don’t win, the week wasn’t wasted.

ÂŁ500 cash prize

Won outright. Paid to the winner regardless of whether you accept the role.

What you submit

A working integration in a public or private GitHub repo.
A 5-minute demo video showing it running end-to-end.
A README covering: which robot, why you chose it, how it works, what you learned, what you’d build next.
Optional but encouraged: notes on the edge cases that broke you, the hardware quirks, the things that almost didn’t work.

What we give you

RideScan API access (granted at Phase 2 → Phase 3)
Integration documentation and reference examples
Direct access to our engineering team via Slack during the build
Two office hours sessions with the founding team
Honest feedback at every phase boundary, win or lose

Global

Open globally. Timezones are your problem to solve, not ours. Individual entries only. We’re hiring one person.

Ownership

You retain ownership of your code. By entering, you grant RideScan a non-exclusive licence to evaluate and reference your work.

Eligibility

To take the role afterwards, you must be legally able to work in the UK or available to work remotely from a country we can contract with. Not eligible for the role? Apply anyway, the ÂŁ500 is real, and we love meeting good engineers.
Apply for this hackathon
Apply for this hackathon

FAQs

About the hackathon
Do I need to own a real robot?
No. Simulation is completely valid, Gazebo, Isaac Sim, Webots, MuJoCo, your own sim, anything. We care about the integration quality and what you surface, not whether you own ÂŁ80k of hardware. That said, if you do have access to real hardware (lab, work, personal), real-world data tends to throw up more interesting edge cases, which often makes for a stronger submission.
Can I use a robot I already work with at my day job?
Use a robot, simulator, or dataset you have legitimate access to. Don't use anything covered by NDA, employer IP, or proprietary data you don't have rights to share. If you're unsure, ask us before you start, we'd rather you submit something clean than disqualify yourself.
What programming languages can I use?
Whatever fits the job. Python and C++ are the natural fits for ROS / ROS2 work. We use Python and TypeScript heavily internally, but we're not going to penalise you for using Rust, Go, or anything else if it makes sense.
Can I use AI coding assistants (Claude, Copilot, Cursor)?
Yes. We use them too. But: we'll be looking closely at your README, your design choices, your demo, and how you answer questions on demo day. AI-generated code that the author can't explain is easy to spot and won't win.
Do I have to use RideScan's actual API?
Yes, that's the integration. We'll only provide API access, documentation, and sample integrations at kickoff to everyone who clears the phase 2 successfully
Can I work in a team?
No. Individual entries only. We're hiring one person and we want to see one person's work. Discussing approaches with others is fine; submitting code someone else wrote is not.
How much time should I spend?
We're not setting a minimum or maximum. Some entrants will go all-in for the week; others will fit it around a day job. Judge yourself by what you'd be proud to show us, not by hours logged.
About the role
Tell me honestly what the post-hackathon offer looks like.
For the winner: a 3-month trial-to-hire arrangement structured as a fixed-term contractor agreement (we're getting this set up properly with a UK employment solicitor before the hackathon ends). Cash compensation starts modest and steps up with delivered milestones over the 3 months. Equity / share options are on the table from day one and we'll discuss specifics with the winner. At month 3 there's a performance review and, assuming it goes well, conversion to full-time at competitive market salary.

We're being transparent: the trial period cash is below market because we're an early-stage deep-tech startup deploying capital carefully. The trade-off is real ownership, direct founder access, equity, and a fast path to a market-rate full-time role. This isn't right for everyone, and we'd rather you know upfront.
What if I win but I'm not based in the UK?
We'll work with you. We have remote arrangements available and we're already operating across multiple countries. Some jurisdictions are easier than others to contract with, let's talk.
What if I win but I can't take the role?
You still get the ÂŁ500. No hard feelings. We may stay in touch for future opportunities.
What if I'm a strong submission but not the winner?
You go into our talent pipeline. We'll keep your details (with your permission), make intros to our investor and partner network where relevant, and reach out for future Integration Engineer or related roles as we grow.
Do I have to be a graduate / have X years of experience?
No. We don't filter on credentials. The hackathon is the filter.
Logistics
What if I have a conflict during demo day?
Let us know early and we'll work something out — pre-recorded demo with live Q&A, or a separate slot. Don't let scheduling stop you entering.
Will my code be public?
Your repo can be private during evaluation. After the hackathon you keep ownership and decide. By entering you grant RideScan a non-exclusive licence to evaluate and reference your work internally, we won't publish your code without your permission.
Will RideScan use my code in your product?
No. The hackathon is for evaluating engineers, not crowdsourcing free product work. We have our own platform; we want to see how you build, not lift your code.
How do I ask questions during the week?
At kickoff we'll set up a Slack or Discord channel for all participants. Engineering team will be active during UK working hours. We'll also run two 1-hour office hours sessions during the week.
I'm interested but can't commit to this date — will you run another?
Likely yes, depending on how this one goes. Register your interest at hackathon@ridescan.ai and we'll let you know about future rounds.
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