About — Pike Robotics

Our team of engineers and scientists comes from the renowned Texas Robotics Lab and, more specifically, the Nuclear and Applied Robotics Lab. This group was formed by original Co-Founder Mitch Pryor at UT-Austin to develop and deploy advanced inspection robots for nuclear, energy, and DoD facilities. Partnerships with established players in the Oil & Gas space such as Phillips 66, Chevron, and Shell allow this group and Pike access to facilities for real-world testing, opportunity to integrate commercial-off-the-shelf and custom robots into their operations, and knowledge of industry standards. Access to the engineers and facilities at Phillips 66, who asked for this innovation in 2019 for their Ponca City Refinery, is a strong component of our success today in 2024.

We’ve grown this team from professor, student, and research assistant to a team of 14 full-time / part-time engineers and advisors over the past year. Throughout this development (whether through in-house learning or onboarding new people), the team has gained an expertise in mechanical and electrical design, traditional & CNC manufacturing, validation test setup, and software best practices (C++, Python, ROS). This growth of skillsets and capabilities has allowed us to spread tasks across the team and focus on specific business and technical projects that each member is well-suited for. We have a finely-tuned engineering machine now.

Management team

Connor Crawford, CEO & Co-Founder

Co-Founder & CEO, Connor Crawford, leads business development efforts and manages all the product development projects. He is involved in all aspects of the business and was the lead researcher during his time as a graduate student in the Nuclear and Applied Robotics Lab. He was responsible for much of the design, manufacturing, and software for early prototypes. As the company has evolved, he has delegated many of the product development tasks to other engineers on the team, allowing him to work on growing the business. Connor earned his MSc. in Robotics from UT-Austin in 2022.
Zach Jurecek, Chief Technology Officer

Co-Founder and CTO, Zach Jurecek, is the lead engineer for the company, overseeing and contributing to the product development team in their efforts to refine the minimum viable product into the end commercial product. He has a strong skillset in Computer-Aided Design, Manufacturing, Prototyping, and Machining that has been vital to the advancement of the robot throughout its various iterations. Zachary earned his BSc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, with a focus on design and manufacturing, and a minor in Business Administration.
Dr. Mitch Pryor, Chief Scientific Advisor

Dr. Pryor advises on best paths forward for company R&D, while serving as a full-time senior research scientist for UT Austin. He has over 27 years of engineering experience related to robots deployed in hazardous environments including nuclear, O&G, and defense, in addition to a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. He has taught courses in robotic programming, mechanical design, & control.