Request for Proposal (RFP): AI Career Coach
RFP Number: 26-01
Release Date: August 18, 2026
Response Deadline: August 27, 2026
Contact Person: John Zappa, Senior Director of Product Management
Email: [email protected]
Overview
The ARM (Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing) Institute is a Manufacturing Innovation Institute (MII) funded by the Office of the Secretary of Defense under Agreement Number W911NF-17-3-0004, and part of the Manufacturing USA® network.
The ARM Institute has developed the RoboticsCareer.org platform which provides an online, scalable approach to connect job and education seekers with relevant opportunities in robotics and AI roles in manufacturing. RoboticsCareer uses a skills-based approach to match individuals with more than 18,000 education/training programs and thousands of job opportunities. The platform has supported over 100,000 users within the past year and is an effective way to address the skills gap within manufacturing, especially for individuals that have a clear sense of their career direction.
However, many individuals exploring career opportunities need greater guidance to chart a path forward. An AI-driven career coach for robotics and manufacturing would serve as a personalized digital advisor, using data from educational backgrounds, job market trends, and individual preferences to guide users toward suitable career pathways, whether that’s robotics engineering, industrial automation technician roles, manufacturing systems analysis, or robotic maintenance.
The ARM Institute is seeking an organization to develop an AI-driven career coach for robotics and manufacturing that will serve as a personalized digital advisor for education and job seekers utilizing the platform. The AI coach is intended to provide tailored, proactive guidance on topics such as career path exploration, skill gap analysis, and job searching.
This is work for hire. Any source code developed to support the project will be owned by the ARM Institute. Note that respondents must be a U.S. based organization with all software development and data collection occurring on servers located in the United States.
The ARM Institute expects to award a six-month contract by mid-September and is seeking completion of the project by December 31, 2026.
Download the full RFP Here
ABOUT THE ARM INSTITUTE
The ARM (Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing) Institute is a Manufacturing Innovation Institute (MII) funded by the Office of the Secretary of War under Agreement Number W911NF-17-3-0004 and is part of the Manufacturing USA® network. The ARM Institute leverages a unique and robust 500+ member organizations and partners across industry, academia, and government to make robotics, autonomy, and artificial intelligence more accessible to U.S. manufacturers large and small, train and empower the manufacturing workforce, strengthen our economy and global competitiveness, and elevate national security and resilience. Based in Pittsburgh, PA since 2017, the ARM Institute’s mission is to assert the US as the leading nation in manufacturing output through the adoption of robotics and AI. For more information, visit www.arminstitute.org and follow the ARM Institute on LinkedIn and X.