Electrical and Mechanical
When thinking of building a robot, electrical and mechanical building is most likely what comes to mind. The electrical and mechanical team is in charge of assembling, prototyping, and fabricating the components necessary to make the robot run. For those interested in build, this will be the section you will spend the majority of your efforts during the 8 week build period.
The mechanical team is responsible for designing all the scoring and driving portions of the robot. This includes the drivebase, any mechanism relevant to that season, and the structure to support it. During a usual build season, this will be the most time-intensive portion of the engineering department.
Meanwhile, the electrical team is responsible for implementing all the electronics to make the robot function. This means attaching the wires securely, adding structure for electrical components, and wiring the robot.
Most gain experience with electrical and mechanical through hands-on work with the robot or off-season projects. However, any knowledge of the theory behind the design is very applicable. This can include understanding material science, electronics, CNC control, etc.
It is important to acknowledge that all these teams are dependent on each other, and these categories of functions often overlap, for example strategy determines in large part what mechanical needs to design, and the mechanical and electrical team must work together to ensure there is ample space for electronics to be placed. They must also work with programming to ensure what is designed can feasibly be programmed, and with 3D modeling to have models of the robot before beginning construction.