Principal Electrical Engineer

About the role

Principal Compute and Sensing Engineer

Apptronik is a human-centered robotics company developing AI-powered robots to support humanity in every facet of life. Our flagship humanoid robot, Apollo, is built to collaborate thoughtfully with people, starting with critical industries such as manufacturing and logistics, with future applications in healthcare, the home, and beyond. We operate at the cutting edge of Applied AI, applying our expertise across the full robotics stack to solve some of society's most important problems. You will join a team dedicated to bringing Apollo to market at scale, tackling the complex challenges like safety, commercialization, and mass production to change the world for the better.

JOB SUMMARY

Apptronik is seeking a world-class Principal Compute and Sensing Engineer to serve as the lead architect for the nervous system of the Apollo humanoid robot. This is a top-tier technical role for an expert who can design and implement the high-performance compute and sensory backbone required for general-purpose robotics. You will be responsible for the end-to-end hardware architecture-from NVIDIA Jetson-based carrier designs to the electrical integration of complex perception suites-ensuring that Apollo is powerful, redundant, and functionally safe.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES or KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Primary Architect: Own the end-to-end design of Apollo's safe compute architecture. Select core processing elements, including SoCs, FPGAs, and MCUs, and design system-level redundancy to satisfy real-time performance requirements.
• High-Performance PCB Design: Lead the design and validation of custom carrier boards for high-performance modules, such as NVIDIA Jetson. Expertly manage power delivery networks, thermal dissipation strategies, and high-speed signal integrity for complex interfaces.
• Manufacturing and Reliability: Drive Design for Manufacturability and Design for Reliability for compute modules, ensuring they can withstand the high-vibration and dynamic thermal environments of a mobile humanoid robot.
• Multi-Modal Sensing: Define the electrical architecture for a full perception stack, including LiDAR, depth cameras, IMUs, and tactile sensors.
• Data Pipeline Optimization: Architect high-bandwidth pipelines and synchronization protocols for sensor fusion. Manage complex communication interfaces, such as GigE, GMSL2, USB 3.0, and MIPI, to ensure low-latency data delivery to perception software.
• Safety Architecture: Drive physical and logical architecture decisions required to meet Functional Safety standards. Implement hardware-level redundancy, fail-safe mechanisms, and Built-In Tests to achieve required safety integrity levels for operation in human-occupied environments.
• Diagnostics: Implement robust hardware diagnostics to monitor the health of the compute and sensing backbone in real-time.
• Multi-Generational Roadmap: Define the long-term technical roadmap for Apollo's compute and sensing evolution, identifying emerging technologies that will keep Apptronik at the cutting edge.
• Cross-Functional Influence: Act as the ultimate technical authority on compute and sensing during design reviews with the Controls, Perception, and Systems Engineering teams.
• Mentorship: Provide deep technical mentorship to electrical and embedded engineers, fostering a culture of rigorous engineering and innovation without the burden of administrative management.

SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS

You must have a proven track record of designing custom carrier boards for NVIDIA Jetson or similar high-end compute modules. Mastery of high-speed digital design, including PCIe, DDR4/5, GMSL, and 10 Gigabit Ethernet, is required. You must have hands-on experience integrating complex perception suites with precise hardware-level time synchronization. Demonstrated experience with Functional Safety architecture, aligned with standards such as ISO 26262 or equivalent, is essential. You thrive in mobile robotics contexts where thermal, vibration, and reliability constraints directly dictate design choices.

Nice to have

Proficiency with Altium Designer or similar electronic design automation tools is expected. Experience with hardware simulation tools, such as SPICE, is required. Familiarity with protocols including GigE, GMSL2, USB 3.0, and MIPI is required.

LOCATION AND ENGAGEMENT

This role is based in Austin, Texas. It is a full-time position with an estimated compensation range of $180,000 to $220,000 USD per year.