Principal Compute & Sensing Engineer

JOB SUMMARY

Apptronik is seeking a world-class Principal Compute & 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 (SoCs, FPGAs, MCUs) and design system-level redundancy to meet real-time performance requirements.
• High-Performance PCB Design: Lead the design and validation of custom carrier boards for high-performance modules (e.g., NVIDIA Jetson). Expertly manage power delivery networks (PDN), thermal dissipation strategies, and high-speed signal integrity for complex interfaces.
• Manufacturing & Reliability: Drive Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design for Reliability (DFR) 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 the high-bandwidth pipelines and synchronization protocols required for sensor fusion. Manage complex communication interfaces (GigE, GMSL2, USB 3.0, MIPI) to ensure low-latency data delivery to the perception software.
• Safety Architecture: Drive the physical and logical architecture decisions required to meet Functional Safety standards Fail-Safe Systems: Design hardware-level redundancy, fail-safe mechanisms, and Built-In Tests (BIT) to achieve required safety integrity levels (ASIL/SIL) 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 (e.g., new SoCs or sensor modalities) that will keep Apptronik at the cutting edge.
• Cross-Functional Influence: Act as the ultimate technical authority on compute/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

• Expertise: * Proven track record of designing custom carrier boards for NVIDIA Jetson or similar high-end compute modules.
  • Mastery of high-speed digital design (PCIe, DDR4/5, GMSL, 10GbE).
  • Experience integrating multi-sensor suites with precise hardware-level time synchronization.
  • Hands-on experience with Functional Safety architecture (ISO 26262 or equivalent).
• Tools: Proficiency with Altium Designer (or similar) and hardware simulation tools (SPICE, Ansys, or HyperLynx).

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

• Education: M.S. or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• Experience: 12+ years of experience in high-performance hardware design, with a focus on robotics, autonomous vehicles, or aerospace.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS 

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Must be able to lift 15 pounds at times
• Vision to read printed materials and a computer screen
• Hearing and speech to communicate