M.S. or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field
12+ years of experience in high-performance hardware design, focused on robotics or similar fields
Proven experience designing custom carrier boards for NVIDIA Jetson or equivalent modules
Mastery of high-speed digital design including PCIe and DDR4/5
Hands-on experience with Functional Safety architecture (ISO 26262 or equivalent)
Proficient with Altium Designer and hardware simulation tools
Responsibilities
Own the end-to-end design of Apollo's compute architecture
Lead design and validation of custom high-performance carrier boards
Drive Design for Manufacturability and Reliability for compute modules
Define electrical architecture for a complete perception stack
Architect high-bandwidth data pipelines and communication interfaces
Design hardware-level redundancy and fail-safe mechanisms
Implement robust hardware diagnostics to monitor system health
Define future technical roadmap for compute and sensing technologies
Act as technical authority during cross-functional design reviews
Provide mentorship to electrical and embedded engineers
Benefits
Competitive salary with benefits
Equity incentive package
Flexible work hours
Professional development opportunities
Generous Paid Time Off (PTO)
401k plan
Full Job Description
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
*This is a direct hire. Please, no outside Agency solicitations.
