JOB SUMMARYApptronik is building robots for the real world - to improve human quality of life and help solve the ever-increasing labor shortage. As a Staff Software Engineer - Humanoid Controls, you will be a senior technical force multiplier on our Motion Control & Planning team - the person who raises the quality of our robotics stack and moves to wherever the hardest problem is. Your scope spans whole-body control for our wheeled-base platform and our biped, learning-based hand control, mobile manipulation, and teleoperation - translating state-of-the-art controls and learning into real capability while setting technical direction for the team.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES or KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES- Raise the quality of the overall controls stack - architecture, algorithms, real-time performance, testing, and long-term maintainability.
- Advance whole-body control across our platforms - the wheeled-base robot and the biped - coordinating the base or legs with upper-body manipulation.
- Flex across the stack to the highest-impact problems - e.g. learning-based hand control (RL in simulation), mobile manipulation, teleoperation, and estimation.
- Translate state-of-the-art model-based and learning-based methods into robust capability, from simulation through hardware bring-up and deployment.
- Expand the robot's performance envelope - speed, payload, reliability, and safety - with measurable, defensible improvements.
- Set technical direction across the controls stack, influencing the roadmap and bringing adjacent teams (locomotion, manipulation, teleoperation, RL, estimation) along.
- Mentor engineers and multiply team capability through design reviews, code reviews, and best practices.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with hardware, systems, and RL teams to co-develop solutions and diagnose system-level issues.
SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS- Deep robotics fundamentals: kinematics, dynamics, state estimation, and optimization/control theory.
- Proven expertise in whole-body control (WBC/OSC, QP-based control, or MPC) for floating-base (legged) or mobile (wheeled) systems.
- Hands-on experience with learning-based control / reinforcement learning applied to robotics (training in simulation).
- Breadth across robot control problems - mobile manipulation, dexterity / hand control, and teleoperation - and the versatility to move between them.
- Strong software engineering: real-time C++ and Python for robotic systems.
- Industry experience developing production-grade controllers, including hands-on experience validating or deploying algorithms on physical robot hardware.
- Preferred: shipping controllers to a production fleet or to market at scale; dexterous / in-hand manipulation; legged locomotion; or safety-critical / certified software (ISO 13849, 10218, IEC 61508).
EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE- MS or PhD in Robotics, CS, EE, ME, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
- 8+ years of relevant industry experience (or 4+ with a PhD) in robot controls, with a track record of getting controllers working on physical hardware.
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.
