Actuation Controls Engineer - Real-World Robotics

Apptronik; Austin, Northern (TX, KY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Apptronik is seeking a Controls Engineer – Actuation to own actuator models and the low-level control that drives real hardware on our humanoid robotics platform. You will fuse motor electromechanics with system identification in a fast-paced, cross-functional team to close the loop from simulation to real-world deployment.

You will develop high-fidelity models, tune torque and current control, and build tools for experiment automation, ensuring robust performance on hardware.

Qualifications

• Strong C++ with experience extending a simulator or physics engine
• Grounding in motor electromechanics and classical control
• Hands-on actuator control on real hardware
• Hands-on system identification and modeling from real data
• Proficiency in Python and Git in fast-moving R&D environment

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain high-fidelity actuator models in simulation
• Design, tune, and deploy actuator-level control — torque and current control on hardware
• Design and run hardware test campaigns to characterize actuator behavior
• Apply system identification to extract trustworthy physical models and inform controller design
• Quantitatively validate sim-to-real fidelity for models and controllers
• Build and maintain robust Python/C++ tooling for experiment automation and simulation
• Collaborate with Controls, Firmware, and Simulation teams to align fidelity with needs
• Support hardware bring-up and deployment with validated models and controllers

Skills

C++ robotics

Electromechanics

Classical control

Actuator control

System identification

Python

Dynamometers

Robotics simulation

Git

Docker GPU

Education

BS in Robotics, ME, EE, CS, or related field

MS in related field

PhD in related field

Tools

MuJoCo

Isaac Sim

Lab instrumentation

Git

Docker with GPU

Job description

Apptronik is seeking a Controls Engineer – Actuation to own actuator models and the low-level control that drives real hardware on our humanoid robotics platform. You will fuse motor electromechanics with system identification in a fast-paced, cross-functional team to close the loop from simulation to real-world deployment.

You will develop high-fidelity models, tune torque and current control, and build tools for experiment automation, ensuring robust performance on hardware.