Lead Compute & Sensing Architect for Humanoid Robot

Apptronik; San Mateo (CA); On-site; USD 295,000 - 330,000; Full time

Job summary

Apptronik seeks a world-class Principal Compute & Sensing Engineer to lead the Apollo humanoid's compute and sensing backbone. You will architect end-to-end hardware, from Jetson-based carriers to perception sensors, ensuring safety, redundancy, and real-time performance in a mobile humanoid robot.

You will guide multi-disciplinary reviews with Controls, Perception, and Systems teams, mentor engineers, and shape a long-term roadmap to keep Apollo at the cutting edge of robotics technology.

Qualifications

• Designing custom carrier boards for NVIDIA Jetson or similar high-end compute modules.
• Mastery of PCIe, DDR4/5, GMSL, 10GbE high-speed design.
• Experience syncing multi-sensor suites with precise hardware timing.
• Hands-on experience with Functional Safety architecture (ISO 26262).

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end design of Apollo's safe compute architecture with hardware redundancy.
• Lead PCB design and validation for high-performance modules and PDN/thermal management.
• Drive DFM/DFR to withstand vibration and dynamic thermal environments.
• Define electrical architecture for a full perception stack with LiDAR, cameras, IMUs, sensors.
• Architect high-bandwidth data pipelines and synchronization for sensor fusion.
• Implement hardware-level safety design to meet ASIL/SIL standards.
• Develop diagnostics to monitor compute/sensing health in real time.
• Define multi-generational roadmap for compute/sensing evolution.
• Serve as technical authority during design reviews with Controls, Perception, and Systems teams.
• Mentor electrical/embedded engineers and promote rigorous engineering culture.

Skills

Jetson carrier boards

High-speed digital design

Multi-sensor synchronization

Functional Safety ISO 26262

Education

MS/PhD in Electrical or Computer Engineering

12+ years in high‑performance hardware design

Tools

Altium Designer

SPICE/Ansys/HyperLynx

Job description

Apptronik seeks a world-class Principal Compute & Sensing Engineer to lead the Apollo humanoid's compute and sensing backbone. You will architect end-to-end hardware, from Jetson-based carriers to perception sensors, ensuring safety, redundancy, and real-time performance in a mobile humanoid robot.

You will guide multi-disciplinary reviews with Controls, Perception, and Systems teams, mentor engineers, and shape a long-term roadmap to keep Apollo at the cutting edge of robotics technology.