Lead Software Engineer - Dexterous Manipulation

Perot Jain; Sunnyvale (CA); Híbrido; USD 300.000 - 350.000; Jornada completa

Descripción de la vacante

Apptronik is a human-centered robotics company delivering AI-powered robots. The Lead Software Engineer - Dexterous Manipulation will lead development of learning-based dexterous control for multi-fingered hands, bridging research and scalable production software, with focus on high-DOF tasks in simulation and reality.

The role drives architecture, policy learning, and hardware collaboration to achieve world-class manipulation capabilities aboard production assets, in Sunnyvale, CA.

Formación

• BS/MS/PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• 5+ years of relevant experience (or 3+ years with a PhD) focused on robotic manipulation or complex motion control.
• Proven track record deploying algorithms from research/simulation to physical hardware.

Responsabilidades

• Strategic Ownership: technical authority for dexterous manipulation and roadmaps.
• Architectural Definition: design scalable software frameworks for manipulation.
• Research & Innovation: integrate state-of-the-art learning-based policies and vision systems.
• Sim-to-Real Ownership: set standards for high-fidelity simulation and policy transfer.
• Hardware Design Influence: define requirements for sensing, DOF, and torque profiles.
• Production Excellence: ensure robust C++/Python code in production assets.
• Technical Leadership & Culture: mentor teams and drive architectural excellence.

Conocimientos

Dexterous Manipulation

Advanced Control

Python

Simulation Environments

Educación

BS/MS/PhD in Robotics/CS/EE

Herramientas

IsaacSim

MuJoCo

Drake

Descripción del empleo

Apptronik is a human-centered robotics company developing AI-powered robots to support humanity in every facet of life. Our flagship humanoid robot, Apollo, is built to collaborate thoughtfully with people, starting with critical industries such as manufacturing and logistics, with future applications in healthcare, the home, and beyond.

We operate at the cutting edge of Applied AI, applying our expertise across the full robotics stack to solve some of society's most important problems. You will join a team dedicated to bringing Apollo to market at scale, tackling the complex challenges like safety, commercialization, and mass production to change the world for the better.

JOB SUMMARY

The Lead Software Engineer - Dexterous Manipulation is a core contributor to our robot’s ability to interact with the world with human-like precision. This role is responsible for leading the development of learning-based dexterous control algorithms that unlock the full potential of state-of-the-art robotic hand hardware.

This role will bridge the gap between cutting-edge research and scalable, reliable production software. Whether leveraging reinforcement learning, imitation learning, teleoperation retargeting, or classical control, they will ensure our robots can perform complex, high-DOF tasks in both simulation and reality. As a technical lead, they will not only design the core software architecture but also influence hardware design to achieve world-class manipulation capabilities.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES or KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Strategic Ownership: Serve as the technical authority for dexterous manipulation. Create the long-term technical roadmap, ensuring hand control and multi-fingered coordination capabilities outpace industry standards.
• Architectural Definition: Design and enforce the foundational software frameworks for manipulation. Own the decision-making process for balancing autonomous logic with high-fidelity teleoperation, ensuring the architecture is scalable for future hardware generations.
• Research & Innovation: Perform and direct the integration of state-of-the‑art research. Select and deploy the specific learning-based policies and vision-integrated systems that will define system physical capabilities.
• Sim-to-Real Ownership: Lead the strategy for high-fidelity simulation. Set the standards for success in virtual environments to optimize policy transitions to physical fleet hardware.
• Hardware Design Influence: Drive the specifications for next-generation hardware. Define the requirements for sensing, degrees of freedom, and torque profiles.
• Production Excellence: Oversee the transition from experimental research to fleet-wide deployment. Ensure performance and reliability of C++/Python code running on production-level assets.
• Technical Leadership & Culture: Act as a force multiplier across the organization. Beyond code reviews, foster a culture of technical rigor, setting the bar for architectural excellence and mentoring the next generation of robotics leaders.

SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS

Technical Skills (Must-Have)

• Dexterous Manipulation: Deep expertise in multi-fingered hand control, grasp planning, and in-hand manipulation, with a strong track record of successful hardware deployment.
• Advanced Control & Learning: Proficiency in learning-based control for robotics (e.g. flow/diffusion-based visiomotor policies, reinforcement learning, reward modeling, etc.).
• Software Engineering: Proficiency in Python, with experience building real-time robotic software stacks.
• Simulation Environments: Experience with physics engines such as IsaacSim, MuJoCo, or Drake for policy training and validation.

Good to Have

• Robotic Kinematics: Strong foundation in spatial transformations, Jacobian-based control, and constrained optimization.
• Teleoperation: Experience with VR/haptic interfaces and retargeting algorithms for human-in-the-loop control.
• Tactile Sensing: Experience integrating tactile/haptic feedback into manipulation pipelines.
• Computer Vision: Familiarity with 6D pose estimation, point cloud processing, or visual-servoing.
• Hardware Bring-up: Experience with the initial calibration and tuning of high-DOF robotic end-effectors.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

• BS/MS/PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• 5+ years of relevant experience (or 3+ years with a PhD) specifically focused on robotic manipulation or complex motion control.
• A proven track record of taking complex algorithms from a research/simulation environment and successfully deploying them 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

Compensation: The annual compensation for this position is $300,000 - $350,000 (USD)

*This is a direct hire. Please, no outside Agency solicitations.*

Apptronik provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.