Principal Electrical Engineer - Compute and Sensing

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

Job summary

Apptronik is seeking a Principal Compute & Sensing Engineer to lead the architectural design for Apollo, the humanoid robot. You will oversee the high-performance compute and sensory systems critical for robotics applications, ensuring functionality and safety.

The ideal candidate will have 12+ years of experience, expertise in high-speed digital design, and a strong focus on integrating high-performance modules like NVIDIA Jetson. The position involves collaboration with cross-functional teams in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• Proven track record of designing custom carrier boards for high-performance compute modules.
• 12+ years of experience in high-performance hardware design.
• Experience with multi-sensor suites and precise hardware-level time synchronization.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design of Apollo’s safe compute architecture.
• Drive design for manufacturability and reliability.
• Define the electrical architecture for a full perception stack.

Skills

High-speed digital design

NVIDIA Jetson integration

Functional Safety architecture

Hardware simulation tools

Multi-sensor suite integration

Education

M.S. or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field

Tools

Altium Designer

Job description

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 embodied 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

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

The annual salary range is $295,000 - $330,000 base

*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.