Product Manager - Human Robot Interaction

Apptronik; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Apptronik, a human-centered robotics company, seeks a Senior Product Manager – Human Robot Interaction to drive the product vision across hardware and software, translating market demands into executable roadmaps. You will collaborate with UX, engineering, and research teams to deliver intuitive interfaces, multi-modal interactions, and safe, scalable robotic systems that create real business value.

The role requires at least 7+ years in product management and a track record of shipping complex

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in product management.
• Strong understanding of interactive or conversational interfaces.
• Experience with human-robot interaction.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Data-driven decision making and performance tracking.
• Ability to make decisions in uncertainty and prioritize velocity.
• Strong user feedback advocacy.

Responsibilities

• Own and maintain the Human Robot Interaction roadmap: scope, sequencing, and feature priorities.
• Ensure robots and interfaces are intuitive, promoting positive experiences for developers and end users.
• Partner with UX to design features for multi-modal communication, including on-robot displays, conversational interfaces, and safety features.
• Prioritize predictable behaviors and legible intent improvements using robot motion, gaze, and signaling.
• Collaborate with engineering to define software/hardware HRI system specifications.
• Work with UX Research to validate and refine human robot interactions before deployments.
• Develop interaction frameworks adapting to user expertise, permissions, context, and task requirements.
• Define and prioritize use cases based on business impact, feasibility, and customer needs.
• Align product development with real-world economic value for customers.
• Synthesize insights from user research, meetings, usage data, and sales feedback into strategy.
• Collaborate with design and engineering to implement interactive features.
• Communicate requirements to engineering via documents, diagrams, and clear verbal briefs.
• Support product marketing, partner relationships, and other adoption opportunities.

Skills

Interactive interfaces

Human-robot interaction

Data-driven decisions

Clear communication

Decision making under uncertainty

User feedback advocacy

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

As a Senior Product Manager – Human Robot Interaction, you will focus on driving the product vision, ensuring seamless execution across the complex hardware/software divide, and translating market demands into user‑oriented, executable product roadmaps.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities or Key Accountabilities

• Own and maintain the Human Robot Interaction roadmap: scope, sequencing, and feature priorities.
• Ensure that our robots and interfaces are intuitive, promoting positive experiences for both developers and end users.
• Partner with the UX team to design features to enhance multi‑modal communication, including on‑robot displays, conversational interfaces, and safety features.
• Prioritize predictable behaviors and legible intent improvements using robot motion, gaze, and signaling.
• Partner with engineering teams to drive the technical definition for software and hardware HRI systems.
• Partner with UX Research to validate and refine human robot interactions before real‑world deployments.
• Develop interaction frameworks that adapt to user expertise and permission levels, robot task, environmental context, and task requirements.
• Define and prioritize use cases based on business impact, feasibility, and customer needs.
• Ensure that product development efforts align with real‑world economic value for customers.
• Synthesize insights from user research, customer meetings, usage data, and sales feedback into a strategy that delivers business objectives and customer benefits.
• Work with industrial design, user experience, and engineering teams to conceptualize and implement interactive features.
• Define product features/enhancements and communicate requirements to engineering teams via clearly written requirements documents, diagrams, and concise verbal communication.
• Support product marketing initiatives, partner relationships, and other opportunities to accelerate the adoption of our products.

Skills and Requirements

• Strong understanding of interactive or conversational interfaces.
• Demonstrated experience with human‑robot interaction.
• Strong analytical skills with experience in performance tracking and data‑driven decision‑making.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, enabling translation of technical insights into business impact.
• You make decisions in uncertainty, prioritizing velocity over perfection.
• You prioritize user feedback, promoting and advocating for that voice to internal teams.

Nice to Have

• Experience with autonomous robots or autonomous vehicles.
• Experience using simulation tools to improve user experience.
• Experience designing UX for end users and developer‑facing tools.
• Experience working with customers in light and heavy duty industrial environments.
• Experience with robotics and functional safety standards (ISO 10218, ISO/TS 15066, ISO 13482, RIA 15.08).

Education and/or Experience

• 7+ years of experience in product management.

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.

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.