Senior 3D Simulation Pipeline Engineer

Apptronik; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Apptronik is seeking a Senior Simulation Engineer for Scan2Sim & Asset Library to own the path from real-world walkthroughs to high-fidelity simulation scenes. You will build 3D content pipelines and manage assets for scalable deployment across factories, warehouses, and homes.

You will collaborate with Perception, ML Ops, and Deployment teams; bring expert Python/C++, OpenUSD/URDF/MJCF knowledge, and physics simulation experience to accelerate Apollo’s mass production.

Qualifications

• Proficient in Python and modern C++ (hands-on)
• Experience with 3D content pipelines and asset creation
• Knowledge of OpenUSD, URDF, and MJCF formats
• Experience with at least one major physics simulator

Responsibilities

• Ship end-to-end environment capture pipeline to generate high-fidelity scenes
• Create a manipulable-object asset pipeline with realistic physical properties
• Define and operate asset ingestion into the managed asset store with metadata and versioning
• Drive physical fidelity of scene and object assets — collision geometry and material parameters
• Establish object-library curation and tagging conventions for scalable deployment
• Collaborate with Perception, ML Ops, and Deployment teams to onboard new customer sites

Skills

Python

Modern C++

3D content pipelines

NeRF / Neural reconstruction

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Computer Engineering, or related field

Tools

Blender

Maya

Houdini

OpenUSD

URDF

MJCF

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

Apollo doesn't get to do useful work until we can simulate every environment we want to deploy it in — and that pipeline is yours to build. As Senior Simulation Engineer for Scan2Sim & Asset Library, you'll own the path from real-world site walkthroughs and object captures to high-fidelity simulation scenes, applying expertise in 3D content pipelines, scene description formats, and physics-asset modeling to scale Apollo into new factories, warehouses, and homes.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Ship an end-to-end environment capture pipeline that turns real-world site walkthroughs into high-fidelity simulation scenes, with collision proxy geometry that keeps depth sensors and LiDAR behaving correctly.
• Build a manipulable-object asset pipeline that turns customer parts, tools, and household objects into curated simulation assets with grounded mass, inertia, and friction properties.
• Define and operate the asset ingestion path into our managed asset store, including authoring tools, validation, versioning, and metadata schemas for scenes and objects.
• Drive physical fidelity of scene and object assets — collision geometry, contact properties, and material parameters — in close partnership with the Simulation Infrastructure team.
• Establish object-library curation and tagging conventions that scale as the Apollo deployment surface grows.
• Partner with Perception, ML Ops, and the Deployment / Field Engineering teams to onboard new customer sites into simulation faster than the next site arrives.

Skills and Requirements

• Strong proficiency in Python and modern C++
• Hands‑on experience with a 3D content pipeline (Blender, Maya, Houdini, or equivalent)
• Working knowledge of modern scene description and physics-asset formats (OpenUSD, URDF, MJCF) and the geometric/inertial subtleties that make or break sim‑to‑real transfer
• Experience with at least one major physics simulator
• Experience with neural reconstruction (Gaussian splatting, NeRF), photogrammetry, or 3D capture pipelines
• Familiarity with collision geometry optimization for manipulation tasks (e.g., convex decomposition)

Education and/or Experience

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Computer Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience)
• 5+ years of experience in software engineering, robotics simulation, 3D pipelines, or related fields

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
• 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.