Senior Director of Product Security Austin, TX

Apptronik; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Apptronik is seeking a Senior Director of Product Security to own the end‑to‑end security function for Apollo. Reporting to the COO, you will build the program from the ground up, integrating security into hardware, firmware, and software as the product moves to market.

You will lead security strategy, establish monitoring, define escalation protocols, and partner cross‑functionally with engineering, IT, and partnerships to reduce risk in a complex hardware AI environment.

Qualifications

• 12+ years in security engineering or product security, with 5+ years leading security organizations.

Responsibilities

• Own and drive Apptronik's product security program end-to-end.
• Build and mentor a product security team and define org structure.

Skills

Security engineering

Product security

Embedded systems

Robotics security

Executive stakeholder communication

Tools

Secure boot

Firmware security

Cryptographic key management

OTA update security

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 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.

About Apptronik
Apptronik is building Apollo, a general‑purpose humanoid robot designed to work alongside people in
real‑world environments. We sit at the intersection of advanced hardware, embedded systems, and AI while
scaling from development into deployment. As Apollo moves into the field, product security is a foundational
requirement across everything we ship. Vulnerabilities here are not abstract: they have real‑world
consequences.

The Role
We are looking for a Senior Director of Product Security to own and drive Apptronik's end‑to‑end product
security function. Reporting directly to the COO, you will have cross‑functional authority across hardware
engineering, software, systems engineering, and external partnerships. You will build the program from the
ground up — establishing monitoring infrastructure, defining escalation protocols, and embedding security
requirements into how Apollo is designed, built, and deployed.
This is not a traditional IT or enterprise security role. You will be operating in a physical‑AI product context
with a distinct mandate from the CIO, who owns enterprise and corporate security.

What You Will Do

Program Leadership

• Own Apptronik's product security strategy and roadmap, aligned to product and operational milestones
• Build and lead a product security team — hiring, mentoring, and defining org structure as the function grows
• Serve as the primary security voice to the COO and executive team, communicating risk posture, program status, and resource needs clearly
• Develop a product security charter that defines boundaries and working relationships with T&V, Systems Engineering, and the CIO

Monitoring & Threat Detection

• Design and deploy monitoring frameworks for Apollo in both development and production/field environments — covering firmware, runtime behaviors, communications, and physical interfaces
• Define telemetry and alerting requirements that enable early detection of anomalous behavior, unauthorized access attempts, or integrity violations
• Establish continuous security testing pipelines integrated into hardware and software development cycles, in coordination with T&V

Escalation & Incident Response

• Build and own the product security escalation framework: from initial detection through triage, containment, customer notification, and remediation
• Define severity classifications, response SLAs, and communication protocols for security events affecting deployed units or customer environments
• Lead tabletop exercises and red team efforts to stress‑test escalation paths before incidents occur

Hardware & Software Security Requirements

• Translate security principles into concrete, actionable requirements for hardware and software — covering secure boot chains, SoC and enclave security, physical attack surfaces, OS hardening, AI model integrity, OTA update security, and inter‑process communication
• Partner with HW, SW, and AI/ML engineering leads to review architectures early and drive security‑by‑design practices
• Own the security review and sign‑off process for new product features, third‑party integrations, and software releases
• Work with Systems Engineering to ensure security requirements are properly integrated into the requirements flow‑down process

Supply Chain & Vendor Security

• Assess security posture of hardware component suppliers, contract manufacturers, and third‑party software vendors
• Define contractual and technical security requirements for suppliers and AI stack partners — including foundation model providers, cloud platforms, and data pipeline vendors
• Evaluate data ownership implications of robotics foundation model partnerships

OTA Update Security

• Own the security architecture for Apollo's over‑the‑air update mechanism — one of the highest‑consequence attack surfaces on a deployed physical robot
• Define requirements for update integrity verification, rollback protection, and secure delivery infrastructure

Physical Security & Anti‑Tamper

• Define tamper resistance requirements and anti‑cloning protections for deployed units
• Protect Apptronik IP embedded in hardware and firmware from extraction or reverse engineering in the field

Regulatory & Export Control Awareness

• Anticipate and track evolving regulatory requirements relevant to humanoid robotics — including ITAR, EAR, and emerging AI/robotics regulations
• Advise on security implications of government, defense‑adjacent, and international customer engagements

Data Governance & Privacy

• Own the security posture around Apollo's operational and environmental data pipeline — from the robot through to cloud storage and analytics
• Partner with the CIO on data governance frameworks where product and enterprise data intersect

Customer Security Enablement

• Help enterprise customers integrate Apollo into their security environments — including SOC integration, access controls, and audit log requirements
• Serve as the primary security point of contact for customer security reviews and due diligence processes

• Establish a structured vulnerability disclosure and bug bounty program as Apollo scales

What We're Looking For

• 12+ years in security engineering or product security, with 5+ years leading security organizations — including experience managing managers, owning budget, and defining team structure
• Demonstrated experience defining and building a security discipline in an emerging hardware or physical‑AI domain — where the threat model, requirements, and processes did not exist before you arrived
• Deep experience securing embedded systems, robotics, autonomous vehicles, or other physical‑AI products — you understand that software vulnerabilities here can have kinetic consequences
• Hands‑on expertise across the stack: secure boot, firmware security, cryptographic key management, network and communication security, and application‑layer threats
• Strong background building security monitoring and incident response programs in production hardware environments
• Track record of translating security risk into product and engineering requirements that teams actually ship — and the organizational credibility to enforce them
• Experience with supply chain security assessments and third‑party vendor risk management
• Familiarity with OTA update security architecture and the risks unique to field‑deployed hardware
• Working knowledge of relevant regulatory frameworks: ITAR, EAR, IEC 62443, NIST, OWASP, CWE
• Excellent communication skills — you can present to the C‑suite, debate trade‑offs with a systems architect, and write crisp requirements for an embedded engineer

Why This Role

You will define how Apptronik thinks about security as we scale — setting the bar for an industry that is still determining what secure humanoid robotics means. You will have direct COO support, real cross‑functional authority, and the opportunity to build a program from scratch at a company shipping real hardware into the real world.

Apptronik · Austin, TX · apptronik.com

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Technology Control Restrictions

Technology Control Restrictions: As a person in this position will have access to technical data and/or computer software maintained by the Company, which includes export‑controlled technical data and/or computer software, successful applicants must be eligible under U.S. export control regulations to access such information.