Senior Electrical Engineer - Sensor FPGA and PCB (Aggregator)

apptronik; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 135,000 - 185,000; Full time

Job summary

Apptronik in Sunnyvale, CA is seeking a Senior Electrical Engineer to design and build the electronics for Apollo's sensor bridge. You will own subsystems from schematic capture to RTL blocks, partnering with Staff/Principal engineers to define architecture and deliverables.

The role requires hands-on ownership of high-speed mixed-signal PCBA, CSI-2 and 10GbE interfaces, and FPGA RTL development in VHDL/Verilog. You will validate through prototype, bring-up, and production release.

Qualifications

• Experience in FPGA hardware design for time-sensitive, high-performance applications.
• FPGA device selection and architecture definition.
• RTL development in VHDL and/or Verilog.
• High-speed interface design (CSI-2, GMSL/SerDes, Ethernet, PCIe).
• Timing closure, clock-domain crossing, and resource optimization.
• Integration of high-speed transceivers and external PHY devices.
• FPGA tool flows (Vivado, Quartus, or Lattice Radiant) and simulation.

Responsibilities

• Electronics & FPGA Design Execution: Define requirements, select parts, capture schematics, guide layout, and implement RTL for subsystems of a multi-Gbps PCBA; manage prototype to production release; maintain design docs.
• High-Speed & Mixed-Signal Hardware Design: Design/validate high-speed interfaces (CSI-2, GMSL/FPD-Link/PoC, 10GbE); ensure signal integrity, impedance control, length-matching, power sequencing, EMC/ESD/thermal constraints.
• FPGA RTL Development: Develop RTL (VHDL/Verilog) for CSI-2 ingest, Ethernet packetization, and camera synchronization within a defined FPGA architecture; assist with timing closure and cross-domain timing.
• Validation, Bring-Up, and Debugging: Execute validation plans, build test fixtures, use lab equipment to verify latency/bandwidth/synchronization; debug hardware/RTL issues with root-cause analysis.
• Lifecycle Management & Vendor Alignment: Manage PLM, hardware vendors/CMs, drive DFM/DFA and production scaling.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work with engineering teams and manufacturing; mentor junior engineers on hardware design and documentation.
• Technical Execution: Deliver work streams, participate in design reviews, provide estimates, and raise risks early.

Skills

FPGA design

RTL development (VHDL/Verilog)

High-speed interfaces (CSI-2, GMSL, 10

Timing closure

EMC/ESD/thermal considerations

FPGA tool flows (Vivado/Quartus)

Vendor collaboration/DFM

Tools

Vivado

Quartus

Lattice Radiant

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.

JOB SUMMARY

We're looking for a Senior Electrical Engineer to help design and build the electronics for Apollo's sensor bridge. Strong candidates will have experience with FPGA hardware for both PCBA design and RTL development. This role works closely with the perception team to give Apollo sight and enable critical safety functions. You'll take direct, hands‑on ownership of defined subsystems within the board - schematic capture, layout guidance, and RTL blocks - executing against an architecture defined in partnership with the team's Staff and/or Principal engineers.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES or KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Electronics & FPGA Design Execution: Contribute to requirements definition and own part selection, schematic capture, layout guidance, and RTL implementation for assigned subsystems of a multi-Gbps, mixed-signal PCBA that aggregates camera sensor data and human-robot interface functions into an efficient cable interface routed across dynamic joints. Carry the design through prototype, validation, and manufacturing release, in coordination with the engineer(s) owning overall board architecture. Generate and maintain design documentation including: schematics, RTL documentation, test plans, and fab/assembly drawings.
• High-Speed & Mixed-Signal Hardware Design: Design and validate high-speed digital interfaces (CSI-2, GMSL2/FPD-Link/PoC, 10GbE) including signal integrity, impedance control, and length-matching. Contribute to the board's power tree design for proper power sequencing and low-power consumption. Design for EMC, ESD, and thermal constraints.
• FPGA RTL Development: Develop RTL (VHDL/Verilog) for CSI-2 ingest, Ethernet packetization, timestamp/metadata insertion, and camera synchronization logic for deterministic multi-camera and multi-IMU synchronization, working within an FPGA architecture defined collaboratively with senior technical staff. Support timing closure, clock-domain crossing, and resource/power budgeting for your RTL blocks. Assist with integration of high-speed transceivers and external PHYs.
• Validation, Bring-Up, and Debugging: Develop and execute validation plans for your assigned subsystems, spanning board-level and FPGA-level testing. Build test fixtures and use lab equipment (high-bandwidth oscilloscopes, protocol analyzers, logic analyzers) to validate latency, bandwidth, and synchronization requirements. Debug across the hardware/RTL boundary - link training failures, timing violations, ISP misconfiguration, power sequencing faults - using rigorous, first-principles root-cause analysis, escalating and collaborating with technical leads on cross-subsystem issues.
• Lifecycle Management & Vendor Alignment: Support the entire component lifecycle through PLM systems, managing third-party relationships with hardware vendors and contract manufacturers (CMs) to ensure successful production scaling and design-for-manufacturability (DFM/DFA).
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including technical lead, project managers, software, mechanical, thermal, systems engineers, and manufacturing. Act as a mentor within the electrical engineering team, guiding junior engineers on best practices for hardware design, documentation, and troubleshooting.
• Technical Execution: Execute assigned work streams reliably and communicate progress clearly to technical leads and program management. Contribute to design reviews and root-cause analysis for hardware and software defect resolution within your scope. Provide work breakdowns and time estimates for your own work to inform project execution, and raise design or schedule risks proactively.

SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS

• Experience in FPGA hardware design for time-sensitive, high-performance applications (image processing, high-speed data acquisition, real-time networking, or similar), including:
• FPGA device selection and architecture definition
• RTL development in VHDL and/or Verilog
• High-speed interface design (CSI-2, GMSL/SerDes, Ethernet, PCIe, or comparable)
• Timing closure, clock-domain crossing, and resource optimization
• Integration of high-speed transceivers and external PHY devices
• FPGA tool flows (Vivado, Quartus, or Lattice Radiant) and simulation (ModelSim/Questa or equivalent)
• Understanding of hi