Senior Product Manager, Perception and Navigation

Apptronik; California City (CA); On-site; USD 190,000 - 223,000; Full time

Job summary

Apptronik is a human-centered robotics company focused on AI-powered robots to support humanity, with Apollo as the flagship humanoid robot targeting manufacturing and logistics. This role drives the product vision across hardware/software interfaces, translating market needs into executable roadmaps for perception and autonomy systems.

You will lead cross-functional teams to deliver scalable, safe, and commercially valuable robotic solutions.

Qualifications

• Experience with autonomous robots or autonomous vehicles.
• Experience with perception or autonomy evaluation frameworks and large-scale field-test data analysis.
• Experience generating or using synthetic and simulation-generated data for perception.
• Experience with data collection operations (teleoperation fleets, annotation and curation pipelines).
• 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).

Responsibilities

• Own the perception/navigation software roadmap: scope, sequencing, and feature priorities.
• Define the perception stack requirements from sensor inputs to scene understanding.
• Set evaluation metrics and field-testing regimes for perception and navigation.
• Own data pipelines for perception including collection, labeling, and feedback.
• Lead requirements for safe perception and autonomy risk.
• Co-design within compute envelope addressing edge deployment constraints and latency.
• Define and prioritize use cases based on business impact and customer needs.
• Ensure development aligns with real-world economic value for customers.
• Synthesize insights from user research, meetings, usage data, and sales feedback into strategy.
• Collaborate with industrial design, UX, and engineering to implement interactive features.
• Define product features/enhancements and communicate requirements to engineering.
• Support product marketing, partnerships, and adoption initiatives.

Skills

Perception & navigation

Evaluation metrics

Field deployment

Safety judgment

Communication skills

Decision making under uncertainty

User feedback advocacy

Education

Autonomous robots / vehicles

Perception frameworks & large-scale data

Synthetic/simulation data for perception

Data collection operations (teleoperation, annotation)

Industrial customer engagement

Robotics safety standards (ISO 10218, ISO/TS 15066, ISO 13482, RIA 15.08)

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

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 perception and navigation software roadmap: scope, sequencing, and feature priorities across detection, tracking, localization, mapping, and obstacle avoidance.
• Drive the technical definition of the perception stack, turning sensor inputs into the scene understanding and world state that the autonomy and model layers rely on.
• Define evaluation metrics and field-testing regimes for perception and navigation: detection, tracking, localization, and mapping accuracy, latency budgets, and the success and regression criteria that gate releases.
• Own the requirements for perception data pipelines including collection, labeling, and the feedback loop from field deployments.
• Lead product requirements for safe perception: reason through failure modes, validation coverage, and autonomy risk.
• Co-design within the compute envelope: account for edge deployment constraints, latency, and on-robot performance, partnering closely with the sensing and compute team.
• 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

• 7+ years of experience in
• Strong experience in perception and navigation fundamentals: detection, tracking, localization, mapping, and obstacle avoidance.
• Demonstrated experience defining evaluation metrics, field-testing regimes, and performance tracking for autonomy or perception software.
• Field deployment experience taking perception or autonomy software from the lab into reliable real-world operation.
• Practical safety judgment around failure modes, validation coverage, and autonomy risks.
• 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.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

At least 7 years of experience product management

• Experience with autonomous robots or autonomous vehicles.
• Experience with perception or autonomy evaluation frameworks and large-scale field-test data analysis.
• Experience generating or using synthetic and simulation-generated data for perception.
• Experience with data collection operations (teleoperation fleets, annotation and curation pipelines).
• 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).

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 $190,000 - $223,000 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.