Senior Robotics ML Engineer - Real-World Manipulation

Apptronik; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Apptronik in Austin, TX seeks a Principal Manipulation Engineer to lead end-to-end learned manipulation on our humanoid platform, from data engine design to on-robot deployment. You will diagnose bottlenecks across vision, perception, and control, and drive robust, production-quality software with a startup pace.

This role requires deep fluency in classical computer vision and modern deep learning, hands-on experience shipping ML models on robotic hardware, and a track record of delivering

Qualifications

• BS/MS/PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
• 7+ years of relevant experience focused on robotic manipulation or complex motion control.
• Proven track record of taking complex algorithms from conception to deployment on physical hardware.

Responsibilities

• Implement and deploy state-of-the-art ML models/algorithms for object manipulation on robotic systems.
• Drive the data engine for manipulation learning: data collection, curation, annotation, and synthetic/real data mix.
• Lead end-to-end development from prototyping in simulation to robust transfer and fine-tuning on robot.
• Identify bottlenecks—distinguishing traditional vision issues from model/data issues—to prioritize fixes.
• Mentor engineers, uphold technical rigor, and push for architectural excellence across teams.

Skills

Deployment Experience

AI Model Development

Python/C++/PyTorch

AI Data Pipeline

Computer Vision

Hardware Bring-up

Education

Robotics / CS / EE degree

Job description

Apptronik in Austin, TX seeks a Principal Manipulation Engineer to lead end-to-end learned manipulation on our humanoid platform, from data engine design to on-robot deployment. You will diagnose bottlenecks across vision, perception, and control, and drive robust, production-quality software with a startup pace.

This role requires deep fluency in classical computer vision and modern deep learning, hands-on experience shipping ML models on robotic hardware, and a track record of delivering