Staff Simulation Architect - Core Simulation Platform New Austin, TX

Apptronik; Austin, Northern (TX, KY); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Apptronik in Austin, TX seeks a Staff Simulation Architect for the Core Simulation Platform to own the architecture of high-performance, distributed software for RL training and controls validation.

You will design cloud-native pipelines and platform APIs, collaborating with AI, perception, and controls teams to scale millions of parallel experiences daily.

This role requires leadership, strong system design, and a proven track record delivering large-scale robotics software.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 7+ years of software engineering, including leadership on large-scale systems.
• Experience architecting high-performance distributed software in robotics, simulation, or related domains.
• Proven ability to define APIs and abstractions for scalable platforms.
• Strong communication of trade-offs to engineers and leadership.

Responsibilities

• Own the architecture of the core simulation platform — high-performance distributed systems foundational to policy training and controls validation.
• Design cloud-native pipelines to generate millions of experience hours per day with scalable compute workloads.
• Define platform abstractions and APIs to keep the system extensible for new physics, sensors, and rendering.
• Set direction on performance, reliability, and scalability; resolve systemic bottlenecks in a high-throughput system.
• Define roadmaps and review designs to reduce RL and perception iteration time.
• Partner with Controls, AI Research, and Perception leadership to align needs with architecture.
• Mentor engineers on system design and bring distributed-systems experience into robotics context.

Skills

C++/Python

Distributed systems

Cloud platforms

CI/CD & testing

Architectural trade-offs

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

BS/MS/PhD in CS/Engineering

Tools

Ray

Kubernetes

AWS/GCP/Azure

Job description

Staff Simulation Architect - Core Simulation Platform

Austin, TX

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

At the core of every robot policy we ship is a simulation platform that has to be fast enough for RL training, accurate enough for controls validation, and stable enough to be the team's daily driver. As Staff Software Architect for Core Simulation Platform, you'll own the architecture of that platform — the distributed systems, performance engineering, and large-scale infrastructure decisions that let it run millions of parallel experiences a day. You don't need a deep robotics or simulation background to thrive here: what matters most is a track record of architecting complex, high-performance, distributed software systems. We'll pair you with senior team members who bring domain depth in physics and robotics.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Own the architecture of the core simulation platform — high-performance distributed systems that serve as the foundation for policy training, controls validation, and CI/CD integration testing.
• Design and drive the build-out of cloud-native pipelines capable of generating millions of experience hours per day, architecting how compute-heavy workloads parallelize and scale for rapid iteration.
• Define the platform's core abstractions and APIs, ensuring the system stays extensible as new physics, sensor, and rendering capabilities are added by domain specialists.
• Set technical direction on performance, reliability, and scalability, identifying and resolving systemic bottlenecks in a large, high-throughput distributed system.
• Define the platform roadmap and review major design proposals, ensuring improvements visibly reduce iteration time for RL, controls, and perception teams.
• Partner with Controls, AI Research, and Perception leadership to translate their evolving needs into a coherent, extensible architecture as the platform grows.
• Establish architectural standards and mentor senior engineers on system design, bringing outside experience in distributed systems and software architecture into a robotics context.

SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS

• Excellent C++ and/or Python programming skills, with a strong track record of applying them to large-scale system architecture
• Deep experience architecting distributed, high-throughput, or real-time software systems — this experience can come from robotics, gaming, simulation, high-frequency trading, large-scale backend infrastructure, or similar domains
• Proven experience architecting workloads on cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) with distributed computing frameworks (e.g., Ray, Kubernetes)
• Deep familiarity with software development best practices: CI/CD, automated testing, and code quality standards
• Track record of making and defending architectural trade-offs (performance vs. flexibility, latency vs. throughput) and communicating them clearly to engineers and leadership
• Comfort ramping up quickly in a new technical domain, and partnering closely with subject-matter experts in physics, robotics, and ML to translate their needs into system design

At least one of:

• Understanding of robotics concepts: kinematics, dynamics, controls, system identification
• Experience with modern robotic simulators (Isaac Lab, MuJoCo, or equivalent)
• Understanding of Reinforcement Learning, with research or production experience

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience)
• 7+ years of software engineering experience, including significant time in a software architecture or technical leadership role on complex, large-scale systems

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.