Staff Software Engineer - Robotic Simulation

Apptronik Systems, Inc.; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company is seeking a Staff Software Engineer specializing in Robotic Simulation in Austin, TX. This role involves spearheading the development of a robust simulation infrastructure for advanced robotic applications. Successful candidates will possess strong programming skills, technical leadership experience, and a solid understanding of robotics principles.

Benefits

Hybrid work schedule

Flexible work hours policy

Open/Flexible Paid Time Off (PTO)

401k plan

Equity incentive package

Qualifications

• Significant experience (8+ years or 5+ with a graduate degree) in developing robotic simulations.
• Education in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering or similar.
• Understanding of Robotics concepts like kinematics, dynamics, and system identification.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain simulation infrastructure integrated with robot control systems.
• Lead project planning and technical direction while collaborating cross-functionally.
• Design accurate contact models for high-fidelity sim-to-real alignment.

Skills

C++

Python

Robotic simulation

Reinforcement Learning

Technical leadership

Robotics concepts

Education

MS or PhD in relevant fields

Tools

MuJoCo

Nvidia Isaac

pybullet

Unity

Unreal

Job description

Staff Software Engineer - Robotic Simulation

Austin, TX

Apptronik is building robots for the real world to improve human quality of life and to help solve the ever-increasing labor shortage problem. Our team has been building some of the most advanced robots on the planet for years, dating back to the DARPA Robotics Challenge. We apply our expertise across the full robotics stack to some of the most important and impactful problems our society faces, and expect our products and technology to change the world for the better. We value passion, creativity, and collaboration to help us overcome existing technological barriers in the industry to create truly innovative products.

You will join a team developing state-of-the-art general-purpose robots designed to operate in human spaces and with human tools. It is designed to work alongside humans, mobilize to human spaces, and manipulate the world around it.

JOB SUMMARY

We are seeking a Staff Simulation Engineer to spearhead the architecture and development of our core simulation infrastructure—the engine that powers our reinforcement learning and controls initiatives. In this role, you will be responsible for the continuous development, improvement, and maintenance of our simulation environments in MuJoCo, scaling the platform to be robust, high-performance, and highly parallelized. You will own the technical roadmap for our simulation tools, ensuring seamless integration with robot control systems and learning frameworks to provide our teams with the foundational infrastructure needed to develop next-generation autonomous behaviors.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES or KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Simulation Infrastructure: Develop and maintain simulation infrastructure integrated with robot control systems, ensuring that data flows accurately reflect both simulated and real-world operations.
• Sim-to-Real & Contact Modeling: Transfer real-world robot parameters into simulation and design accurate contact models for high-fidelity sim-to-real alignment.
• Scalable Learning & Perception Simulation: Develop parallel simulation platforms for RL and create photorealistic environments for vision-based tasks, eg. camera / lidar simulation
• Technical Leadership & Collaboration: Lead project planning and technical direction, working closely with engineering, research, and product teams to keep efforts aligned and moving forward.

SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS:

• Excellent C++ and Python programming skills
• Familiar with best practices for software development, including CI/CD, automated testing, and code quality standards to ensure a robust and scalable codebase.
• Technical leadership experience in robotic simulation, including defining technical roadmaps and collaborating cross-functionally to align priorities and drive project execution.
• Understanding of Robotics concepts like kinematics, dynamics, controls, path planning and system identification.
• Experience with the MuJoCo robotic simulator. Nice to have: Nvidia Isaac, pybullet, other simulators.
• Deep understanding of Reinforcement Learning with preferable experience in research or production environment
• Experience architecting and managing large-scale training workloads, including deploying parallel simulations on cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) with distributed computing frameworks (e.g., Ray, Kubernetes).
• Familiarity with the use of game engines like Unity or Unreal.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE:

• Education: MS or PhD in relevant fields (Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, etc.)
• Experience: Significant experience (8+ years or 5+ with a graduate degree) in developing robotic simulations for high-performance, contact-rich, and dynamic robotic environments.

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
• Highly motivating equity incentive package
• Hybrid work schedule (i.e. work from home in some capacity)
• Flexible work hours policy
• Open/Flexible Paid Time Off (PTO)
• 401k plan

*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.

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