Staff Systems Engineer - Robot-as-a-Service Platform

Apptronik; Texas; On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Apptronik is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer to drive architectural clarity across the Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) platform. The role sits at the interfaces between robot hardware and software platforms, customer integrations, and engineering execution.

You will shape architectural constraints, define clean interfaces, and surface decisions that guide scalable, reliable system design. You will collaborate across disciplines to align teams around a shared understanding of the system, ensuring

Qualifications

• Strong systems-thinking mindset focused on emergent behavior and failure modes.
• Deep understanding of edge/cloud architectures and service boundaries.
• Proven ability to drive alignment across product, engineering, and program management.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication; documentation that guides decisions.

Responsibilities

• Define functional and non-functional requirements for the RaaS platform across robot, customer software, and operator tools.
• Specify architectural constraints like latency, availability, security, data ownership, and failure semantics.
• Own contracts at key system boundaries: robot APIs and external integration APIs.
• Drive cross-functional decisions to closure by surfacing high-leverage choices and framing trade-offs clearly.
• Translate product intent into engineering scope and ensure alignment with customers.
• Deep dive into data pipelines, robot-facing APIs, and cross-cutting concerns like security as the platform evolves.

Skills

Systems thinking

Distributed software architecture

Cross-functional collaboration

Technical communication

Requirements and interfaces definition

Robotics or cloud background

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/Engineering

8+ years in production software/systems

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 embodied 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 hiring a Senior Systems Engineer to help drive architectural clarity across our Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) platform — the edge and cloud software that connects our humanoid robots to operators, customer systems, and the broader fleet.

This role lives at the interfaces: between the robot and the platform, between the platform and customer integrations, and between product intent and engineering execution. You will focus on systems thinking and broad technical judgment — defining the right architectural constraints, drawing clean interfaces, and surfacing the decisions that most shape the solution so the right architecture can emerge underneath.

You’ll work as part of the engineering team, collaborating across disciplines to provide architectural clarity, shape the direction of the RaaS solution, and ensure the most important decisions are made well and made on time. Strong cross-functional communication is central to the role — much of your impact will come from helping others align around a shared understanding of the system.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Or KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Define functional and non-functional requirements for the RaaS platform — including its interfaces to the robot, to customer software, and to operator-facing tools.
• Specify architectural constraints (latency, availability, security posture, data ownership, failure semantics) without overconstraining the design.
• Own the contracts at key system boundaries: robot APIs, integration APIs for external software providers, and the core platform behaviors that customers depend on.
• Drive cross-functional decisions to closure — surface the few high-leverage choices, frame the trade-offs clearly, and keep the team moving.
• Translate product intent into engineering scope, and engineering reality back into language product and customers can act on.
• Go deep where it matters — across data pipelines (data collection, inference, fleet management), the robot-facing API surface, or cross-cutting concerns like security — as the platform evolves and the work demands.

SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS

• A genuine systems-thinking mindset: you reason about emergent behavior, failure modes, and feedback loops, not just components.
• Strong understanding of distributed software architecture — edge/cloud topologies, service boundaries, asynchronous communication, consistency and availability trade-offs.
• A track record of working effectively across product, engineering, and program management — translating between them and driving alignment.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication. You prioritize ruthlessly, write tightly, and know that an unread document is the same as no document.
• Comfort defining requirements and interfaces at the right level of abstraction — neither hand-wavy nor over-specified.
• We’re open to candidates coming from either a robotics / industrial automation background or a distributed systems / cloud platforms background. Both paths can succeed in this role.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Engineering, or related field; master’s degree in computer science or equivalent preferred.
• 8+ years building production software systems, with significant time spent at the architecture / systems level rather than purely in code.

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.