10 days ago
Responsibilities
- Design, implement, and tune whole-body controllers for wheeled base motion and upper-body manipulation, including EKF/UKF estimation, MPC/PID control, trajectory tracking, and dynamic coupling compensation.
- Develop deterministic, low-latency software interfaces between planning systems and wheel drives, joints, grippers, and other actuators.
- Implement safety-rated speed monitoring, emergency-stop logic, and safety-critical software supporting ISO 13849, ISO 10218, and ANSI/RIA R15.08 compliance.
- Integrate mobile-manipulation planning with perception, autonomy, grasp planning, and task planning.
- Improve odometry through sensor fusion using IMUs, wheel encoders, LiDAR, and force/torque sensors.
- Lead field testing and validation across floor types, inclines, and payload configurations.
- Write production-grade real-time C++ and lead code reviews and controls-architecture documentation.
- Support the full product lifecycle from initial control design through factory exit and customer deployment.
Requirements
- MS or PhD in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
- At least 5 years of relevant industry experience focused on mobile robotics and wheeled motion control, or 3+ years with a PhD.
- Deep understanding of classical and modern control theory for whole-body loco-manipulation and coupled mobile-base/manipulator dynamics.
- Strong experience with Kalman filtering and sensor fusion using IMUs, encoders, LiDAR, and force/torque sensors.
- High proficiency in modern C++ standards including C++14, C++17, and C++20 for real-time systems, memory management, and performance optimization.
- Extensive experience with custom middleware and its real-time capabilities.
- Proven experience taking wheeled-base platforms to market or deploying robotic fleets in commercial or industrial settings.
- Experience with navigation stacks and custom controller, planner, or recovery-behavior plugins is preferred.
- Experience with safety-certification processes and safety-critical software architectures is preferred.
- Expertise in modeling and identifying complex electromechanical drive-system dynamics is preferred.
- Experience using MuJoCo or Isaac Sim for control-stability validation is preferred.
- Ability to lift 50 pounds at times and communicate using vision, hearing, and speech is required.
Benefits
- Direct-hire position.
- Equal employment opportunity workplace.
- The role involves prolonged desk and computer work and occasional lifting of up to 50 pounds.
Tech Stack
Categories
Robotics
About Apptronik
Apptronik is a human-centered robotics company developing AI-powered robots to support humanity in every facet of life. Our humanoid robot, Apollo, is designed to collaborate thoughtfully with humans—initially in critical industries such as manufacturing and logistics, with future applications in healthcare, the home, and beyond. Apollo is the culmination of nearly a decade of development, drawing on Apptronik’s extensive work on 15 previous robots, including NASA’s Valkyrie robot. Apptronik started out of the Human Centered Robotics Lab at the University of Texas at Austin and has more than 350 employees. Learn more at apptronik.com