--- title: 'Senior HR Business Partner at Apptronik' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-hr-business-partner-apptronik-austin-m10yrn7dektt' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-11-10' --- # Senior HR Business Partner at Apptronik - **Company:** Apptronik - **Location:** Austin, TX - **Posted:** 2026-11-09 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-10 - **Apply:** https://boards.greenhouse.io/apptronik/jobs/6252250004?gh_jid=6252250004 ## 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 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 Apptronik is seeking an experienced HR Business Partner to support our Commercial organization including Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success - as well as Product/Design and Finance. This role will serve as a trusted advisor to leaders and employees, translating business priorities into people strategies that strengthen organizational capability, develop talent, and support continued growth. The HR Business Partner will provide strategic and hands-on support across organizational design, workforce planning, talent and performance management, employee relations, compensation, engagement, and organizational change. This role is based in Texas and supports teams across Texas, California, and remote employees, with regular travel to California approximately one week per month. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES or KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES Business & Organizational Partnership - Serve as the primary HR Business Partner for Commercial, Product/Design, and Finance leaders and their teams. - Develop a strong understanding of business objectives, operating priorities, organizational challenges, and talent needs, and translate them into practical people strategies. - Partner with leaders on organizational design, workforce and headcount planning, team structure, role clarity, capability needs, and organizational change. - Coach and advise leaders on leadership effectiveness, team dynamics, employee engagement, and complex people decisions. - Use workforce data and business insights to identify trends, risks, and opportunities and provide actionable recommendations. Talent, Performance & Employee Relations - Lead HR partnership for performance management, talent reviews, succession planning, promotions, career development, and retention strategies. - Coach managers on setting expectations, providing feedback, developing employees, and addressing performance concerns. - Partner with leaders to identify critical talent, capability gaps, succession needs, and retention risks. - Provide guidance on employee relations matters, including investigations, corrective actions, performance improvement plans, accommodations, leaves, and separations, partnering with Legal and other People team members as appropriate. - Support employee engagement initiatives and help leaders translate employee feedback into meaningful action plans. ## Compensation Partnership - Bring working knowledge of sales compensation and incentive structures, including base and variable pay, target compensation, incentive eligibility, and performance-based compensation. - Partner with Finance and Total Rewards on sales compensation programs and broader compensation decisions to support business objectives, internal equity, and talent needs. People Team Partnership - Partner closely with Talent Acquisition, People Operations, Total Rewards, Employee Experience, Legal, Finance, and other teams to deliver integrated and scalable people solutions. - Support company-wide People programs while adapting implementation to the needs of assigned organizations. - Identify opportunities to improve and scale HR practices as Apptronik continues to grow. ## SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS - Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Organizational Development, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience. - 5+ years of progressive Human Resources experience, including significant HR Business Partner experience supporting leaders and complex organizations. - Ability to travel to California approximately one week per month. - Experience supporting Commercial organizations, particularly Sales, Marketing, and/or Customer Success. - Experience with sales compensation and incentive plan structures, including base/variable compensation and performance-based incentives. - Strong experience across organizational design, workforce planning, talent management, performance management, employee relations, and change management. - Demonstrated ability to coach and influence leaders and navigate complex or sensitive people matters with sound judgment. - Experience supporting geographically distributed and multi-state teams; knowledge of California employment practices strongly preferred. - Experience in a high-growth technology, engineering, robotics, or similarly fast-paced environment preferred. - Strong business acumen, communication, analytical, relationship-building, and problem-solving skills. - Ability to operate independently, manage competing priorities, and work effectively through ambiguity and change. ## WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE The successful HR Business Partner will develop a deep understanding of the organizations they support and become a trusted partner to their leaders. They will anticipate talent and organizational needs, help leaders build effective teams and structures, address performance and employee matters thoughtfully, and bring together business understanding, sound HR judgment, data, and practical execution to support Apptronik's continued growth. ## PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: - Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer - 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. ## About Apptronik ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Apptronik builds advanced humanoid robots for real-world industrial applications, starting with manufacturing and warehousing, to address labor shortages and improve human productivity. - **Entity Type**: Private (Funding Stage: Series A) - **Headquarters**: Austin, Texas, United States - **Founded**: 2016 - **Founders**: Founded as a spinout from the Human Centered Robotics Lab at the University of Texas at Austin; leadership includes CEO Jeff Cardenas and CTO Nicholas Paine ## Core Business - Primary industry/industries: Robot Manufacturing, Humanoid Robotics, Industrial Automation, Artificial Intelligence - Target customers: B2B / Enterprise — manufacturing facilities, warehousing and logistics operators, supply chain organizations - Mission or purpose statement: “It is not Man vs. Machine, but Man + Machine” — building robots that empower humans to live to their fullest potential by solving labor shortages and reducing physical strain. ## Products & Services - **[Apollo Humanoid Robot Platform]**: A full-electric, bipedal humanoid robot designed for industrial use. Combines advanced hardware, embodied AI, and fleet-level management software. Current applications include material handling, line-side tasks, palletizing, case picking, trailer unloading, and inspection. Built as a scalable platform that can extend into healthcare, eldercare, and home environments over time. (Type: Hardware + SaaS Platform) ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed - **Annual Revenue**: ~$3.5 million (estimated) - **Total Funding**: ~$963.8 million (includes a Seed Round of $14.6M in 2022, a Corporate Round in 2025, and an undisclosed Series A round; notable investors include Mercedes-Benz Group AG and Google) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Google, Terex, Humanoid Global - **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew 98.1% year-over-year to 334 employees (2026 data). Named to the **2026 CNBC Disruptor 50** list. Recognized on the **Best Places to Work** list (2024, 2025). Won the **2025 IEEE Robotics & Automation Product Innovation Award**. Named **Most Innovative** (2025). Active job postings increased 238.5% year-over-year (88 open roles). Acquired Elevate Robotics Inc. ## Competitive Advantages - **Deep heritage**: Spun out of UT Austin’s Human Centered Robotics Lab; team dates back to the DARPA Robotics Challenge (2015) and includes ex-NASA collaborators. - **Full-stack vertical integration**: Covers hardware, embodied AI, and fleet-level management software — a complete, scalable platform rather than a one-off robot. - **Safe, human-centric design**: Built for human environments from the ground up, with a focus on reducing physical strain and complementing human workers, not replacing them. - **Early enterprise traction**: Active partnerships with major industrial players like Mercedes-Benz and Terex, proving real-world deployment over lab demos. ## Strategic Focus - Scaling Apollo for manufacturing and warehouse deployment (current core market). - Expanding into more complex environments: construction, healthcare, eldercare, and the home. - Continuous hardware and software upgrades (CEO Jeff Cardenas calls humanoid robotics “the space race of our time” and has signaled major upgrades to Apollo). - Building out fleet-level tools for multi-robot management and learning. ## Why Work Here - **Mission-driven**: Work on the frontier of humanoid robotics with a stated ethos of “Man + Machine” — robots that improve human quality of life. - **High-growth environment**: Doubled headcount year-over-year with massive funding and expanding job postings; strong career growth potential. - **Culture values**: Passion, creativity, collaboration, integrity, curiosity, and humility are explicitly stated as core values. - **Perks & Benefits**: - Flexible PTO (open, unlimited) - 401k retirement plan - Comprehensive Medical, Dental & Vision coverage - Parental leave - Flexible work hours - Collaborative and innovative work environment - **Remote/Hybrid Policy**: Not explicitly stated; 77% of workforce is in the United States (majority in Austin HQ). Specific roles may vary, but the company promotes a collaborative environment. - **Talent sources**: Attracts talent from top robotics and tech companies — SpaceX, Tesla, Fox Robotics, Agility Robotics, Apple, iRobot, Neocis, and top universities (UT Austin). - **Employee rating**: 3.9/5.0 on employer reviews (Work-Life: 3.5, Career: 3.7). ## Sources 1. [apptronik.com](https://apptronik.com/) — Company homepage 2. [apptronik.com/about-us](https://apptronik.com/about-us) — About Us / History / Mission 3. [apptronik.com/careers](https://apptronik.com/careers?gh_src=B+Capital+job+board) — Careers page / Perks & Culture 4. [apptronik.com/careers/job-listings](https://apptronik.com/careers/job-listings) — Open job listings 5. [linkedin.com/company/apptronik-inc.](https://www.linkedin.com/company/apptronik-inc.) — LinkedIn company profile (revenue, headcount, funding, employee breakdown) ## Other roles at Apptronik - [Staff Software Engineer, ML](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-software-engineer-ml-apptronik-sunnyvale-45b09qbzcycm) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Director of Enterprise Security](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-enterprise-security-apptronik-austin-rwhpbrezgrhz) — Austin, TX - [Mechanical Engineer - Actuation](https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-engineer-actuation-apptronik-austin-g246cp3x7fjz) — Austin, TX - [Manager, Talent Acquisition Operations](https://feeny.ai/job/manager-talent-acquisition-operations-apptronik-austin-c3bxf2atkzx8) — Austin, TX - [Software Engineer - Humanoid Sim-to-Real](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-humanoid-sim-to-real-apptronik-austin-834f751nrapv) — Austin, TX - [Senior PCBA Design Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-pcba-design-engineer-apptronik-sunnyvale-0r6crmmx98d4) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Senior Industrial Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-industrial-designer-apptronik-austin-jdgsvz4a1tgr) — Austin, TX - [Senior / Staff Sim-to-Real Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-staff-sim-to-real-engineer-apptronik-austin-gk7fhwf3907t) — Austin, TX - [Engineering Manager - Controls](https://feeny.ai/job/engineering-manager-controls-apptronik-austin-xdqepp25s218) — Austin, TX - [Senior Design Engineer - Electromagnetic (R&D)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-design-engineer-electromagnetic-r-d-apptronik-austin-92q30vmm0nm2) — Austin, TX