---
title: 'Senior PCBA Design Engineer at Apptronik'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-pcba-design-engineer-apptronik-sunnyvale-0r6crmmx98d4'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-10'
---

# Senior PCBA Design Engineer at Apptronik

- **Company:** Apptronik
- **Location:** Sunnyvale, CA
- **Posted:** 2026-11-03
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-10
- **Apply:** https://boards.greenhouse.io/apptronik/jobs/6242377004?gh_jid=6242377004

## 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

We're looking for a Senior ECAD Designer to own PCB schematic capture and layout in Altium Designer, with particular depth in power electronics and high-speed digital design. You will take boards from architecture and stack-up definition through layout, incorporating best practices such as design-for-manufacturability (DFM), signal integrity, power integrity, and EMC. In this role, you will partner closely with electrical, mechanical, and manufacturing teams to deliver reliable, production-ready designs on schedule.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES or KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

- PCB Design & Layout: Perform schematic capture and PCB layout for mixed-signal, power, and high-speed digital boards. Define stack-up, layer count, and material selection to meet electrical, thermal, and cost targets.
- Power Design: Design and route power delivery networks, accounting for current-carrying capacity, copper weight, and thermal reliefs for layouts of DC/DC converters, power switching circuits, and bus/rail distribution for optimal power integrity.
- High-Speed Design: Implement controlled-impedance routing, differential pair routing, length matching/tuning, and via strategy for high-speed interfaces (e.g., PCIe, DDR, USB, Ethernet, LVDS, SerDes).
- DFM / DFA: Apply design-for-manufacturability and design-for-assembly best practices; partner with PCB fabricators and contract manufacturers (CMs) on design rule checks, panelization, tolerancing, and yield/cost tradeoffs.
- EMC / EMI: Apply grounding, shielding, filtering, and layer-stack techniques to mitigate EMI/EMC risk, and support pre-compliance and regulatory testing (e.g., CE, FCC, UL) as needed.
- Standards & Compliance: Design and document to relevant IPC standards (e.g., IPC-2221, IPC-6012, IPC-2152) and internal design rules; maintain and evolve design rule sets, layer stack templates, and library standards.
- Documentation: Generate complete manufacturing outputs — Gerbers, drill files, BOMs, fabrication drawings, and assembly drawings — along with clear design documentation and constraint files. Support engineers with design releases in the product lifecycle management system.
- Library Management: Create and maintain Altium schematic symbols, PCB footprints, and component library data in alignment with company library standards and part-lifecycle requirements.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with electrical, mechanical, thermal, and manufacturing engineers to align layout with system requirements; participate in design reviews and provide layout feasibility input early in the design cycle. Drive discussions with ECAD software vendors on renewals, product selections, and software bugs with the oversight of the electrical engineering manager.
- Mentorship: Act as a technical mentor to junior/mid-level designers on layout best practices, documentation standards, and use of Altium tools.

## SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS

- Expert-level proficiency in Altium Designer for schematic capture and PCB layout; comfort with rule-driven design, layer stack management, and library administration.
- Demonstrated experience designing and laying out power electronics: DC/DC converters, power planes, bus bars/high-current traces, thermal management, and power protection schemes (e.g., fusing, current limiting).
- Demonstrated experience with high-speed digital layout: impedance-controlled routing, differential pairs, length matching, via optimization, and stack-up design for GHz-class interfaces.
- Working knowledge of signal integrity (SI) and power integrity (PI) concepts and how layout decisions affect them; experience collaborating with SI/PI engineers or running basic simulation/analysis a plus.
- Solid understanding of DFM/DFA principles and hands-on experience working directly with fabrication houses and contract manufacturers.
- Practical knowledge of EMC/EMI mitigation techniques in layout (grounding, shielding, plane splits, filtering placement).
- Familiarity with IPC standards; IPC Certified Interconnect Designer (CID) or CID+ certification preferred but not required.
- Experience with flex, rigid-flex, or HDI/microvia design a plus.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to produce clear design documentation and communicate tradeoffs to cross-functional stakeholders.
- Ability to manage multiple concurrent design projects and mentor/provide work direction to other designers.
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-growth environment where "perfect" is the enemy of "shipped," knowing exactly when a design is robust enough for the real world.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent experience.
- At least 5 years of experience in PCB schematic capture and layout design.

## 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

The annual salary range for this position is $205,000 - $220,000

*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

- [Senior HR Business Partner](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-hr-business-partner-apptronik-austin-m10yrn7dektt) — Austin, TX
- [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 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