--- title: 'Software Engineer - Manipulation at Apptronik' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-manipulation-apptronik-sunnyvale-gwpc3yte34k5' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-11-03' --- # Software Engineer - Manipulation at Apptronik - **Company:** Apptronik - **Location:** Sunnyvale, CA - **Posted:** 2026-10-27 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-03 - **Apply:** https://boards.greenhouse.io/apptronik/jobs/6236582004?gh_jid=6236582004 ## 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 The Software Engineer - Manipulation is a core contributor to our robot's ability to interact with the world reliably and precisely. This role is responsible for developing and deploying learning-based manipulation policies, with a focus on post-training methods that adapt and improve those policies on real tasks and physical hardware. This role will bridge the gap between cutting-edge research and scalable, reliable production software. Working closely with the simulation, data, hardware, and systems teams, this engineer will take manipulation policies from demonstration data through post-training to robust deployment across our fleet. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES or KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES - Implement and deploy state-of-the-art learning-based manipulation policies to achieve reliable, world-class performance on real-world tasks with physical hardware. - Adapt and improve policies for new tasks and hardware using post-training methods such as RL fine-tuning, policy distillation, and interactive imitation learning (e.g., DAgger). - Build and maintain the data pipelines that support post-training, including teleoperation and demonstration collection, retargeting, dataset aggregation, and curation. - Drive the development cycle from simulation and offline evaluation to robustly transferring and fine-tuning policies on the robot. - Develop visuomotor policies for grasping, in-hand manipulation, and whole-arm manipulation, with reliable, low-latency execution on hardware. - Define evaluation metrics and regression tests for policy performance in simulation and on hardware, and use the results to guide technical decisions. - Collaborate closely with the simulation, data, hardware, and systems teams to diagnose system-level issues and co-develop solutions. - Maintain high standards for the codebase through testing, documentation, and peer code reviews. ## SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS Technical Skills (Must-Have) - Manipulation: Strong experience in robotic manipulation, including grasping, in-hand or whole-arm control, and high-DOF motion, with a track record of hardware deployment. - Learning-Based Control: Hands-on experience training and debugging learned policies, including post-training methods such as RL fine-tuning, distillation, and imitation learning (e.g., DAgger). - Software Engineering: Proficiency in Python, C++, and PyTorch or JAX, with experience building real-time robotic software stacks. - Data & Evaluation: Experience working with demonstration and teleoperation data, and building evaluation pipelines for learned policies. Good to Have - Simulation Environments: Experience with physics engines such as IsaacSim, MuJoCo, or Drake for policy training and validation. - Generalist Policies: Experience adapting large, general-purpose manipulation policies to specific tasks and embodiments. - Teleoperation: Experience with VR/haptic interfaces and retargeting algorithms for human-in-the-loop control. - Tactile Sensing: Experience integrating tactile/haptic feedback into manipulation pipelines. - Computer Vision: Familiarity with 6D pose estimation, point cloud processing, or visual-servoing. EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE - An MS with 3+ years of relevant experience, or a recent PhD, in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field. - Relevant experience specifically focused on learning-based manipulation or a closely related area. - A proven track record of taking learned policies from a research/simulation environment and successfully deploying them on physical hardware. ## 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 The annual salary range is $180,000 - $240,000 *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 / Staff Sim-to-Real Engineer (Tendon-based Robotic Hands)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-staff-sim-to-real-engineer-tendon-based-robotic-hands-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 - [Sr. Software Systems Safety Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-software-systems-safety-engineer-apptronik-sunnyvale-az29spy6ht78) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Senior Hardware Test Engineer - Components](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-hardware-test-engineer-components-apptronik-austin-s8wjwx4kyaey) — Austin, TX - [Senior Staff Test Engineer - Reliability](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-staff-test-engineer-reliability-apptronik-austin-qdb992f998na) — Austin, TX - [Senior Manufacturing Engineer - Assembly](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-manufacturing-engineer-assembly-apptronik-austin-y1v13ms3zta9) — Austin, TX - [Manager, Operations Engineering - Supply Chain](https://feeny.ai/job/manager-operations-engineering-supply-chain-apptronik-austin-fncc1hnh3rsn) — Austin, TX - [Staff Systems Safety Engineer (Compliance)](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-systems-safety-engineer-compliance-apptronik-sunnyvale-kjxjw2nk6pf6) — Sunnyvale, CA - [Staff Systems Safety Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-systems-safety-engineer-apptronik-sunnyvale-36vd1z1vsd7r) — Sunnyvale, CA