---
title: 'Staff Systems Safety Engineer at Apptronik'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/staff-systems-safety-engineer-apptronik-sunnyvale-36vd1z1vsd7r'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-27'
---

# Staff Systems Safety Engineer at Apptronik

- **Company:** Apptronik
- **Location:** Sunnyvale, CA
- **Posted:** 2026-10-26
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-27
- **Apply:** https://boards.greenhouse.io/apptronik/jobs/6235161004?gh_jid=6235161004

## 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

Be the technical authority for the safety of our humanoid robots, from concept through customer deployment. You will author the system safety architecture and safety case and provide technical leadership to the engineers who own hazard analysis, safety functions, and customer deployment safety, so that the safety case holds up with customers and assessors. You will draw on deep functional safety and robot safety expertise, technical leadership, and sound risk-based judgment.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES or KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

- Provide technical leadership to the systems safety engineers, from hazard analysis and safety requirements through site risk assessment and commissioning, be accountable for the technical quality of their work, and support first customer deployments on site
- Set technical direction across the safety team, review its work, and mentor engineers through coaching, technical guidance, and input on hiring, and keep the team’s day-to-day technical priorities aligned to long-term goals
- Author the system-level safety architecture (including AI) and functional safety concept, driving architecture-level safety decisions across current and next-generation platforms, balancing performance, technical risk, and compliance
- Serve as technical authority for safety trade-offs, residual risk recommendations, component and architectural decisions, and conflicts between safety and product goals
- Author and maintain the safety case, ensuring evidence from software, hardware, AI, user safety, and deployment is complete, consistent, and traceable, including the SOTIF argument for hazards that arise without a fault
- Perform system-level safety analyses that span the domain roles, such as system fault trees and common-cause failure analysis, lead in-depth design reviews of safety-critical subsystems, and take hands-on ownership of deliverables where the team has gaps
- Define the safety lifecycle, including the AI safety lifecycle under ISO/IEC TS 22440 and the SOTIF process under ISO 21448, and safety engineering methods, and the technical criteria for design reviews, safety gates, and SOTIF residual risk acceptance

## SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS

- Proven hands-on leadership of functional or system safety for complex robotic, machinery, or autonomous products from concept through deployment, including authoring safety architectures and safety cases
- Deep expertise in hazard analysis and risk assessment, the hierarchy of controls, safety function definition, and the safety lifecycle under IEC 61508, IEC 62061, ISO 13849, and ISO 12100
- Experience with robot and machinery safety standards, such as ISO 10218, ANSI/A3 R15.06, ANSI/A3 R15.08, and ISO 25785-1, and with the safety of robot deployments at customer sites
- Experience providing technical leadership and mentoring to safety engineers across hardware, software, and system topics
- Experience building a safety case and working with notified bodies, NRTLs, or third-party assessors
- Familiarity with safety of AI/ML-enabled systems, such as ISO/IEC TS 22440 and SOTIF (ISO 21448), and with requirements tools such as JAMA
- Strong executive communication, strategic thinking, and the judgment to make and defend risk-based decisions

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

- Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Robotics, Computer Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience); Master’s preferred
- 12+ years of relevant experience, including 7+ years in functional or system safety, with substantial responsibility for the safety of complex robotic or electromechanical products and prior technical leadership of a safety team
- Certified functional safety expert or professional (e.g., TÜV, exida) preferred

## 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

Salary range for CA: $280,000 - $310,000

*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)

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