Sr. Software Engineer- Manipulation at Apptronik Inc. in Austin, Texas

Job Description:

Apptronik is building robots for the real world to improve human quality of life and to help solve the ever-increasing labor shortage problem. Our team has been building some of the most advanced robots on the planet for years, dating back to the DARPA Robotics Challenge. We apply our expertise across the full robotics stack to some of the most important and impactful problems our society faces, and expect our products and technology to change the world for the better. We value passion, creativity, and collaboration to help us overcome existing technological barriers in the industry to create truly innovative products.

You will join a team developing state-of-the-art general-purpose robots designed to operate in human spaces and with human tools. It is designed to work alongside humans, mobilize to human spaces, and manipulate the world around it.

JOB SUMMARY

We are seeking an experienced Sr. Software Engineer with proven hands-on capabilities and a strong theoretical background. We are primarily interested in candidates with prior robotics hardware implementation experience. In this role, you will create high-level planning and control algorithms, implement them in software simulation, bring them to life on a robot platform, and deliver production code to customers. You will work as part of a team focused on developing a dynamic robotic system robust for the demands of field use and able to perform useful real-world tasks.

• Develop/deliver production-grade real-time controls software for manipulator operation
• Develop APIs for controls and autonomy systems to interact with robot hardware/simulation
• Develop application example code to demonstrate manipulator capabilities for marketing purposes
• Use physics-based simulation to show roadmap capabilities for the manipulator in support of sales, marketing, and investor relations activities
• Implement rigorous unit and integration testing of controls infrastructure and hardware integration
• Maintain comprehensive and accurate architecture and design documentation
• Deliver reliable software through code reviews, continuous integration, and automated testing
• Represent and lead with Apptronik's core values: CHIPC - Curiosity, Humility, Integrity, Passion, Creativity

SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS

• Proficient in C++ in a Linux development environment, with prior demonstrated ability to:


• Translate complex theoretical concepts and algorithms into practical, efficient, and bug-free software implementations
• Perform on a fast-paced software development team using standard CI tools like Git while following rigorous documentation and testing standards
• Strong theoretical understanding of dynamics, controls, state estimation, and linear algebra
• Proven experience developing and debugging real-time, multithreaded software systems
• Experience implementing model-based feedback control of articulated robots and troubleshooting hardware
• Prior experience fielding robotic systems, ideally for outdoor manipulation use cases
• Experience delivering production-ready software

• Excellent communication and documentation skills
• Ability to troubleshoot fielded systems
• Engineering design/analysis of complex robotic systems, especially planning and control for grasping and manipulating generic objects with a robot arm in an industrial automation context
• Physics-based simulation experience: Visual components, NVIDIA Isaac Sim, Gazebo, or equivalent
• Familiarity with the following:
  
  
  • ROS/2, ROS-Industrial
  • Embedded systems and firmware development
  • Modeling dynamic systems, system identification, and optimization solvers
  • RTPreempt and Linux kernel configuration
  • Systems of attitude representation (Euler angles, rotation matrices, quaternions, angle-axis)

NICE TO HAVE

• Robot Foundation Model implementation or training experience
• AI-based object detection and/or segmentation techniques
• NVIDIA Isaac Manipulator and/or GROOT experience
• EtherCAT network communication experience
• Signal processing experience
• Autonomy and semi-autonomy techniques
  
  
  • Task planning, task and motion planning (TAMP), PDDLStream
  • Behavior trees
  • Affordance templates
  • MoveIt Task Constructor
  • Closed-loop control design techniques: PID, MPC, Lyapunov, Fuzzy Logic
• Electrical circuit design/trouble shooting
• Read and understand engineering drawings

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

• Graduate degree in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical/Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering, or equivalent.
• 5+ years of relevant industry experience

*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.

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