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Software Engineer - Dexterity

Austin, TX

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 embodied 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.

We are seeking a Dexterity Engineer to build the software bridge between human intent and robotic execution. In this role, you will be a core contributor to the teleop stack, ensuring our humanoid, Apollo, can perform complex, contact-rich tasks with high fidelity. You will accelerate bimanual manipulation in at least two ways: Firstly, by developing the retargeting and haptic frameworks that make teleoperation intuitive for the operator. Secondly, by building the simulation and testing infrastructure that validates end-effectors (COTS and internal designs) while ensuring every movement generates training-ready data for autonomy and reinforcement learning pipelines.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Retargeting & Mapping Algorithms
    • Generic Dexterity: Implement and refine retargeting algorithms (IK-based, optimization-based, or learned) that can map human hand kinematics to varied robotic configurations.
    • Signal Integrity: Address real-world teleop challenges: jitter reduction, handling sensor dropouts, and implementing safe fallback behaviors.
  • Simulation & Testing Infrastructure
    • End-Effector Validation: Build automated workflows in MuJoCo/IsaacSim environments and real-robot testbeds to benchmark hand designs.
    • Performance Metrics: Develop automated scoring for dexterity to inform hardware and software design.
  • Haptics & Tactile Integration
    • Sensory Loop: Integrate haptic gloves and tactile sensor data into the control loop to provide operators with force-reflective feedback.
    • Data Consumption: Ensure high-bandwidth tactile data is cleanly ingested into the robot state and logged for model training.
  • Advanced Control & RL Frameworks
    • Fidelity Improvements: Research and implement control methodologies that improve the transparency of the teleoperation experience.
    • RL Scaffolding: Build the framework required to swap manual teleoperation with learned policies, enabling "shared autonomy" where the robot assists the operator in complex manipulations.

SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS

  • Proficiency with at least one: C++/Python
  • Experience developing controls for robotics applications
  • Demonstrated competence with Git or version control of distributed systems
  • Ability to work in Linux and write shell scripts in bash 
  • At least one year of real-time, hardware-in-the-loop software development 

Bonus Qualifications:

    • Academic publications on robotic control and familiarity with recent teleop research
    • Dexterous manipulation development experience
    • Expertise with multiple of C++/C#/Python/MuJoCo/IsaacSim/ROS
    • Prior VR peripheral integration experience
    • Experience developing in any of Unity/Godot/Unreal/SteamVR/OpenXR
    • Familiarity with Docker and containerization

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

  • Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
  • Minimum of 2 years of professional, full-time experience building and maintaining reliable, scalable systems.

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

 

 

*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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