Senior Manager of Electrical Engineering, Compute & Sensing
Apptronik is hiring a Senior Manager of Electrical Engineering, Compute & Sensing in Austin, United States. Level rates it ; you can apply on Apptronik.
Level's read on this job
- On Level's scale, this role is Little AI ●○○○: aI is not part of the work.
- Level classes it as a senior role.
- Apptronik has 89 other open roles on Level.
AI in this role
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
Apptronik is seeking a visionary Senior Manager of Electrical Engineering to lead the team responsible for the "nervous system" and "brain" of our next-generation humanoid robots. In this role, you will build, mentor, and grow a specialized engineering team dedicated to defining and developing our high-performance compute and sensing stack.
You will bridge the gap between silicon and sensing, overseeing the design of custom high-speed carrier boards and the integration of diverse sensor modalities. This is a leadership position that requires deep technical "in-the-trenches" experience with modern SoMs and high-bandwidth data acquisition, combined with the strategic mindset needed to scale a world-class hardware team.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES or KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
- Recruit, hire, and retain top-tier electrical engineers specializing in high-speed digital design, signal integrity, and embedded systems.
- Provide deep technical guidance during design reviews, ensuring the team adheres to best practices for PCB layout, thermal management, and EMI/EMC compliance.
- Collaborate with Software and Perception leads to define the hardware roadmap for our next-generation compute architecture.
- Lead the development of custom, ruggedized carrier boards for high-performance SoMs (specifically NVIDIA), optimized for the unique power and space constraints of a humanoid robot.
- Oversee the implementation and validation of high-speed data protocols.
- Define the power architecture for the compute cluster, ensuring stable delivery under high-transient loads and harsh electrical environments.
- Direct the electrical integration of diverse sensors modalities.
- Optimize the electrical interface and synchronization of sensors to ensure low-latency data for the autonomy stack.
- Ensure robust data transmission across complex robot harnesses, mitigating noise and interference in a high-power actuator environment.
SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS
- Proven track record of shipping products based on the NVIDIA Jetson platform (or similar SoM), including custom carrier board design and bring-up.
- Expert-level understanding of high-speed PCB design (12+ layers), signal integrity simulation, and power integrity analysis.
- Deep knowledge of electrical interfaces for perception sensors (GMSL2, FPD-Link III, Ethernet, CAN-FD).
- Preferred Experience in robotics, autonomous vehicles, or high-performance edge computing.
EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE
- B.S in Computer Engineering or Electrical Engineering
- 10+ years in Electrical Engineering with a focus on high-speed digital design, including 3+ years in a formal people-management or leadership role.
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.
How we rate this
Senior Manager of Electrical Engineering, Compute & Sensing at Apptronik rates 17 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.
Little AI. AI is not part of the work.
- ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
- ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
- ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
- ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39
Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.
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