Staff Mechanical Engineer - Upper Body Tech Lead

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.

JOB SUMMARY

Apptronik is seeking a Staff Mechanical Engineer to serve as the technical lead for Apollo’s upper body. This is a high-visibility leadership role responsible for the torso, head, and arm assemblies.

You will own the complete lifecycle—architecture, design, integration, and verification—of the upper body stack. This position requires a rare blend of deep kinematic expertise and the ability to solve extreme "packaging" challenges, where high-performance compute, high-density batteries, and sensitive perception sensors must coexist within a compact, dynamic, and thermally-constrained frame. Finally, you will be responsible for translating visionary industrial design into high-fidelity, functional A-surfaces.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES or KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

System Architecture & Industrial Design Integration

• Upper Body Ownership: Define the mechanical architecture for the torso, head, and arms. Lead the trade-off studies between mass distribution, range of motion (ROM), and structural rigidity.
• ID Intent & A-Surfaces: Serve as the primary bridge between Industrial Design (ID) and Engineering. Responsible for incorporating ID intent into final A-surfaces , ensuring that mechanical constraints (draft, wall thickness, cooling vents) do not compromise the iconic Apollo head design language and brand identity.
• Aesthetic & Functional Synthesis: Manage the complex surfacing of the robot's "skin," ensuring seamless transitions between structural elements and aesthetic covers while maintaining IP (Ingress Protection) and thermal venting requirements.

Complex Mechanism Design

• Kinematic Structures: Drive the development of high-performance robotic limbs. Design innovative mechanisms that manage extreme dynamic loads while maintaining the precision required for human-like manipulation.
• Structural Integrity: Lead the design of the primary "chassis" (torso) to protect internal electronics from high-energy impact events (e.g., falls) using advanced materials and topology optimization.

High-Density Integration

• Subsystem Packaging: Lead the tight-space integration of the compute cluster (NVIDIA Jetson/SoMs), b