Manager, Test Operations

Apptronik•Austin, TX

About The Position

Apptronik is seeking a hands-on technical leader to manage test operations for advanced humanoid robots. The role leads development, maintainability, and scaling of integrated hardware and software solutions used for manufacturing and validation testing across robotic subsystems. It works closely with test and validation engineers, systems engineers, firmware developers, manufacturing, and operations teams to build robust test infrastructure supporting products from early NPI through production ramp. The position focuses on test automation, systems integration, and manufacturing support in a fast-paced robotics environment.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics, or a related field.
At least 5 years of experience leading complex electromechanical system test development for automated manufacturing systems.
Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, including the ability to represent the team to senior leadership and customers.
Proven technical leadership, including leading engineers and owning delivery of complex, cross-disciplinary systems.
Formal people-management experience, including hiring, developing, and directing a team.
Willingness to travel to manufacturing sites up to 20%.
Experience leading teams working with embedded systems, hardware/software integration, serial communication protocols, and networked systems.
Familiarity with modern software development practices, including Git, code reviews, CI/CD workflows, and issue tracking systems such as Jira or similar.
Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills with complex electromechanical systems.
Comfort working in fast-paced and evolving environments.

Nice To Haves

Experience in robotics, aerospace, automotive, or similar electromechanical systems.
Experience with communication protocols such as ROS/ROS2, EtherCAT, CAN, and RS485.
Experience with manufacturing databases, MES systems, or traceability systems.
Experience developing scalable architectures for test infrastructure.
Familiarity with Linux-based development environments.
Experience with automated data analysis and reporting tools.
Experience supporting contract manufacturers or production environments.
Experience using AI-assisted software development tools and workflows.

Responsibilities

Lead the team deploying manufacturing test software and hardware for PCBAs, actuators, cable harnesses, electromechanical subassemblies, and full robot system testing.
Ensure development of scalable, modular test frameworks for use across multiple test stations and product lines.
Deliver automated functional tests, hardware validation tools, and diagnostic utilities for the manufacturing floor.
Establish criteria for APIs and interfaces between test software and hardware systems.
Own the reliability, maintainability, and consistent deployment of testing processes across manufacturing environments.
Champion integration of embedded systems, firmware interfaces, sensors and actuators, motion control systems, and data acquisition hardware.
Set technical direction for hardware bring-up, debugging, troubleshooting, and communications issues in manufacturing environments.
Collaborate with test and validation engineering teams so products are designed with testability and manufacturability in mind.
Drive best practices and process improvements within the test organization.
Maintain test documentation, procedures, and architecture diagrams.
Implement code reviews and software release processes, including CI/CD.
Deliver processes and key metrics that provide actionable data for manufacturing operations.
Support internal manufacturing operations and contract manufacturers with deployment, maintenance, and troubleshooting of manufacturing test stations.
Support changing production ramps and resolve manufacturing test issues to minimize downtime.
Propose manufacturing test requirements and workflows for future products.