Senior Design Engineer - Electromagnetic (R&D)

Apptronik•Austin, TX

About The Position

Apptronik is seeking a Senior Design Engineer specializing in electromagnetic design to develop custom motors for its humanoid robot platforms. The role leads electromagnetic design for custom BLDC/PMSM motors used in humanoid joints, from concept through built prototype, while defining performance targets and ensuring designs can scale to mass manufacturing. The engineer will serve as the hands-on electromagnetic design lead and primary subject matter expert when working with external partners, university collaborators, and specialized manufacturing vendors. The position combines electromagnetic simulation and analytical modeling with motor testing, characterization, and model validation. It also requires close integration with mechanical, thermal, electrical, and controls engineering teams to address robot-level requirements, drive interaction, field-oriented control, and inverter limits. The engineer will help bridge R&D and production, evaluate external proposals, support technology transfer, and assess alternative supply chains.

Requirements

MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering (electric machines), Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related field.
At least 5 years of industry experience designing electric machines for high-performance applications.
Expert-level, hands-on experience with electromagnetic design and simulation software such as Ansys Maxwell, Motor-CAD, JMAG, or similar, and with analytical motor modeling.
Exceptional understanding of motor fundamentals, winding theory, magnetic materials, thermal coupling, and torque-density trade-offs.
Proven track record of designing motors that transitioned from prototype to volume manufacturing.
Deep technical credibility, a passion for mentoring others, and an experimentalist mindset focused on building new capabilities and validating models against hardware.

Nice To Haves

Experience in robotics, aerospace, or automotive/EV applications.
Experience with specialized or novel motor topologies, such as axial flux, transverse flux, or frameless outrunner designs.
Familiarity with robotics constraints, including highly dynamic loads, tight packaging, low gearing ratios, and strict thermal limits.
MATLAB or Python scripting experience for design optimization and workflow automation.
Strong vendor management experience, including auditing and collaborating with overseas or domestic motor manufacturers.

Responsibilities

Own electromagnetic design of custom BLDC/PMSM motors for humanoid joints, from concept through built prototype.
Select and evaluate advanced motor topologies and design approaches.
Run electromagnetic simulations to maximize motor performance.
Define trade-offs among motor, thermal, and robot-level requirements.
Specify test requirements and oversee methods for characterizing internally developed motors against off-the-shelf designs.
Use a motor dynamometer to correlate model and test data and empirically validate electromagnetic simulations.
Ensure optimized motor designs can scale to mass manufacturing without compromising performance.
Collaborate with mechanical, thermal, electrical, and controls engineers to integrate motors into robotic joint and system architectures.
Act as the technical lead and subject matter expert in discussions with external motor design companies, suppliers, and university collaborators.
Evaluate external proposals, drive technical requirements, ensure successful technology transfer, and audit alternative supply chains.