Senior Electrical Engineer - Motor Drive (Actuation)

Apptronik•Austin, TX

4d•Onsite

About The Position

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 We are seeking a highly skilled senior electrical engineer to design motor drives for humanoid robot actuators. In this role, you will own motor driver PCBA designs through their entire lifecycle from high-level architecture concepting, prototyping, testing, and release into mass production. We are looking for candidates with strong PCBA design skills and background in designing motor drive or power boards.

Requirements

Competent in CAD tools including Altium, or similar tools.
Experience with developing and maintaining CAD design rules.
Experience with product lifecycle management and PLM systems such as Arena.
Proven experience designing, prototyping, and debugging PCB/PCBAs as well as interfacing with manufacturing groups during release/build.
Experience with electronics lab tools and simulation tools (ex: LTSpice, PSpice).
Excellent communication (verbal & written); will be expected to develop detailed build assembly instructions and diagrams.
Excellent problem-solving and hardware debugging skills.
Hands-on experience with prototyping and testing, including the use of lab equipment.

Nice To Haves

In-depth knowledge of three-phase PMSM/BLDC motor controls, field-oriented control (FOC), advanced switching topologies (FET/GaN), thermal analysis and design, power protection schemes (efuses, bus sizing), and sensor integration.
Experience with functional safety standards (e.g., ISO 13849-1, IEC 61508), communications protocols (Ethernet, EtherCAT, CAN), and embedded firmware/hardware co-design.

Responsibilities

Design, simulate, implement, and test multi-layer mixed signal PCBAs.
Rapid prototyping of electrical systems at both system and board levels.
Generate design documentation such as schematics, block diagrams, test plans and procedures, fabrication and assembly drawings.
Execute design work under the supervision of program management, systems engineers, and technical leads.
Align technical implementation and execution with company goals.
Develop and execute comprehensive validation and test plans (DVT/PVT).
Design necessary test fixtures and utilize advanced laboratory equipment (high-bandwidth oscilloscopes, logic analyzers) to rigorously evaluate prototypes and ensure strict compliance with performance, safety, and reliability specifications.
Assess unusual circumstances, creative failure modes, and hardware/firmware defects.
Use sophisticated debugging techniques to identify root causes and implement robust corrective actions.
Own the entire component lifecycle through PLM systems, managing third-party relationships with hardware vendors and contract manufacturers (CMs) to ensure successful production scaling and design-for-manufacturability (DFM/DFA).
Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including technical lead, project managers, software, mechanical, thermal, systems engineers, and manufacturing.
Manage 3rd party relationships with vendors, contract manufacturers, and external design services.
Act as a mentor within the electrical engineering team, guiding junior engineers on best practices for hardware design, documentation, and troubleshooting.