Senior Robot Platform Software Engineer, Perception Systems

Apptronik • Austin, TX

6h • 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.

Apptronik is seeking a Perception Systems Engineer to join our team in Austin, TX to own the sensor interface layer and real-time perception data pipeline, ensuring robust integration of hardware from the link up to perception consumers. In this role, you will help define the sensor architecture on our next gen robotics platforms, develop device drivers to enable the sensors, and harden our sensor perception pipelines. You will join a dedicated team applying expertise across the robotics stack to solve complex challenges in safety and commercialization to change the world for the better.

Requirements

• Expert-level C++ in Linux for system-level, performance-sensitive, and hard-real-time code.
• Deep experience with sensor protocols like GMSL/MIPI and writing robust device drivers.
• Solid understanding of camera calibration workflows (intrinsics/extrinsics) and geometric vision.
• Ability to optimize system bandwidth (CPU/GPU) and identify latency bottlenecks in pipelines.
• Experience with low-level optimizations (DMA, zero-copy) and frameworks like Holoscan or ROS2.
• Hands-on CUDA/GPU programming and familiarity with NVIDIA Jetson-class embedded platforms.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develop, integrate, and maintain low-level drivers for cameras (GMSL, MIPI) and other sensors to ensure reliable hardware-software communication.
• Execute and refine camera calibration techniques for both intrinsic and extrinsic parameters to ensure accurate spatial and depth perception.
• Instrument and profile the end-to-end perception pipeline, identifying and resolving bottlenecks in CPU/GPU utilization and system memory bandwidth.
• Implement advanced optimization techniques, such as Direct Memory Access (DMA) and efficient memory buffering, to maximize throughput and minimize system latency.
• Apply high-performance processing frameworks (e.g., Holoscan) to streamline sensor data ingestion and processing.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to validate sensor performance, evaluate hardware trade-offs, and ensure seamless system operation.
• Establish and execute performance benchmarks to characterize the perception stack's load on system resources under varying operational conditions.
• Adhere to and promote software engineering best practices, including code reviews, clear documentation, and continuous integration.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior