Staff Test Engineer - Actuation

Apptronik•Austin, TX

16h

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 Staff Test Engineer – Actuation to own the design validation and NPI test process for Apptronik's custom actuator systems. This is a hands-on, multi-disciplinary role spanning mechanical, electrical, firmware, and software testing — requiring someone who can independently drive actuator characterization and validation from initial bringup through design verification, and build the test methods and automation that transfer to test ops as programs move into production. You will design and execute actuator test campaigns, develop robust bringup and calibration workflows, diagnose hardware issues across the full electromechanical stack, and deliver validated, well-documented test processes that are ready for handoff. You will work closely with mechanical, electrical, firmware, and controls engineers — connecting test data to root-cause analysis and hardware design improvements.

Requirements

Direct hands-on experience testing and characterizing actuators, motors, or gearboxes — including operation of dynamometer or motor test stand systems.
Experience with motor bringup and calibration workflows, with enough firmware and electrical fluency to diagnose calibration and drive faults independently.
Strong cross-disciplinary debugging ability across mechanical, electrical, and firmware domains.
Proficiency writing production-grade Python for test automation, data analysis, and post-processing.
Demonstrated experience designing test methods and procedures — including pass/fail criteria and handoff documentation — not just executing pre-written scripts.
Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics, mechanical drawings, and motor datasheets.
Experience working in multi-disciplinary hardware teams with fast iteration cycles.
Comfortable operating at staff level: leading technical workstreams, influencing engineering decisions with data, and mentoring others.

Nice To Haves

Experience with humanoid or legged robot actuator systems.
Familiarity with thermal modeling and thermal test methods for electric motor systems.
Knowledge of motor drive electronics, power electronics, and power stage design margins.
System identification background: frequency-domain analysis, bandwidth measurement, and dynamic model extraction.
Experience transitioning test methods from R&D into production or manufacturing environments.
Simulation experience (MuJoCo, Isaac Sim/Lab, etc.) and sim-to-real validation workflows.
Docker, scripting, or infrastructure tooling for test automation at scale.

Responsibilities

Lead the bringup process for new actuator hardware — including firmware deployment, motor and encoder calibration, and functional verification. Develop documented, repeatable procedures that can be transferred to test ops for production use.
Plan and execute design validation campaigns to characterize actuator performance across the operating envelope. Tests span mechanical (e.g., efficiency, stiffness, backlash, life), electrical (e.g., peak current, thermal limits, drive performance), and system-level (e.g., positional accuracy, off-axis loading, effort production) domains.
Design and validate the production test methods used during NPI — including test scripts, post-processing, pass/fail criteria, and operator documentation — then hand off to the test ops team with the tooling and training needed to run them at scale.
Build Python-based test automation, data pipelines, and analysis tools that enable repeatable, scalable validation across multiple actuator types and hardware revisions.
Operate and configure dynamometer, benchtop, and custom test setups. Manage fixture configurations and load motor modes across different actuator and gearbox variants.
Diagnose actuator performance issues spanning firmware, electrical, and mechanical domains using structured, data-driven reasoning. Provide clear, actionable feedback to design teams.
Apply system identification techniques to characterize actuator dynamics — including inertia, friction, bandwidth, and torque constant — providing data that supports both hardware validation and simulation fidelity.
Work closely with mechanical, electrical, firmware, and controls engineers. Communicate test results, failure modes, and recommendations clearly to engineering and program leadership.