Senior Electrical Engineer - HRI (Visuals)
Apptronik · Austin, United States · 4mo ago
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 Applied 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 with proven experience designing audio and display systems. In this role, you will drive the electronics development for the human-robot interface in the next generation Apollo robot from concept, through design, and into production. We are primarily interested in candidates who have developed electronics for smart speakers, headphones, teleconference equipment, or robotics.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES or KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
- Define electrical requirements to inform component selection and electronics architecture for the visual elements of the human-robot interface subsystem.
- Design, bring up, and test the display and LED lighting PCBAs of Apollo, including display interfaces, LED driver circuits, and the associated microcontroller, power, and communications electronics.
- Translate industrial design and UX intent into measurable electrical and optical requirements, and verify the hardware against them.
- Design for EMI/EMC compliance and partner with the team’s EMI/EMC engineer and safety engineering to support the necessary certifications (e.g., UL, CE, FCC).
- Design, simulate, implement, and test multi-layer mixed signal PCBAs.
- Develop comprehensive validation and test plans (DVT/PVT), design necessary test fixtures, and execute rigorous electrical, thermal, and photometric testing to confirm compliance with performance specifications and regulatory standards.
- Own the entire lifecycle of the visual HRI hardware, from initial concept and architecture definition through design, prototyping, validation, production release, and ongoing support.
- Manage 3rd party relationships with component suppliers, contract manufacturers, and external design services.
- Lead and mentor within the electrical engineering team, guiding junior engineers on best practices for mixed signal hardware design, documentation, processes, and troubleshooting.
SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS
- PCB Tools: expert proficiency with modern schematic capture and PCB layout tools (e.g., Altium Designer) for complex mixed signal boards.
- LED Drive Electronics: hands-on experience with LED driver circuits, RGB LED arrays, brightness and color control, and LED thermal management.
- Display Electronics: experience integrating display modules, including common display interfaces (e.g., MIPI-DSI, LVDS), backlight drivers, and display power sequencing.
- Embedded Hardware: microcontroller-based board design with common serial interfaces (I2C, SPI, UART, USB), and the ability to bring up boards alongside firmware engineers.
- Testing and Validation: ability to design and execute electrical and optical validation tests (luminance, color/ΔE, uniformity, and viewing-angle measurements with colorimeters, spectroradiometers, or imaging photometers).
- Nice to have: experience working with industrial and mechanical design on optics and light integration.
- Nice to have: familiarity with functional safety concepts as applied to electronics (e.g., ISO 13849 awareness).
- Nice to have: understanding of display reliability and lifetime considerations.
- Nice to have: experience with user-input or short-range sensing circuits for operator interfaces.
- Nice to have: familiarity with audio electronics (speakers, microphones, amplifiers).
- Nice to have: experience with projection or laser-based display electronics (e.g., DLP, LCoS, or MEMS scanning), including laser diode drive circuits and laser eye-safety classification (IEC 60825).
EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field.
- At least 5 years of industry experience in designing display or LED lighting electronics (consumer electronics, automotive lighting/HMI, wearables, or robotics.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
- Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
- Must be able to lift 15 pounds at times
- Vision to read printed materials and a computer screen
- Hearing and speech to communicate
*This is a direct hire. Please, no outside Agency solicitations.
Apptronik provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.