Staff Mechanical Engineer - Legs Tech Lead

External

Apptronik · Austin, TX

Full-timeOn-site3w ago

CADComplianceLeadershipRoboticsRoutingSolidWorks

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About the role

Apptronik is seeking a Staff Mechanical Engineer to serve as the technical lead for Apollo's lower body. This is a high-visibility leadership role responsible for the hip, leg, knee, ankle, and foot assemblies. You will own the complete lifecycle-architecture, design, integration, and verification-of the lower body stack. This position requires deep expertise in locomotion kinematics, dynamic stability, and high-load structural design. You will lead the development of systems that must deliver human-like mobility, absorb high-energy impacts, and maintain durability across millions of cycles in real-world environments.

Responsibilities

System Architecture & Locomotion Design

Lower Body Ownership: Define the mechanical architecture for the hips, legs, knees, ankles, and feet. Lead trade-off studies between power density, range of motion (ROM), stability, and energy efficiency.

Locomotion Performance: Architect systems that enable stable walking, running, lifting, and recovery from disturbances (e.g., slips, trips, and falls). Balance dynamic performance with robustness and safety.

Mass Distribution & Stability: Optimize mass placement and inertia to improve balance, agility, and whole-body coordination.

Complex Mechanism Design

High-Performance Joints: Drive the design of multi-DOF joints (hip, knee, ankle) capable of high torque output and high cycle life while maintaining precision and backdrivability where needed.

Shock & Impact Management: Design structures and mechanisms that absorb and dissipate energy during foot-ground contact and high-impact events (e.g., stepping off ledges, falls).

Structural Integrity: Lead the design of the lower body load path to support full robot mass and dynamic loads using advanced materials and topology optimization.

Ground Interface & Mobility

Foot & Contact Design: Develop feet and contact interfaces that provide traction, compliance, and adaptability across varied terrains.

Actuation Integration: Partner closely with controls and actuation teams to ensure mechanical designs support force control, impedance control, and dynamic motion planning.

Integration & Reliability

Subsystem Integration: Lead integration of actuators, sensors , and structural elements within tight mechanical envelopes.

Cable & Harness Routing: Architect robust routing strategies through high-flex joints (hips, knees, ankles), ensuring multi-million cycle reliability and maintainability.

Environmental Robustness: Ensure designs meet requirements for ingress protection (IP), thermal performance, and durability in real-world operating conditions.

Verification & Leadership

DVT Ownership: Define and execute the Design Verification Test (DVT) plan for the lower body, including fatigue testing, impact testing, and long-duration lifecycle validation.

Failure Analysis: Lead root cause investigations for field or lab failures related to wear, fatigue, or performance degradation.

Technical Mentorship: Conduct deep-dive design reviews, establish best practices for dynamic robotic systems, and mentor engineers across experience levels.

Required Skills & Qualifications

Experience: B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with a 8+ years of experience in mechanical design of complex robotic systems, with a focus on legged systems or high-load dynamic mechanisms.

Drive Through Influence: Proven ability to lead technical initiatives and align cross-functional stakeholders without direct authority. Strong track record of driving system-level decisions.

Subject Matter Expertise: Demonstrated experience designing multi-axis robotic legs, exoskeletons, or comparable high-DOF dynamic systems.

Locomotion & Dynamics: Deep understanding of kinematics, dynamics, and control considerations for legged locomotion.

Structural & Fatigue Design: Expertise in designing for high-cycle fatigue, impact loading, and durability.

Packaging Mastery: Strong experience integrating actuators, sensors, and structures in compact, high-performance systems.

CAD Expertise: Expert-level proficiency in CAD tools (SolidWorks, NX, CATIA).

Education: BS/MS in Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, or a related field.

Apptronik is seeking a Staff Mechanical Engineer to serve as the technical lead for Apollo's lower body. This is a high-visibility leade

Staff Mechanical Engineer - Legs Tech Lead

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