Senior Simulation Engineer - Core Simulation Platform
TECHNICAL STACK · 8 TAGS
OVERVIEW
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
At the core of every robot policy we ship is a simulation platform that has to be fast enough for RL training, accurate enough for controls validation, and stable enough to be the team’s daily driver. As Staff Simulation Engineer for Core Simulation Platform, you’ll contribute to the architecture and development of that platform alongside senior team members, applying strong C++ and Python skills, robotics fundamentals, and modern simulator experience to keep the platform robust, performant, and parallel.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Contribute to the architecture and development of the core simulation platform — high-performance digital twins that serve as the foundation for policy training, controls validation, and CI/CD integration testing.
- Help build and scale cloud-native simulation pipelines capable of generating millions of experience hours per day, parallelizing physics and rendering for rapid policy iteration.
- Improve sim-to-real transfer through advanced contact models and actuator dynamics that help policies trained in simulation transfer to physical humanoid hardware.
- Develop sensor-realistic environments (camera, LiDAR, depth) that challenge the perception stack with dynamic and diverse worlds.
- Ship platform improvements that visibly reduce iteration time for RL, controls, and perception teams.
- Work with Controls, AI Research, and Perception teams to support their evolving simulation needs as the platform grows.
SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS
- Excellent C++ and/or Python programming skills
- Familiar with software development best practices: CI/CD, automated testing, and code quality standards
- Understanding of robotics concepts: kinematics, dynamics, controls, system identification
- Experience with modern robotic simulators (Isaac Lab, MuJoCo, or equivalent)
- Understanding of Reinforcement Learning with research or production experience
- Experience with large-scale training workloads — deploying parallel simulations on cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) with distributed computing frameworks (e.g., Ray, Kubernetes)
EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE
- Master’s or PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience)
- 5+ years of experience in robotic simulation, software engineering, or related fields
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
The annual salary range is $165,000 - $200,000.
*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.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
- How much does the Senior Simulation Engineer - Core Simulation Platform at Apptronik pay?
- The posting lists a range of $165K–$200K per year. Ranges reflect what Apptronik publicly declared on the source posting.
- Where is this Senior Simulation Engineer - Core Simulation Platform role based?
- The role is based in Sunnyvale, CA.
- What experience does Apptronik expect for this role?
- The posting is tagged as a senior-level role, typically 5+ years of experience. Check the requirements section for specifics.
- Where is Apptronik headquartered?
- Apptronik is headquartered in Austin, USA.
- How was this posting sourced?
- This role was pulled directly from Apptronik's Greenhouse careers site. Apply links open in the employer's own ATS — no reposts or aggregator middleware.
Apply links open in the employer's official ATS. Always verify recruitment messages on the company's careers page before sharing personal information.