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Apptronik is a Series B human-centered robotics company developing AI-powered humanoid robots (Apollo) to support humanity across manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and beyond. The company operates at the cutting edge of applied AI, tackling the full robotics stack from safety and commercialization to mass production.
As a Controls Engineer – Actuation, you will own both the actuator models that make simulation trustworthy and the actuator-level control that runs on real hardware. You will close the loop from bench characterization and system identification, through simulator integration, to controller design, tuning, and deployment. This role pairs deep motor electromechanics and system-identification expertise with strong C++/Python engineering, working cross-functionally with Controls, Firmware, and Simulation teams.
Key responsibilities include:
- Develop and maintain high-fidelity actuator models in simulation, capturing physical behaviors (friction, compliance, thermal, torque and current limits) that affect real-world performance
- Design, tune, and deploy actuator-level control — closed-loop torque and current control and low-level control that turns commands into reliable joint behavior on hardware
- Design and run hardware test campaigns to characterize actuator behavior and extract parameters that keep models and controllers accurate
- Apply system identification to extract trustworthy physical models from experimental data, informing controller design and gain selection
- Quantitatively validate sim-to-real fidelity for both models and controllers using appropriate comparison metrics
- Build and maintain robust Python/C++ tooling for experiment automation, model extraction, controller tuning, and simulator integration
- Partner with the Controls team on fidelity and control performance needs, understanding how model and controller choices ripple into training and policy performance
- Support hardware bring-up and deployment, translating validated models and controllers into real robot configuration
Requirements:
- Strong C++, including comfort extending simulator or physics-engine codebases (not just consuming through Python interface)
- Deep grounding in motor electromechanics and classical control: closed-loop torque/current control, controller design and tuning, frequency-domain analysis (Bode plots, stability margins)
- Hands-on actuator or servo control on real hardware: designing, tuning, and validating low-level controllers informed by system identification
- Hands-on system identification and modeling: structured experiment design and model fitting from real data that feeds both simulation and control
- Proficiency in Python (test automation, data analysis, tooling) and track record shipping maintainable code under Git in fast-moving R&D environment
- Comfortable working cross-functionally with controls engineers, focused on how models and controllers get used
- Education: BS in Robotics, ME, EE, CS, or related field + 4 years relevant experience; MS in related field + 2 years relevant experience; or PhD in related field
- Preferred: dynamometers, motor test stands, lab instrumentation; motor thermal modeling and gearbox efficiency/backlash characterization; real-time actuator communication protocols and embedded/firmware control; modern robotics simulator (MuJoCo, Isaac Sim/Lab, Brax) and sim-to-real validation workflows; Docker with GPU/cloud experiment infrastructure
- Prior humanoid or legged-robot experience strongly preferred
