Apptronik · 8 hours ago
Principal Mechanical Engineer – Structural Simulation & Analysis
Austin, TX
Full-time
Hybrid
Lead/Staff
15+ years expApptronik is a human-centered robotics company developing AI-powered robots to support humanity in every facet of life. The Principal Mechanical Engineer will lead the simulation strategy for the humanoid robot, Apollo, focusing on structural integrity and dynamic performance while minimizing physical prototyping cycles.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)IndustrialManufacturingRoboticsIndustrial AutomationMachinery Manufacturing
Responsibilities
Simulation Roadmap: Define the software toolchain and methodology to be used across the mechanical engineering team
Predictive Engineering: Shift the culture from "design and then check" to "simulation-driven design," where analysis informs the initial architectural trade-offs of the robot
Standardization: Develop company-wide standards for material models, boundary conditions, and safety factors for humanoid-specific load cases (e.g., falls, high-speed walking, and heavy lifting)
Non-Linear & Dynamic FEA: Lead the analysis of complex, non-linear events such as high-velocity impacts (robot falls) and transient dynamic loads during rapid limb acceleration
Fatigue & Life Prediction: Own the fatigue life models for the robot's primary structure. Predict the lifecycle of components subjected to millions of gait cycles using advanced fracture mechanics and durability analysis
Mass Optimization: Utilize topology optimization and generative design to drive aggressive mass reduction across the limbs and torso while maintaining required stiffness-to-weight ratios
Test/Sim Correlation: Work closely with the Hardware Integration and Test team to design physical experiments (strain gauging, modal testing, drop tests) that validate and "tune" your simulation models
Material Characterization: Lead the efforts to characterize specialized materials—from high-strength aerospace alloys to advanced composites and 3D-printed lattices—to ensure accurate simulation inputs
Mentorship: Act as the primary technical mentor for senior and staff-level engineers, providing "deep-dive" design reviews and solving the "impossible" physics bottlenecks
Qualification
Required
15+ years of experience in structural simulation and mechanical design, with a proven track record of shipping complex, high-performance electromechanical products (Robotics, Aerospace, or Automotive)
Expert-level proficiency in industry-standard simulation suites (e.g., Ansys, Abaqus, SimCenter)
Deep mastery of solid mechanics, vibration (vibration, shock, and modal analysis), heat transfer, and multi-body dynamics
PhD or MS in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field with a focus on Computational Mechanics
Preferred
Specific experience with high-speed moving mechanisms or 'lightweighting' structures for mobile platforms is highly preferred
Company
Apptronik
Apptronik is a robotics company that designs and builds human-centered robotics systems.
51-200 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Apptronik has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (22)
2024 (5)
2023 (5)
2021 (3)
2020 (2)
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageTotal Funding
$762.79MKey Investors
Humanoid GlobalB Capital,Capital FactoryTerex
2025-11-25Series B· $331M
2025-10-02Corporate Round· $0.06M
2025-02-13Series A· $403M
Leadership Team
Jeffrey Cardenas
CEO
Nicholas Paine
CTO
Recent News
Crunchbase News
2026-02-09
2026-02-05
Company data provided by crunchbase