Simulation Engineer

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 embodied 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 Few teams get to shape how a humanoid robot learns to perceive, plan, and act — and even fewer let an early-career engineer touch every layer of that stack. As a Simulation Engineer on the Sim team, you’ll contribute across dexterity, design simulation, robot description, and platform tooling, applying strong Python skills, a robotics-fundamentals foundation, and a builder’s curiosity to make our simulation infrastructure faster, cleaner, and more useful every week. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Author evaluation scenes in Isaac Lab / Isaac Sim from specifications, shortening the loop from “we want to test X” to “X is being tested.” Run sim-to-real comparison experiments and produce comparison reports that highlight where simulation diverges from hardware. Contribute to the CAD-to-simulation pipeline — kinematic graphs, collision geometry, mass and inertia properties — so the design org can iterate against simulation faster. Maintain canonical robot models and the validation tooling that protects them from regressions across releases. Improve developer experience on the simulation platform through examples, onboarding documentation, CI infrastructure, and user-issue triage. Bring a fresh-eyes perspective to onboarding documentation so the next engineer joining the team gets productive in days, not weeks. SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS: Must-Have 0–2 years of professional software engineering experience (strong internship or research project experience qualifies) Strong Python skills Solid fundamentals: rigid body dynamics, linear algebra, spatial math, programming Coursework or project experience with robotics simulation, computational geometry, or computer graphics Demonstrated curiosity and willingness to work across multiple domains rather than specializing immediately Nice-to-Have Hands-on experience with Isaac Sim, MuJoCo, Gazebo, or equivalent simulator (coursework or projects count) Familiarity with USD, URDF, MJCF, or other robot/scene description formats Exposure to mechanical engineering, robot hardware, or sim-to-real workflows Some C++ exposure Internship or research experience in robotics, gaming, or graphics EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE: BS in Computer Science, Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, or related field. MS welcome but not 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. Offices: Austin, TX (HQ);