Apptronik
Staff Test Engineer - Actuators
Austin, TX · Staff · Full-time · Posted May 5, 2026
- Experience
- BS + 6 years of relevant experience, or MS + 4 years, or PhD + 2 years; equivalent hands-on experience with actuator testing and robotic hardware bringup is also encouraged.
- Education
- BS in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Computer Science, or related field; or MS or PhD in a related field. Candidates with non-traditional backgrounds may demonstrate equivalent hands-on experience.
About the job
Own actuator design verification and new product introduction (NPI) testing, from hardware bringup and characterization through production-ready test process handoff.
What you'll do
- Lead actuator bringup and calibration, including firmware deployment, motor and encoder calibration, and documented workflows.
- Plan and execute mechanical, electrical, and system-level design verification tests; develop and validate production test methods.
- Operate test equipment, investigate failures, perform root-cause analysis, and provide data-backed design recommendations.
What they ask for
- Hands-on experience testing and characterizing actuators, motors, or gearboxes, including operating dynamometer or motor test stand systems.
- Experience with motor bringup and calibration, and sufficient firmware and electrical fluency to diagnose faults independently.
- Experience designing test methods and procedures, including pass/fail criteria and handoff documentation; experience transitioning methods into production or manufacturing.
- Ability to interpret electrical schematics, mechanical drawings, and motor datasheets; cross-disciplinary debugging experience.
Nice to have
- Experience with humanoid or legged robot actuator systems.
- Familiarity with thermal modeling and testing, motor or power electronics, system identification, simulation, or test automation tooling.
Tools
dynamometer, MuJoCo, Isaac Sim/Lab, Docker
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative