Sr. Software Engineer – Real-Time Controls at Apptronik
Sunnyvale, CA
$215,000–$230,000from the description
Jul 2, 2026
Sunnyvale, CA
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A senior engineering role focused on the real-time software stack running on a humanoid robot's onboard computer. Core work involves building C++ infrastructure for real-time control, fusing sensor data for state estimation, integrating learned locomotion policies, diagnosing hardware-software faults, and exposing APIs for controls and autonomy systems. Suited to engineers with deep robotics fundamentals and at least five years of hands-on robotics software experience.
Senior level · 5+ years · Austin, TX · Full-time
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Roughly 65 people in the Austin, TX area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (software developers). range 30–100
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $137,069 (middle half $106,287–$172,440). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (6)
Location is not explicitly stated in the posting; Apptronik is headquartered in Austin, TX, so the Austin-Round Rock CBSA is inferred.
Degree requirement is listed as 'BS, MS, or PhD' but the phrasing 'relevant fields' and the absence of a hard gate phrase means equivalent experience is implicitly accepted; the degree requirement is set to None accordingly.
The robotics fundamentals block (kinematics, dynamics, controls, estimation, sensor fusion, floating-base dynamics, contact/constraint modeling) describes domain knowledge rather than named tools and is therefore not emitted as discrete skills.
MuJoCo and Drake appear together in a 'familiarity with at least some of' list alongside other tools, making them preferred rather than required; they are grouped as alternatives of each other since both are physics simulators serving the same function in this context.
HIL (hardware-in-the-loop) testing experience is listed under the same 'familiarity with' block and is treated as preferred.
The posting explicitly states 'This is a direct hire' — no contract or agency placements.
Read the full posting
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