Staff Drivetrain Engineer
- Level
- Staff
Not stated in the posting: salary, work type, visa.
Open. First seen 2 October 2026.
About the role
Apptronik's standard text
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 Applied 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
We're looking for highly motivated and talented engineers with hands-on experience and a passion for robotics to join our team. Specifically, we seek a Staff Drivetrain Engineer with proven capabilities in drivetrain design – gear design, gearbox architectures, and testing.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES or KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
- Conceptualize, design, build, and test drivetrain technologies for use in electric actuators
- Design drivetrains to optimize for mass, volume, inertia, efficiency, torques, and speeds
- Design gear tooth profiles to optimize for backlash, efficiency, strength, and lifetime
- Select layout and type of bearings based on performance characteristics, loads, and packaging
- Select lubrication strategy with maintenance, performance, and lifetime in mind
- Perform analysis (FEA, gear analysis software, static analysis, etc) to optimize and validate design
- Select materials and manufacturing methods to optimize for actuation performance and cost
- Create GD&T-informed drawings, a Bill of Material, and procurement documentation
- Produce assembly instructions and finalize project documentation
- Participate in pilot build of your design
- Perform DVP&R to ensure design meets requirements
- Iterate on design to harden for scalability and DFMA
- Collaborate with a small cross-disciplinary team of engineers
SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS
- High proficiency in gear design software (KISSsoft, Romax, or similar) and CAD (NX, Solidworks, Onshape, etc)
- Strong understanding of gear manufacturing technologies, gear analysis, and tribology
- Extensive knowledge of types of gearboxes (planetary, spur gear, etc) and relevant industry standards (AGMA, SAE, ISO, etc)
- Mastery of engineering fundamentals / first principles
- Exceptional attention to detail
- Excellent teamwork and collaboration
- Outstanding organizational and time management skills
- The ability to multi-task and manage conflicting deadlines
- Strong written and verbal communication
- Great team player able to perform within a dynamic start-up environment
EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE
- Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Mechanical Engineering or related field
- 8+ years of experience in development of drivetrains, gearboxes, actuators, or similar, specifically within the robotics, automotive, or aerospace industries
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
Apptronik's standard text
*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.
What this role asks for
Particular to this role
FEA · GD&T · SolidWorks
Rare in Apptronik's other 69 open postings.
68% of this description is written for the role. The rest is Apptronik's standard text, folded away below.
Read against Apptronik's other open postings on this site.
The team: Hardware HIRES STEADILY
This role is one of 29 open in Hardware. 2 were posted in the last 30 days and the oldest in January: a team that hires all year rather than one being built.
WHAT THE TEAM WORKS WITH, ACROSS ITS POSTINGS
PCB Design (14 of 29), Embedded Systems (12 of 29), Altium (11 of 29), SolidWorks (6 of 29), FEA (5 of 29), Python (5 of 29), C++ (4 of 29)
OTHER ROLES ON THIS TEAM
- Senior Mechanical Engineer - Actuation posted Sep 29
- Staff Perception Hardware Engineer posted Aug 26
- Senior Mechanical Engineer (Battery and Docking Station) posted Aug 24
- Senior System Integration Engineer (Soft Goods/Gloves/Grip) posted Aug 24
- Senior Electrical Engineer - Power posted Aug 24
- Senior PCBA Design Engineer posted Aug 24
- Staff Electrical Engineer - Sensor FPGA posted Aug 17
- Senior Perception Hardware Engineer posted Aug 17
- Staff Electrical Engineer - Sensor FPGA posted Aug 14
- Senior Electrical Engineer - Apollo 2 posted Jul 31
- Senior Manager, Hardware Connectivity posted Jul 29
- Senior Electrical Engineer - Dexterity posted Jul 17
- Staff Electrical Engineer - Compute posted Jul 8
- Staff Electrical Engineer - Compute posted Jul 8
- Principal Electrical Engineer - Compute and Sensing posted Jun 9
- Hardware Integration Engineer - Dexterity posted Jun 8
- Senior Electrical Engineer - HRI (Visuals) posted May 14
- Senior Wire Harness Engineer posted May 13
- Staff Perception Hardware Engineer posted May 5
- Principal Electrical Engineer - Compute and Sensing posted Apr 24
- Staff Mechanical Engineer – Robotic Hand Design Tech Lead posted Apr 22
- Staff Mechanical Engineer – Upper Body Tech Lead posted Apr 16
- Staff Wire Harness Engineer posted Feb 11
- Staff Electrical Engineer posted Jan 23
- Senior Electrical Engineer posted Jan 23
- Electrical Engineer posted Jan 23
- Staff Mechanical Engineer posted Jan 15
- Senior Mechanical Engineer posted Jan 15
From the team and dates on Apptronik's own job board.
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