Senior Mechanical Engineer – Thermal Simulation & Analysis

JOB SUMMARY
The Senior Mechanical Engineer – Thermal Simulation & Analysis is responsible for designing and optimizing thermal systems for Apptronik’s humanoid robot Apollo. This role focuses on solving complex thermal challenges across actuators embedded compute and battery systems within tightly constrained robotic architectures. The engineer will own major subsystems contribute to system-level design decisions and ensure thermal performance meets safety reliability and operational requirements.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES or KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
● Design and develop thermal management solutions (passive and active) for actuators compute systems and battery packs
● Build and execute CFD and heat transfer simulations to guide design decisions
● Perform transient thermal analysis for dynamic robot operation and varying duty cycles
● Collaborate cross-functionally with mechanical electrical and controls teams to integrate thermal solutions
● Supports test plan creation by identifying critical thermal scenarios from CFD and transient models and defining corresponding instrumentation and test procedures.
● Mentor junior level engineers and act as the technical escalation point for hardest problems.
● Correlate simulation results with physical test data and refine models accordingly
● Contribute to material selection (TIMs heat spreaders alloys) balancing performance weight and cost
● Develop and document thermal design guidelines and best practices

SKILLS AND REQUIREMENTS
● Strong proficiency in CFD tools (e.g. Ansys Icepak Fluent or similar)
● Solid understanding of heat transfer principles: conduction convection and radiation
● Experience with transient thermal modeling and real-world duty cycles
● Ability to perform first-order thermal calculations to guide design decisions
● Strong cross-functional collaboration and communication skills
● Experience working with physical hardware and test environments

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE
● Bachelor’s or Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Mechanical Engineering or related field
● At least 5–8 years of experience in thermal design and simulation for electromechanical systems

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

What We Do

Apptronik is building robots for the real world to improve human quality of life and to help solve the ever-increasing labor shortage problem. Our team has been building some of the most advanced robots on the planet for years dating back to the DARPA Robotics Challenge. We apply our expertise across the full robotics stack to some of the most important and impactful problems our society faces and expect our products and technology to change the world for the better. We value passion creativity and collaboration to help us overcome existing technological barriers in the industry to create truly innovative products.

Why Work With Us

At Apptronik we don't see a future where man competes against machine. Instead we envision a harmonious world where man and machine coexist. Our mission statement "It is not Man vs. Machine but Man + Machine" encapsulates our belief that the synergy between humans and robots will pave the way for a brighter more advanced future.

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