Senior Mechanical Engineer - Soft Good/Gloves/Grip

Apptronik
Austin
Workplace: OnsiteFull timeFunction: Field Service, Maintenance & Skilled TradesExperience: 6+ yearsEducation: mastersSkills: ["Cross-functional communication","Technical leadership","Mentorship","Hands-on prototyping","Problem-solving"]

Lead the mechanical design and development of Apollo’s soft goods, robotic gloves, grip surfaces, and flexible protective interfaces. Own end-to-end delivery from concept through production, partnering across mechanical, electrical, controls, materials, manufacturing, systems engineering, and suppliers. Develop textile and advanced flexible-material solutions, integrate tactile/pressure sensors, validate performance, and ensure manufacturability, serviceability, and reliability in demanding real-world environments.

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Apptronik
Apptronik
1 day ago

Senior Mechanical Engineer - Soft Good/Gloves/Grip

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Job Summary

Lead the mechanical design and development of Apollo’s soft goods, robotic gloves, grip surfaces, and flexible protective interfaces. Own end-to-end delivery from concept through production, partnering across mechanical, electrical, controls, materials, manufacturing, systems engineering, and suppliers. Develop textile and advanced flexible-material solutions, integrate tactile/pressure sensors, validate performance, and ensure manufacturability, serviceability, and reliability in demanding real-world environments.
Location: Austin
Workplace: Onsite
Employment Type: Full time
Job Function: Field Service, Maintenance & Skilled Trades
Seniority: Mid level

Key Responsibilities

  • •Lead the mechanical design and development of robotic gloves, flexible covers, soft goods, and protective interfaces for Apollo.
  • •Design flexible textile and advanced flexible-material solutions, selecting materials based on stretch, durability, abrasion resistance, flexibility, breathability, and environmental requirements.
  • •Develop grip surfaces and elastomeric compliant interfaces, including material selection and surface geometry/texture/friction characteristics.
  • •Integrate tactile/pressure/force sensors and manage wiring, connectors, and flexible electrical interfaces within moving and compliant structures.
  • •Drive prototype development and validation, ensure performance ratings, and support DFM/production with manufacturing partners and suppliers while addressing reliability and field issues.

Key Requirements

  • •6+ years in mechanical product development, especially soft goods, textiles, elastomers, wearables, or flexible systems.
  • •Strong expertise in technical textiles (knits/wovens, stretch behavior, seams, reinforcement) and high-performance fibers such as UHMWPE, Kevlar/aramid, nylon, and polyester.
  • •Experience developing protective materials and coatings for water/contamination resistance, abrasion/tear/cut resistance, and environmental protection.
  • •Experience with elastomers/grip (silicone/elastomers, grip surfaces, friction, durometer, texture, wear, molding/overmolding, bonding, casting).
  • •Advanced CAD experience (NX or similar) designing flexible/rigid assemblies, soft goods, elastomeric components, and rigid-to-flex interfaces.
Experience:6+ yearsRobotics
Education:Master's in Mechanical or Materials (related engineering field)
Skills:Cross-functional communicationTechnical leadershipMentorshipHands-on prototypingProblem-solving
Languages:English
Tech Stack:CADNXUHMWPEKevlarAramidNylonPolyesterElastomersSiliconeMoldingOvermoldingBondingCastingESDIPCAD drawingsPrototypingDFMTolerance analysis

Company Brief

Apptronik
Develops advanced general-purpose robots and robotic limbs for industrial and commercial applications, combining hardware, actuators, and control software to enable versatile, human-scale robot solutions.
Industry: Robotics
Company Size: Medium (51 to 250 employees)
Growth: Growth Stage Startup
Funding: Series A
Headquarters: Austin, United States
Founded: 2018
WebsiteLinkedIn