Software Engineer, Simulation & Evaluation

Saildrone • Alameda, CA

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About The Position

Autonomous systems cannot be developed and validated through field testing alone. As a Software Engineer, Simulation & Evaluation, you will build the infrastructure that lets Saildrone engineers replay real-world data, simulate autonomous behavior, measure performance, and turn failures into repeatable tests. You will work across simulation, replay, resimulation, scenario generation, evaluation, and automated regression.

Requirements

• Strong C++ software engineering skills and experience building production systems.
• Experience with simulation, emulation, replay, resimulation, hardware-in-the-loop, software-in-the-loop, or comparable robotics testing infrastructure.
• Strong systems fundamentals, including concurrency, performance, reliability, and Linux.
• Experience building quantitative evaluation or validation systems.
• Understanding of simulation fidelity and the limitations of simulated or replayed behavior.
• Experience building infrastructure used by other engineers.
• Strong communication skills to partner with stakeholders across teams

Nice To Haves

• Experience with autonomous vehicles, robotics, aerospace, or other physical autonomous systems.
• Python for analysis, automation, or test tooling.
• Large-scale simulation or high-throughput data processing.
• CI/CD and automated regression testing.
• Vehicle or field-test data.

Responsibilities

• Build production-quality simulation, replay, resimulation, and evaluation infrastructure for autonomous systems.
• Discuss pain points with simulation users to understand what is difficult to express in the scenario definitions, what’s difficult to maintain and propose and implement solutions.
• Connect recorded vehicle data, simulated environments, and production autonomy software into repeatable test workflows.
• Develop open-loop and closed-loop testing for autonomous behavior.
• Build quantitative metrics, evaluation pipelines, and regression tests.
• Turn real-world failures and edge cases into repeatable scenarios and automated tests.
• Analyze logs, telemetry, simulation results, and test failures to identify root causes.
• Integrate simulation and evaluation into the software development lifecycle.

Benefits

• Competitive Paid Time Off (PTO) accrual plus a robust annual holiday schedule and paid sick leave
• Premium, multi-tier Medical, Dental, and Vision plans with significant company contributions for employees and dependents
• Equity grants
• Access to a 401(k) retirement plan with flexible pre-tax and Roth payroll contribution options
• Annual professional development reimbursement program
• Relocation assistance for eligible roles

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed