Software Engineer - Simulation, Game Engine & World Systems (Autonomy)

Applied Intuition•Ann Arbor, MI

3d•Onsite

About The Position

Applied Intuition is seeking a talented Engineer to work on a brand new initiative designing and developing the world representation layer at the heart of Applied Intuition's Axion simulation stack. This is a deeply technical position sitting at the intersection of computational geometry, real-time world modeling, and large-scale simulation. You'll join a new team at the foundational scene and mapping systems that downstream sensor fusion and path planning both depend on: defining 4D spatial abstractions, Entity Component Systems, and the high-performance data structures that make multi-agent reasoning across air, ground, and maritime domains possible. The ideal candidate has participated in a game engine, a robotics simulator, or an autonomous vehicle stack and knows what it takes to make those representations fast, accurate, and scalable under real operational constraints.

Requirements

2+ years of professional software engineering experience, with deep expertise in spatial systems, world modeling, or simulation environments
Expert-level C++ skills (C++20 or later), including template metaprogramming, move semantics, SIMD, and performance optimization at the systems level
Hands-on experience building world or scene representations — from a game engine, sim platform, or autonomous system — including managing dynamic object state, spatial indexing, and real-time updates
Strong background in computational geometry: coordinate transformations, spatial data structures (BVH, octrees, k-d trees), geometric algorithms, and collision/proximity systems
Deep intuition for low-latency, high-throughput software design in real-time environments
Strong proficiency in Python and shell scripting for tooling and automation
Experience with agentic coding tools (Cursor, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot) and AI-assisted development workflows
Must be willing to travel as projects requires; average travel varies, but can be up to once a month for up to 1 week (~20%)
Must be a U.S. Citizen
Must hold or be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance

Nice To Haves

Expertise with the Linux/Docker/C++ toolchains (including build systems like Nix and Bazel) and cross-compilation.
Experience with temporal reasoning systems and 4D scene representation (space + time)
Background in game development, simulation, or virtual environments
Knowledge of physics engines and collision detection systems
Understanding of autonomous systems or robotics software architectures

Responsibilities

Develop World & Scene Representation Systems: Design and implement core spatial data structures, including Entity Component System frameworks, spatial indexing, occupancy representations, and 4D object management for large-scale multi-agent environments.
Own Mapping & Geometry Pipelines: Build and optimize the computational geometry and world-state systems that sit between raw sensor data and the path planning stack — including coordinate frame management, spatial queries, and environment abstraction layers.
Drive Performance to the Metal: Write highly optimized C++ (C++20) with a focus on low-latency, cache-efficient, and memory-conscious design. You should be comfortable profiling hot paths, eliminating allocations, and squeezing real-time performance out of complex spatial systems.
Technical Strategy & Integration: Participate in driving architectural decisions and design clean APIs that enable cross-domain integration across air, ground, and maritime autonomy stacks.