Staff Robotics Engineer - Planning and Controls

General Motors•Austin, TX

4d•$185,100 - $335,300•Remote

About The Position

As a Technical Lead, you will be an individual contributor in the Local Planner Controller team within Embodied AI. This role involves formulating and solving optimization problems online, considering kinematic feasibility, collision avoidance, and ride comfort. You will provide cross-functional technical leadership for vehicle dynamics, estimation, and controls systems used in GM's Super Cruise system. Your responsibilities will include defining the technical vision and multi-quarter roadmap for vehicle dynamics and controls software, driving design quality from architecture through validation, and aligning multiple teams to ship reliable, scalable autonomy capabilities that meet company goals.

Requirements

Ph.D., M.S. in controls, optimization, path planning, or related. B.S. with strong work experience in the field may be considered
5+ years of experience in motion planning or related field
Deep understanding of optimal controls and trajectory optimization algorithms
Good grasp of classical and modern feedback control theory and techniques
Solid understanding of vehicle dynamics
A demonstrated track record of building high quality autonomous software systems
Deep expertise in Planning and Controls system design
Experience with C++/Python in a large, distributed development environment
Strong organizational and communication skills
Passion for self-driving technology and its potential impact on the world

Nice To Haves

A background in robotics, ROS, or the AV/ADAS industry
Experience in numerical optimization algorithms
Experience designing software applications for safety critical systems
Experience building and managing engineering teams
5+ years of experience in motion planning or related field

Responsibilities

Shape the technical vision by owning multi-quarter roadmap designs for vehicle dynamics and controls software.
Architect and implement system designs and interface contracts with perception, prediction and planning systems, ensuring deliverables meet performance targets and safety constraints.
Lead technical reviews and drive software engineering best practices across the team and the larger organization.
Contribute to Active Safety, Driver Assistance, and Super Cruise development.
Guide other developers through system design and implementation focusing on safety, comfort, and compute efficiency.
Establish verification and validation strategies for the vehicle dynamics and controls software, including simulation and on-road testing validation gates.
Partner with Safety, Systems Engineering, and Product to generate requirements for onboard systems.
Lead root-cause investigations for complex integration issues, using data-driven techniques and principled experimentation, proactively creating test plans for new features and defining useful metrics for analyzing performance.
Mentor engineers across teams, raising the bar on technical judgment, design quality, and execution discipline without direct people management responsibilities.
Improve and deliver reliable software through continuous integration, automated testing, and code reviews.
Develop and oversee top-tier software engineers within a dynamic, fast-paced, and inclusive setting.
Help define, build, and embody GM engineering culture and principles.