Staff Software Engineer - Robotics (Simulation)

General Motors•Mountain View, CA

3d•$160,200 - $290,700•Remote

About The Position

General Motors is hiring a Staff Software Engineer - Robotics to build and own the simulation environment used to validate manipulation, perception, and navigation. The role develops physics-grade simulation infrastructure for robotics, physical AI, and test teams, and owns the roadmap toward virtual commissioning and digital twin capability. It operates between core robotics development and the test organization, driving validation before hardware is involved. The engineer will model robot platforms with physically accurate dynamics, kinematics, and actuation; implement realistic sensor models; build scene and facility authoring tools with CAD and plant-model import paths; and integrate scenarios into CI. The role also supports AI data generation and policy evaluation, documents simulation-to-hardware divergence and confidence, and advances workcell import and collaborative authoring for virtual commissioning and digital twins. The position is remote, although candidates living within a specified radius of a GM hub will be expected to report there three times per week or at another frequency set by their manager. Relocation benefits are available to qualifying candidates. The stated salary range is $160,200–$290,700, with incentive pay potential. GM offers health and wellbeing programs and, following a motor vehicle report review, eligible employees may participate in a company vehicle evaluation program, subject to its vehicle requirements.

Requirements

At least 6 years of professional software engineering experience, including at least 4 years building or operating robotics simulation.
Experience validating real robot behavior against simulation and closing the gap.
Experience supporting other teams as an infrastructure owner.
M.S. degree or higher in Robotics, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related technical field; equivalent industry experience demonstrating simulation depth may be considered.
Hands-on experience with a commercial or open-source simulator, such as Process Simulate, Isaac Sim, Gazebo, or a comparable tool.
Strong understanding of rigid-body dynamics, contact modeling, and numerical integration, including solver failure modes.
Experience with sensor simulation and rendering, including LiDAR and depth-camera models.
Experience with GPU-accelerated or parallel simulation for large-scale data generation.
Experience with robot description formats URDF, SDF, and USD, including conversion pitfalls.
Proficiency in C++ and Python.
Ability to judge the fidelity required for a validation question and identify when simulation results should not be trusted.
Comfort trading simulation speed against accuracy.
Ability to work effectively with remote teams across multiple time zones.

Nice To Haves

Experience with simulation-to-real transfer and domain randomization.
Experience with virtual commissioning or digital twin projects in manufacturing.
Familiarity with Visual Components, Process Simulate, or comparable process simulation tools.
Prior open-source contributions to Gazebo, Isaac Sim, or the ROS ecosystem.

Responsibilities

Build and own the simulation environment for manipulation, perception, and navigation validation.
Model robot platforms with physically accurate dynamics, kinematics, and actuation.
Implement realistic sensor models for RGB-D cameras, LiDAR, and other supported sensors.
Build scene and facility authoring tools, including import paths from CAD and existing plant models.
Integrate simulation into CI so scenario coverage runs on every release candidate.
Support the AI team with simulation for data generation and policy evaluation.
Drive the virtual commissioning and digital twin roadmap, including workcell import and collaborative authoring.
Quantify and document where simulation diverges from hardware so results are used with known confidence.
Support other teams as an infrastructure owner and treat simulation as a product with internal users.

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision benefits.
Health Savings Account and Flexible Spending Accounts.
Retirement savings plan.
Sickness and accident benefits and life insurance.
Paid vacation and holidays.
Tuition assistance programs.
Employee assistance program.
GM vehicle discounts.
Incentive pay program with payouts based on company performance, job level, and individual performance.
Eligible employees may participate in a company vehicle evaluation program, subject to program requirements.
Relocation benefits for candidates who qualify under company policy.