
Senior Robotics Engineer (Dynamics and Controls)
Required skills
- Super Cruise
- vehicle dynamics
- estimation
- controls systems
- optimization problems
- kinematic feasibility
- collision avoidance
- ride comfort
- motion planning
- optimal controls
Nice to have
- robotics
- ROS
- AV/ADAS
- numerical optimization algorithms
- safety critical systems
- engineering teams
Role summary
General Motors is seeking a Senior Robotics Engineer specializing in Dynamics and Controls to join their Embodied AI team. This role involves formulating and solving online optimization problems for vehicle dynamics, estimation, and controls systems, particularly for the Super Cruise system. The engineer will provide technical leadership, architect and implement system designs, lead technical reviews, and establish validation strategies. Responsibilities include driving feature development, ensuring safety and performance targets, and improving software reliability through best practices like continuous integration and automated testing. A Ph.D. or M.S. in controls, optimization, or a related field, with at least 3 years of experience in motion planning or a related area, is required. Expertise in optimal controls, trajectory optimization, feedback control theory, vehicle dynamics, and autonomous software systems is essential, along with proficiency in C++ and Python.
Job Description
At General Motors, our product teams are redefining mobility. Through a human-centered design process, we create vehicles and experiences that are designed not just to be seen, but to be felt. We’re turning today’s impossible into tomorrow’s standard —from breakthrough hardware and battery systems to intuitive design, intelligent software, and next-generation safety and entertainment features.
Every day, our products move millions of people as we aim to make driving safer, smarter, and more connected, shaping the future of transportation on a global scale.
Role Overview
As a Senior Software Engineer (Dynamics and Controls), you will be a senior individual contributor in the Local Planner Controller team within Embodied AI. We formulate and solve optimization problems online, considering kinematic feasibility, collision avoidance, and ride comfort. In this role, you will provide cross-functional technical leadership for vehicle dynamics, estimation and controls systems used in GMs Super Cruise system. You will contribute to vehicle dynamics and controls software, drive design quality from architecture through validation, and align multiple teams to ship reliable, scalable autonomy capabilities that meet company goals.
You will:
Drive feature development for vehicle dynamics and controls software deployed to GMs Super Cruise system.
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.
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
Improve and deliver reliable software through continuous integration, automated testing, and code reviews.
Help define, build, and embody GM engineering culture and principles.
You have:
Ph.D., M.S. in controls, optimization, path planning, or related. B.S. with strong work experience in the field may be considered
3+ 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
Bonus points:
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
Compensation:
The compensation information is a good faith estimate only. It is based on what a successful applicant might be paid in accordance with applicable state laws. The compensation may not be representative for positions located outside of the California Bay Area.
The salary range for this role is $158,000.00 to $241,900.00. The actual base salary a successful candidate will be offered within this range will vary based on factors relevant to the position.
Bonus Potential: An incentive pay program offers payouts based on company performance, job level, and individual performance.
Benefits:
Benefits: GM offers a variety of health and wellbeing benefit programs. Benefit options include medical, dental, vision, Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Accounts, retirement savings plan, sickness and accident benefits, life insurance, paid vacation & holidays, tuition assistance programs, employee assistance program, GM vehicle discounts and more.
This job may be eligible for relocation benefits.
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About GM
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Benefits Overview
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Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunities (U.S.)
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We encourage interested candidates to review the key responsibilities and qualifications for each role and apply for any positions that match their skills and capabilities. Applicants in the recruitment process may be required, where applicable, to successfully complete a role-related assessment(s) and/or a pre-employment screening prior to beginning employment. To learn more, visit How we Hire.
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Sample General Motors interview questions
- 1
Merge a New Interval Merge a new interval into a list of non-overlapping intervals. Input: intervals = [[1,2],[3,5],[6,7],[8,10],[12,16]], newInterval = [4,8] Output: [[1,2],[3,10],[12,16]] Explanation: The new interval overlaps with [3,5], [6,7], and [8,10], merging them all into the unified block [3,10].
codingmedium - 2
Determine the number of connected components in an undirected graph.
codingmedium - 3
Product of Array Except Self Calculate the product of an array except for self without using division. Input: nums = [-1,1,0,-3,3] Output: [0,0,9,0,0] Explanation: The single zero zeros out all products except at its own index, which cleanly multiplies the remaining elements.
codingmedium - 4
Unique Combinations that Sum to a Target Find all unique combinations in an array that sum to a target. Input: candidates = [2,4,6], target = 6 Output: [[2,2,2], [2,4], [6]] Explanation: Uses backtracking to find all valid combinations that sum to 6, allowing for explicitly repeated elements.
codingmedium - 5
Search for a word in a 2D board of characters.
codingmedium
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