Senior Software Engineer, Autonomy - Simulation, Vehicle Dynamics Modeling
New Yesterday
About Cyngn
Based in Mountain View, CA, Cyngn is a publicly-traded autonomous technology company. We deploy self-driving industrial vehicles like forklifts and tuggers to factories, warehouses, and other facilities throughout North America. To build this emergent technology, we are looking for innovative, motivated, and experienced leaders to join us and move this field forward. If you like to build, tinker, and create with a team of trusted and passionate colleagues, then Cyngn is the place for you. Key reasons to join Cyngn:
We are small and big.
With under 100 employees, Cyngn operates with the energy of a startup. On the other hand, we're publicly traded. This means our employees not only work in close-knit teams with mentorship from company leaders-they also get access to the liquidity of our publicly-traded equity.
We build today and deploy tomorrow.
Our autonomous vehicles aren't just test concepts-they're deployed to real clients right now. That means your work will have a tangible, visible impact.
We aren't robots. We just develop them.
We're a welcoming, diverse team of sharp thinkers and kind humans. Collaboration and trust drive our creative environment. At Cyngn, everyone's perspective matters-and that's what powers our innovation.
About this role:
We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Senior Simulation Software Engineer to join our Behavior team within the Autonomy Software organization. This role focuses on modeling the physical and dynamic behavior of our autonomous industrial vehicles and their interaction with warehouse environments. A key responsibility of this role will be to lead the integration of multi-body dynamics models generated using external physics modeling tools into our simulation environments, enabling higher-fidelity testing and behavior validation. You will work closely with behavior, perception, and hardware team members to ensure that our simulated vehicles behave consistently with their real-world counterparts, supporting both planning and control validation.
While the core focus is on modeling vehicle dynamics, experience with simulation-based regression testing of autonomous systems and/or sensor modeling is considered a strong bonus.
Responsibilities
Design, implement, and validate both physics-based and data driven models of vehicle motion, including drive, steer, braking, and load-handling behaviors.
Integrate externally developed models - exported via FMU or equivalent standards - into Cyngn simulation environments.
Model contact interactions between the vehicle and the environment, including pallet engagement, ramp handling, and frictional effects.
Tune dynamic parameters to match real-world vehicle responses using log data and system identification techniques.
Build tools to assess performance and identify simulation realism gaps across large datasets.
Partner with Simulation Infrastructure engineers to expose modeling components via robust APIs, configuration systems, and test frameworks.
Qualifications M.S/PhD with a focus in Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, a related technical field, and/or equivalent practical background.
3+ years of experience contributing to the simulation of robotics or automotive systems with a focus on vehicle dynamics modeling.
3+ years writing C++ and Python software in production environments (architecture, design, testing, performance optimization, etc.).
Demonstrated ability to integrate and validate externally authored dynamics models (e.g., FMUs or equivalent) into simulation environments.
Solid understanding of multi-body dynamics, control theory, robotic system architecture, and autonomous vehicle behavior analysis.
Strong written & verbal communication skills with a proven track record of delivering production quality software in a collaborative, cross-functional team setting.
Comfortable with modern software development tools and workflows, including version control (Git) and project management platforms (e.g. Jira)
Bonus Qualifications Experience using MapleSim for developing Functional Mock-up Units (FMUs) for model exchange and co-simulation
Familiarity with NVIDIA Omniverse/IsaacSim for simulating robotic systems, applications, and complex environments.
Proficiency using ROS in production robotics applications with exposure to ROS2 and/or other publish/subscribe middleware architectures.
Strong understanding of theoretical concepts in classical and/or data-driven AI methods for perception and behavior in autonomous systems.
Exposure to industrial material handling autonomous vehicles including forklifts and tuggers with cart-trains under dynamic loading conditions.
Benefits & Perks Health benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision, HSA and FSA (Health & Dependent Daycare), Employee Assistance Program, 1:1 Health Concierge)
Life, Short-term and long-term disability insurance (Cyngn funds 100% of premiums)
Company 401(k)
Commuter Benefits
Flexible vacation policy
Sabbatical leave opportunity after 5 years with the company
Paid Parental Leave
Daily lunches for in-office employees
$190,000 - $220,000 a year
- Location:
- Mountain View, CA, United States
- Category:
- Computer And Mathematical Occupations