AV Senior engineer : Vehicle dynamics control

Aidoptation; Sint-Truiden; On-site; EUR 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

AIDOPTATION is seeking experienced engineers to develop lateral and longitudinal control for automated driving. You'll be responsible for ensuring precise vehicle behavior under high-speed environments, integrating effective control systems.

Requirements include an MSc or PhD in relevant fields with hands-on experience in C++ and MATLAB/Simulink. Applicants should possess strong vehicle dynamics knowledge and a driving license valid in the EU. This is an opportunity to work on cutting-edge technology in a thriving startup environment.

Qualifications

• 5+ years industry experience with MSc or 3+ years with PhD.
• Hands-on experience shipping control software in C++ and/or MATLAB/Simulink.
• Experience with simulation workflows and real-vehicle testing.
• Knowledge of functional safety processes (ISO 26262) is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Develop lateral and longitudinal control for automated driving.
• Build systems converting planned motion into safe vehicle behavior.
• Establish tuning, validation, and regression workflows.
• Ensure smooth integration between planning and vehicle systems.

Skills

Vehicle dynamics

Control theory

C++ programming

MATLAB/Simulink

Linux operating system

ROS 2

Testing and calibration

Driving license valid in the EU

Education

MSc in Control, Mechanical, Automotive, Robotics, or similar

PhD in relevant field (if applicable)

Tools

Simulation and validation workflows (SIL/HIL)

MPC toolchains

Automotive Ethernet

CAN/CAN-FD

Job description

Why Aidoptation?

At Aidoptation, we work on the hardest problems in autonomous driving: high-speed, safety-critical scenarios where precision and robustness matter. Our technology is proven at racing speeds and translated into real-world highway autonomy. To succeed, we recruit the best engineers globally. We receive a high volume of applications and referrals and select for excellence and commitment alongside deep technical competence.

What You Will Do

You will own the development of lateral and longitudinal control for high-speed automated driving, building the systems that convert planned motion into safe, smooth, and dynamically stable vehicle behavior. This includes trajectory tracking, stability control, and safety-critical maneuvers, with responsibility for designing control architectures that perform reliably under real-world actuation and vehicle constraints. You will work across feedforward and feedback methods, MPC-style control, gain scheduling, and constraint handling, and define the metrics and safety envelopes used to evaluate controller quality.

You will also build and maintain the integration layer between planning and the vehicle, ensuring trajectories are translated into robust steering, brake, and powertrain commands with proper handling of rate limits, actuator dynamics, and diagnostics. A key part of the role is establishing repeatable tuning, validation, and regression workflows across simulation, HIL, and vehicle testing, so improvements can be measured and released with confidence. Working closely with planning, localization, and systems teams, you will help mature the stack into a production-ready control capability for high-speed highway ADAS, validated across platforms and conditions and ready to support partner integration, customer programs, and real-world deployment.

Requirements

Must-Haves

• MSc in Control, Mechanical, Automotive, Robotics, or similar, with 5+ years of equivalent industry experience, or a PhD with 3+ years of equivalent industry experience.
• Strong fundamentals in vehicle dynamics, tire modeling, stability, and control theory.
• Hands-on experience shipping control software in C++ and/or MATLAB/Simulink, with disciplined testing and calibration.
• Experience with simulation and validation workflows (SIL/HIL) and real-vehicle testing.
• Comfortable operating in Linux environments; experience with ROS 2 is a strong plus.
• Driving license valid in the EU.
• Startup mentality: hands-on, proactive, and ready to take ownership across domains.
• Fluent English (Dutch is a plus).
• Applicants must already have the right to work in the EU. Visa sponsorship is not available.

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience with MPC toolchains, real-time optimization, or embedded targets.
• Knowledge of functional safety processes (ISO 26262) and SOTIF (ISO 21448).
• Experience with high-performance vehicles, motorsport, or limit-handling test programs.
• Familiarity with CAN/CAN-FD, Automotive Ethernet, and time synchronization (PTP/NTP).