Senior Sensor Validation Engineer

General Motors LLC; Sunnyvale (CA); Hybrid; USD 153,000 - 234,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

Health Savings Account

Flexible Spending Accounts

Retirement savings plan

Paid vacation & holidays

Tuition assistance

Employee assistance program

GM vehicle discounts

Job summary

General Motors is seeking a Senior Sensor Validation Engineer to validate sensor suites for autonomous driving. You will develop sensor characterization plans and drive on-vehicle validation campaigns, bridging hardware performance with vehicle integration.

You will lead benchtop and on-vehicle efforts, evaluating SNR, dynamic range, distortion, and KOZ/FOV constraints while coordinating with perception and hardware teams to resolve complex anomalies.

Qualifications

• Requires a Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Optical, or Computer Engineering or related field.
• 5+ years of dedicated experience in sensor validation, characterization, or test engineering across optical, lidar, or radar systems.
• Ability to design vehicle-level validation tests.
• Experience with L4 autonomous vehicles and associated behaviors, challenges, and validation needs.
• Strong knowledge of sensor physics principles (optics, electromagnetics, wave propagation, photonics, signal processing).
• Hands-on experience with bench and on-vehicle validation, including data collection and integration constraints (FOV, KOZ, ISP tuning).

Responsibilities

• Develop comprehensive characterization plans for sensors (camera, lidar, radar) with quantitative evaluation.
• Develop vehicle validation tests for performance and safety in autonomous driving environments.
• Plan and execute on-vehicle data collection campaigns on closed courses and public roads.
• Evaluate sensor performance metrics: SNR, dynamic range, optical distortion, point cloud density, RCS accuracy.
• Analyze placement, FOV overlap, KOZ constraints, and other integration metrics.
• Partner with perception and hardware design teams to root cause system-level anomalies.

Skills

Sensor validation

Data analysis

Python

MATLAB

Vehicle integration

Cross-functional collaboration

Time synchronization (PTP/gPTP)

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Optical/Computer Engineering or related

Tools

Darkrooms

Collimators

Target boards

Anechoic chambers

Target generators

Job description

General Motors is developing hands‑off and eyes‑off autonomous driving systems intended for broad deployment across consumer vehicles. As part of this effort, GM is investing in sensors and architectures that can be integrated, validated, and operated reliably at scale across diverse vehicle programs and operating environments.

We are seeking a Senior Sensor Validation Engineer with deep expertise in sensor physics and hands‑on validation methodologies. In this role, you will bridge the gap between low‑level hardware performance and high‑level vehicle integration.

You will develop sensor characterization plans to assess detailed characteristics of sensors, evaluate sensor response, and drive on‑vehicle validation campaigns to ensure robust perception across all driving modalities. You’ll have the opportunity to work cross‑functionally with hardware, vehicle, perception, simulation, and other stakeholders to develop, execute, and analyze validation campaigns. This includes the development of vehicle level campaigns to ensure performance and functionality is meeting stakeholder and product needs. Benchtop setups, specialized test labs, and data‑collection vehicles at our Detroit and Milford locations, with travel to external testing facilities as needed.

What You'll Do

• Develop comprehensive characterization plans to inform the next generation of sensors, including camera, lidar, and radars with quantitative evaluation
• Develop vehicle validation tests to ensure performance and safety across autonomous driving environments and behaviors
• Plan and execute on‑vehicle data collection campaigns on closed courses and public roads to evaluate sensor integration and performance
• Evaluate low‑level sensor performance metrics, including signal‑to‑noise ratio (SNR), dynamic range, optical distortion, point cloud density, and radar cross‑section (RCS) accuracy
• Transition validated sensor modules from bench setups to vehicle platforms, analyzing physical placement, field‑of‑view (FOV) overlap, keep‑out zone (KOZ) constraints, and other metrics
• Partner cross‑functionally with perception, and hardware design teams to root cause system‑level anomalies

Your Skills & Abilities

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Work equivalent experience 5+ years of dedicated experience in sensor validation, characterization, or test engineering across optical, lidar, or radar systems
• Demonstrated ability to design vehicle level validation tests
• Experience with L4 (or equivalent) autonomous vehicles and associated behaviors, challenges, and validation needs
• Strong domain knowledge of sensor physics principles (e.g., optics, electromagnetics, wave propagation, photonics, and signal processing)
• Experience using a component‑level test equipment and lab facilities, such as darkrooms, collimators, target boards, anechoic chambers, target generators or other related equipment
• Hands‑on experience conducting both benchtop characterization and on‑vehicle validation, including data collection and physical integration constraints (FOV, KOZ, ISP tuning)
• Understanding of sensor calibration, time synchronization (PTP/gPTP), and sensor fusion concepts
• Proficiency in data analysis and programming languages (e.g., Python, MATLAB) for processing sensor data and evaluating metrics

What Will Give You a Competitive Edge (Preferred Qualifications)

• Advanced degree (Master's or Ph.D.) specializing in Optics, Electromagnetics, Physics, or Sensing Technologies
• Experience with automated test bench design, darkroom setup, or customized sensor validation rigs
• Knowledge of ISP development pipelines, radar signal processing algorithms, or lidar point cloud generation techniques
• Experience supporting L4 autonomous driving sensor suites and perception stack integrations

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 New York, Colorado, California, or Washington. The salary range for this role is 153,200 to 234,100. 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

• 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 role is categorized as hybrid. This means the selected candidate is expected to report to a specific location at least 3 times a week or other frequency dictated by their manager. Relocation benefits are available for candidates who qualify under company policy. The position is subject to export control restrictions and requires the successful candidate to be a U.S. Person (U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident, asylee or refugee).

About GM

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