Senior/Staff Software Engineer – Localization & Mapping

Avride; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Avride in Austin, TX is seeking a senior or staff software engineer to advance Localization and Mapping for autonomous rovers. You will design and implement on-board localization and cloud mapping algorithms to improve rover positioning and map-building speed.

Work with LiDAR, IMU, GNSS, and other sensors, collaborating across teams. Requires 3+ years of experience and strong C++ skills, with a passion for robotics and state-of-the-art localization.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• Strong C++ programming skills.
• Solid understanding of algorithms, data structures, and software design patterns.
• Solid soft skills — collaboration, planning, and communication.

Responsibilities

• Develop the cloud mapping subsystem with graph optimization at its core.
• Develop the Sensor Fusion Localization subsystem to compute rover position to centimeter precision and orientation to 0.1 degrees.
• Support sister development and operation teams on localization issues.

Skills

C++

Algorithms

Software design

Collaboration

Tools

LiDAR

GNSS

IMU

Job description

About the Team Avride is a rapidly developing company in the autonomous vehicle and delivery robot industry. We develop autonomous vehicle technology from scratch, leveraging the strong technical background of our core team and over seven years of experience in autonomous vehicle development. The Localization team is responsible for providing precise rover location to all the components of the autonomous rover pipeline, like perception, behavior layer, and control. We calculate the position and the orientation of the rover with centimeter and fraction-of-a-degree accuracy, dozens of times per second, and in all conditions. Our most valuable asset is people, each with many years of experience in robotics, EKF, ICP, SLAM algorithms, distributed data processing, software architecture, and machine learning, working together as a motivated, effective, and friendly team.

About the Role We are looking for an experienced senior or staff software engineer to help us build Avride’s Localization and Mapping subsystems. You will design and implement on-board localization algorithms and cloud mapping algorithms, improve the precision and reliability of rover localization in hard-to-navigate environments, and improve and speed up cloud mapping SLAM-based processes of lidar map building. You will be able to make data-driven decisions and innovate at one of the exciting frontiers of technological advancement.

What you'll do

• Develop the cloud mapping subsystem with graph optimization at its core.
• Develop the Sensor Fusion Localization subsystem, which combines the measurements of multiple sensors (LiDAR, IMU, GNSS, etc.) to calculate rover position to centimeter precision and orientation to 0.1-degree precision.
• Support sister development and operation teams on issues related to localization.

What you'll need

• 3+ years of professional software engineering experience
• Strong C++ programming skills
• Solid understanding of algorithms, data structures, and software design patterns
• Solid soft skills — intra- and inter-team collaboration, business-driven development focus, planning and getting-things-done, effective and respectful communication

Nice to have

• Experience in robotics. Good knowledge of EKF, localization, calibration, and point cloud processing algorithms is welcome.
• Strong mathematical knowledge and skills, especially in optimization, probability theory, and mechanics. Ability to turn ideas into formulas and formulas into algorithms.
• Relevant publications or achievements in hackathons / programming contests
• Eagerness to track recent advancements in the field and implement the best ideas to keep algorithms' performance state-of-the-art and beyond

Candidates are required to be authorized to work in the U.S. The employer is not offering relocation sponsorship, and remote work options are not available.

Avride is an equal opportunity employer and committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants and employees with disabilities to ensure they have equal access to employment opportunities. Avride complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); if you need a reasonable accommodation to assist with the application or hiring process, or to perform the essential functions of a job, please email [e-mail].