Staff Engineer, Autonomy Simulation Platform

archer56; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 195,000 - 235,000; Full time

Job summary

Archer Aviation, based in San Jose, CA, seeks a Staff Autonomy Engineer to advance its all-electric aircraft simulations and data-driven AI testing. You will build the simulation platform, integrate sensor models, and drive scenario generation for real-world validation and ML training.

You will architect the platform, work across a large codebase, and collaborate with flight-test teams to ground simulations in real conditions while shaping the roadmap for future growth.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in simulation, robotics, or backend infrastructure.
• MS/Ph.D. in Computer Science, Robotics, or related field, or equivalent (exceptional B.S. candidates considered).
• Experience architecting simulation or orchestration layers across a large codebase.
• Experience building synthetic data and evaluation pipelines.
• Working knowledge of AI development methods (data flywheels, eval-driven iteration).
• Interest in safety-critical, regulated engineering.

Responsibilities

• Develop simulation environments, aircraft dynamics, sensor models, and the orchestration layer composing scenarios and missions.
• Build tooling for large-scale, procedural, automated scenario generation and rendering.
• Generate synthetic sensor and telemetry data for AI training via physics-based rendering.
• Define evaluation metrics that turn simulation output into data-driven decisions.
• Partner with flight test teams to keep simulated scenarios grounded in real-world conditions.

Skills

Simulation

Robotics

Backend infra

AI methods

Ambiguity tolerance

Safety-critical

Education

MS/PhD in CS/Robotics

Exceptional BS considered

Tools

JSBSim

X-Plane

AirSim

Gazebo

Job description

Archer is an aerospace company based in San Jose, California building an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with a mission to advance the benefits of sustainable air mobility. We are designing, manufacturing, and operating an all-electric aircraft that can carry four passengers while producing minimal noise.

Our sights are set high and our problems are hard, and we believe that diversity in the workplace is what makes us smarter, drives better insights, and will ultimately lift us all to success. We are dedicated to cultivating an equitable and inclusive environment that embraces our differences, and supports and celebrates all of our team members.

As a Staff Autonomy Engineer on our Simulation Platform, you'll play a central role in bringing learned, intelligent behavior to real aircraft. You'll build the simulation and synthetic data platform used to test, evaluate, and train Physical AI systems-including VLA, VLN, and Perception models-supporting both real-world validation and ML training workflows.

What You'll Do:

• Develop simulation environments, aircraft dynamics, sensor models, and the orchestration layer composing scenarios and missions
• Build tooling for large-scale, procedural, automated scenario generation and rendering
• Generate synthetic sensor and telemetry data for physical AI training via physics-based rendering
• Define evaluation metrics that turn simulation output into data-driven decisions
• Partner with flight test teams to keep simulated scenarios grounded in real-world conditions
• Set platform architecture and roadmap ahead of team growth

What You Need:

• 5+ years in simulation, robotics, or backend infrastructure
• M.S./Ph.D. in Computer Science, Robotics, or related field, or equivalent (exceptional B.S. candidates considered)
• Experience architecting simulation or orchestration/configuration layers across a large codebase
• Experience building (tool selection, deployment, scaling) synthetic data and evaluation pipelines
• Working knowledge of AI development methods (data flywheels, eval-driven iteration)
• Comfort with ambiguity and evolving scopes
• Interest in safety-critical, regulated engineering

Bonus Qualifications:

• Neural rendering or generative AI for synthetic data (e.g. Gaussian Splatting)
• Integrating heterogeneous data (satellite, GIS, camera, telemetry)
• Simulation for embodied/physical AI (aerial, ground, indoor robotics)
• Flight dynamics / 6-DOF simulation or aerospace M&S tools (JSBSim, X-Plane, AirSim, Gazebo)
• Safety-critical or regulated engineering background (aerospace, automotive, medical devices)

About The Team:

The AI Products Org is a roughly 100-person software org inside a company of aerospace engineers, and we expect to grow substantially over the next year. You get the resources and momentum of a real org, but the products themselves are early. Much of what we're building isn't public yet - we'll share plenty of detail during the interview process.

For this position we are targeting a base pay between $195,00.00 - $235,000.00 . Actual compensation offered will be determined by factors such as job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Archer is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to job applicants with physical or mental disabilities, and those with sincerely held religious beliefs. Applicants who may require reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process should provide their name and contact information to Archer's People Team at [e-mail] . Reasonable accommodations will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Information collected and processed as part of any job applications you choose to submit is subject to Archer's Candidate Privacy Policy .

Archer is unable to provide work visa sponsorship for this position at the present time.

Archer is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. All aspects of employment are decided on the basis of merit, qualifications, and business needs. We do not discriminate based upon race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Archer Aviation does not engage with external recruiting agencies/individual recruiters with whom it does not have a prior written agreement. Archer reserves the right to make use of any unsolicited resumes that it receives and bears no responsibility for payment of any fees asserted from the use of unsolicited resumes. If you are a recruiting agency or individual recruiter wishing to do business with Archer, please reach out to [e-mail] . All employment pro