Staff Software Engineer – Robotics (Simulation)

General Motors; Salt Lake City (UT); Remote; USD 160,000 - 291,000; Full time

Job summary

General Motors seeks a Staff Software Engineer – Robotics to lead physics-based simulation development for robotics validation, perception, SLAM, and navigation. You will build and own the simulation infrastructure and drive the roadmap toward virtual commissioning and digital twin capabilities.

You will work between core robotics development and test, validating behavior vs hardware, and collaborating with remote teams across time zones to deliver robust simulation tooling and data generation

Qualifications

• MS or higher in Robotics, CS, ME, or related field.
• 6+ years software engineering experience, with 4+ years robotics simulation.
• Experience validating real robot behavior against simulation and closing the gap.

Responsibilities

• Build and own the simulation environment for manipulation, perception and navigation validation.
• Model robot platforms with physically accurate dynamics and actuation.
• Implement sensor models with realistic noise characteristics (RGB-D, LiDAR).
• Integrate simulation into CI so scenario coverage runs on every release candidate.

Skills

Robotics software

Python

C

Remote collaboration

Education

MS in Robotics or CS

Tools

Gazebo

Isaac Sim

Process Simulate

CAD import tooling

Job description

Remote/Hybrid

Mountain View, California, United States of America

Remote - United States

Full time

JR-202623474

Job Description

General Motors is reimagining automation at economy scale to make manufacturing more competitive in the USA.

You are a Staff Software Engineer – Robotics who loves to drive physics-grade simulation. Modeling and validating manipulation, perception, SLAM, and navigation requires physics, sensor models, and dynamics that process simulators do not provide.

You will build the simulation infrastructure our robotics, physical AI, and test teams depend on, and own the roadmap toward virtual commissioning and digital twin capability. You have the taste to see important problems, the talent to build great solutions and the grit to get it done.

This role sits between core robotics development and the test organization and drives the validation that happens before hardware gets involved.

The Opportunity

• Build and own our simulation environment for manipulation, perception and navigation validation.
• Model robot platforms with physically accurate dynamics, kinematics, and actuation.
• Implement sensor models for RGB-D cameras, LiDAR and other supported sensors with realistic noise characteristics.
• Build scene and facility authoring tooling, including import paths from CAD and existing plant models.
• Integrate simulation into CI so scenario coverage runs on every release candidate.
• Support the AI team with simulation for data generation and policy evaluation.
• Drive the virtual commissioning and digital twin roadmap, including workcell import and collaborative authoring.
• Quantify and document where simulation diverges from hardware, so results are used with a known confidence.

The Job Requirements

Experience

• 6 years of professional software engineering experience, with 4 years building or operating robotics simulation.
• Experience validating real robot behavior against simulation and closing the gap.
• Experience supporting other teams as an infrastructure owner.

Education

• M.S. degree or higher in Robotics, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related technical field.
• Equivalent industry experience with demonstrated simulation depth can be considered.

Core technical background

• Hands-on experience with a commercial or opensource simulator, including Process Simulate, Isaac Sim or Gazebo or comparable.
• Strong understanding of rigid body dynamics, contact modeling, and numerical integration, including where solvers break down.
• Experience with sensor simulation and rendering, including LiDAR and depth camera models.
• Experience with GPU-accelerated or parallel simulation for large-scale data generation.
• Experience with robot description formats: URDF, SDF, USD, and their conversion pitfalls.
• Proficiency in C and Python.

Systems mindset

• Ability to judge how much fidelity a given validation question requires.
• Willing to state when a simulation result should not be trusted.
• Comfortable trading simulation speed against accuracy.

Collaboration

• Ability to work effectively with remote teams across multiple time zones.
• Treats simulation as a product with internal users.

Nice to have

• Experience with simulation to real transfer and domain randomization.
• Experience with virtual commissioning or digital twin projects in manufacturing.
• Familiarity with Visual Components, Process Simulate, or comparable process simulation tools.
• Prior open-source contributions to Gazebo, Isaac Sim, or the ROS ecosystem.

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 the California Bay Area.

The salary range for this role is $160,200 to $290,700. 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:

GM offers a variety of health and wellbeing benefit programs. Benefit options include 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.

Company Vehicle:

Upon successful completion of a motor vehicle report review, you will be eligible to participate in a company vehicle evaluation program, through which you will be assigned a General Motors vehicle to drive and evaluate. Note: program participants are required to purchase/lease a qualifying GM vehicle every four years unless one of a limited number of exceptions applies.

This role is based remotely, but if the selected candidate lives within a specific mile radius of a GM hub, they will be expected to report to the location three times a week {or other frequency dictated by your manager}.

Relocation benefits are available for candidates who qualify under company policy.

About GM

Our vision is a world with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion and we embrace the responsibility to lead the change that will make our world better, safer and more equitable for all.

Why Join Us

We believe we all must make a choice every day - individually and collectively - to drive meaningful change through our words, our deeds and our culture. Every day, we want every employee to feel they belong to one General Motors team.

Benefits Overview

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Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunities (U.S.)

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We are leading the change to make our world better, safer and more equitable for all through our actions and how we behave. Learn more about:

Our Company (https://search-careers.gm.com/en/working-at-gm/)

Our Culture

How we hire (https://search-careers.gm.com/en/how-we-hire/)

Our diverse team of employees bring their collective passion for engineering, technology and design to deliver on our vision of a world with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion. We are looking for adventure-seekers and imaginative thought leaders to help us transform mobility.

Explore our global locations (https://search-careers.gm.com/en/locations/)

We are determined to lead change for the world through technology, ingenuity and harnessing the creativity of our diverse team. Join us to help lead the change that will make our world better, safer and more equitable for all by becoming a member of GM’s Talent Community (avature.net) (https://generalmotors.avature.net/en_US/TalentCommunity/Register) . As a part of our Talent Community, you will receive updates about GM, open roles, career insights and more.

The policy of General Motors is to extend opportunities to qualified applicants and employees on an equal basis regardless of an individual’s age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression or veteran status. Additionally, General Motors is committed to being an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and offers opportunities to all job seekers including individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation to assist with your job search or application for employment, email us at [e-mail] .In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.