Vehicle Controls- Technical Lead

applied; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity compensation

Health benefits

Paid time off

Job summary

Applied Intuition, Inc. seeks a technical lead for controls to own the direction of our controls stack across its full lifecycle—from 0→1 platform bring-up to production fleets.

You will design controllers across the stack and mentor a growing team while delivering safe, high‑performance software for autonomous vehicles in real‑world tasks. You will guide the controls group through architecture decisions, calibrations, and field deployments, applying optimal‑control ideas to real machines and

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience building production software with modern software practices.
• Hands-on experience taking controls solutions from prototype to deployment on real, production-grade vehicles.
• Ability to mentor engineers, prioritize a team's roadmap, and drive technical decisions across multiple concurrent workstreams.
• Fluency in differential equations, numerical optimization, numerical analysis, and physics.

Responsibilities

• Set the technical direction for the controls stack across both 0→1 platform bring-up and production programs, and see designs through from prototype to deployed fleet.
• Design and implement controllers at every level of the stack, from low-level actuator control to lateral and longitudinal trajectory tracking.
• Design safe, redundant control systems that live within a safety-critical environment.
• Characterize the dynamics of customer vehicles across many embodiments — haul trucks, excavators, wheel loaders, dozers, and more — to create tailored controls solutions and close the gap between simulation and real-world behavior.
• Build calibration and vehicle characterization workflows that scale controls performance from a single prototype to fleets of vehicles without per-vehicle hand-tuning.
• Lead, mentor, and grow the existing controls team; set priorities, unblock engineers, and raise the technical bar through design reviews and hands-on collaboration.
• Evaluate and apply academic research to create optimal-control-based solutions using techniques like nonlinear MPC and MPPI control.
• Collaborate with customers' engineers in construction, mining, and agriculture, and manage those relationships through field deployments.

Skills

Control systems

Leadership

Mentorship

Differential equations

Education

MSc or PhD in mechanical engineering, robotics, or computer science

Tools

C++

Job description

Applied Intuition, Inc. is powering the future of physical AI. Founded in 2017 and now valued at $15 billion, the Silicon Valley company is creating the digital infrastructure needed to bring intelligence to every moving machine on the planet. Applied Intuition services the automotive, defense, trucking, construction, mining and agriculture industries in three core areas: tools and infrastructure, operating systems, and autonomy. Eighteen of the top 20 global automakers, as well as the United States military and its allies, trust the company’s solutions to deliver physical intelligence. Applied Intuition is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with offices in Washington, D.C.; San Diego; Ft. Walton Beach, Florida; Ann Arbor, Michigan; London; Stuttgart; Munich; Stockholm; Bangalore; Seoul; and Tokyo. Learn more at applied.co.

We are an in-office company, and our expectation is that full-time employees primarily work from their Applied Intuition office 5 days a week. However, we also recognize the importance of flexibility and trust our employees to manage their schedules responsibly. This may include occasional remote work, starting the day with morning meetings from home before heading to the office, or leaving earlier when needed to accommodate family commitments. This in-office expectation does not apply to contractor positions

About the role

As a technical lead for controls, you will own the technical direction of our controls stack across its full lifecycle — from 0→1 development on new vehicle platforms to hardening, calibrating, and scaling controllers across production fleets. The systems you lead are high performance and safety‑critical, operating under tight timing constraints on real machines in the field.

This role spans the full controls stack: low-level actuation and vehicle characterization on one end, and high-level trajectory tracking — both lateral and longitudinal. We work on a variety of different vehicle platforms: haul trucks, excavators, wheel loaders, dozers, and other heavy equipment across construction, mining, and agriculture.

In addition to your technical leadership, you will mentor and grow the existing controls team, set priorities across competing work streams, and set the standard for best practices. We move fast and we focus on excellence, for our products and for our business. If you are hands‑on and looking for a place to have a multiplying effect on making autonomous systems a reality, Applied Intuition is the place for you!

At Applied Intuition, you will:

• Set the technical direction for the controls stack across both 0→1 platform bring‑up and production programs, and see designs through from prototype to deployed fleet

• Design and implement controllers at every level of the stack, from low‑level actuator control to lateral and longitudinal trajectory tracking

• Design safe, redundant control systems that live within a safety‑critical environment.

• Characterize the dynamics of customer vehicles across many embodiments — haul trucks, excavators, wheel loaders, dozers, and more — to create tailored controls solutions and close the gap between simulation and real‑world behavior

• Build calibration and vehicle characterization workflows that scale controls performance from a single prototype to fleets of vehicles without per‑vehicle hand‑tuning

• Lead, mentor, and grow the existing controls team; set priorities, unblock engineers, and raise the technical bar through design reviews and hands‑on collaboration

• Evaluate and apply academic research to create optimal‑control‑based solutions using techniques like nonlinear MPC and MPPI control

• Collaborate with customers' engineers in construction, mining, and agriculture, and manage those relationships through field deployments

We're looking for someone who has:

• Passion for tackling challenging control problems involving a wide array of vehicles in varied and unstructured environments

• 6+ years of experience building production software using modern software practices, including experience leading engineers or owning a technical area

• Hands‑on experience taking controls solutions from first prototype through deployment on real, production‑grade vehicles

• Demonstrated ability to mentor engineers, prioritize a team's roadmap, and drive technical decisions across multiple concurrent workstreams

• Fluency in differential equations, numerical optimization, numerical analysis, and physics

• Enthusiasm for coming up with practical solutions to cutting‑edge challenges in a fast‑paced environment, and for building towards an end‑to‑end strategy

Nice to have:

• MSc or PhD in mechanical engineering, robotics, or computer science with coursework or research experience in controls

• Experience writing safety‑critical, high‑performance software using modern C++

• Experience in quadratic programming and nonlinear optimization to create robust and performant controllers

• Experience with heavy equipment or off‑road platforms in construction, mining, or agriculture

• Experience building calibration pipelines or system identification tooling used across a fleet

Compensation at Applied Intuition for eligible roles includes base salary, equity, and benefits. Base salary is a single component of the total compensation package, which may also include equity in the form of options and/or restricted stock units, comprehensive health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance coverage, 401k retirement benefits with employer match, learning and wellness stipends, and paid time off. Note that benefits are subject to change and may vary based on jurisdiction of employment.

Applied Intuition pay ranges reflect the minimum and maximum intended target base salary for new hire salaries for the position. The actual base salary offered to a successful candidate will additionally be influenced by a variety of factors including experience, credentials & certifications, educational attainment, skill level requirements, interview performance, and the level and scope of the position.

Applied Intuition is an equal opportunity employer and federal contractor or subcontractor. Consequently, the parties agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-1.4(a), 41 CFR 60-300.5(a) and 41 CFR 60-741.5(a) and that these laws are incorporated herein by reference. These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities, and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin. These regulations require that covered prime contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status or disability. The parties also agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of Executive Order 13496 (29 CFR Part 471, Appendix A to Subpart A), relating to the notice of employee rights under federal labor laws.

FOR US-BASED ROLES: Applied Intuition is committed to providing an accessible and inclusive application and interview experience to applicants who are disabled veterans and other applicants with disabilities or medical conditions. Reasonable accommodations are available, requesting an accommodation will not affect your candidacy in any way, and you are not required to disclose the nature of your disability or medical condition in order to make a request.

If you require an accommodation please contact [e-mail]. We will work with you!