Senior Simulation Engineer
Hybrid (Los Altos, CA)$180k - $258.8kFull-timePosted 11mo ago
About the role
Senior-level role focused on leading sensor and system-level simulation workflows for closed-loop validation and synthetic data generation to support training of a full-stack autonomous driving policy. Collaboration across autonomy, platform, ML infrastructure, and integration teams within TRI and with partners.
Responsibilities
- Build a visually realistic simulator to test full end-to-end autonomy stack behavior, from simulating sensors to motion planning, across a range of scenario conditions.
- Prototype and integrate with internal and third-party simulators to evaluate their ability to support learned system testing.
- Curate scenarios, system introspection.
- Build data logging frameworks used during large-scale virtual tests.
- Collaborate closely with autonomy, ML, and integration teams to define simulation entry points, runtime configs, and closed-loop evaluation metrics.
- Build diagnostic tooling and analysis pipelines to understand and improve real system behavior in simulation.
- Lead cross-functional efforts to close the gap between simulation and on-vehicle deployment, increasing the reliability of sim-based validation.
- Provide technical mentorship and foster a collaborative, high-trust engineering culture across organizational boundaries.
- Demonstrate excellent design practices; generate technical documentation; lead technical presentations; aligning with stakeholders before, during, and after implementation is essential.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s or Master’s in Computer Science, Robotics, or a related field.
- 10+ years of experience in robotics, autonomous systems, or simulation.
- Experience with 3D reconstruction (e.g. Gaussian Splatting, Neural radiance fields, etc).
- Experience with 3D generation.
- Experience with Unreal Engine.
- Strong programming skills in Python and C++, especially for robotics or systems development.
- Experience with simulation platforms (e.g., CARLA, Applied Intuition, Nvidia DriveSim, etc) and their integration into autonomous system workflows.
- Knowledge of sensor simulation principles and how perception systems interact with synthetic data.
- Understanding of end-to-end autonomy pipelines, from raw sensor input to trajectory outputs.
- Demonstrated ability to design for both users (e.g., autonomy developers) and simulation infrastructure stakeholders.
- Passion for using simulation to drive real-world progress and system understanding.
Skills
Required:3D reconstruction3D generationUnreal EnginePythonC++Simulation platforms
Benefits
- medical, dental, and vision insurance
- 401(k) eligibility
- paid time off benefits (including vacation, sick time, and parental leave)
- annual cash bonus structure
Last updated Oct 21, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.
About Toyota Research Institute
Pursuing automated driving solutions that are safe, scalable, and inclusive
Toyota Research Institute (TRI) envisions a future where Toyota products, enabled by TRI technology, dramatically improve quality of life for individuals and society.
Automated DrivingEnergy & MaterialsHuman-Centered AIHuman Interactive DrivingLarge Behavior ModelsRobotics
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