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Vehicle Controls - Technical Lead

Applied Intuition· Self-Driving Systems
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Sunnyvale$150k - $250kFull-timePosted 1mo ago

About the role

Technical lead for controls responsible for the end-to-end controls stack from prototype to production fleets across multiple heavy vehicle platforms, with mentoring responsibilities and collaboration with customers.

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 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

Qualifications

  • MSc or PhD in mechanical engineering, robotics, or computer science with coursework or research experience in controls
  • 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
  • Passion for tackling challenging control problems involving a wide array of vehicles in varied and unstructured environments

Skills

Required:Technical leadership and mentorshipControls design and implementationVehicle dynamics and modelingOptimization and control methods
Nice to have:Collaboration with customers and field deployments

Benefits

  • Base Salary $150K – $250K
  • benefits including equity, health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, 401k with employer match, learning and wellness stipends, and paid time off
Last updated Oct 11, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About Applied Intuition

Building vehicle intelligence | Applied Intuition

Applied Intuition is the vehicle intelligence company with the tools, Vehicle OS, and autonomy stacks for creating safe, AI-powered vehicle experiences.

AIAutonomy stacksSelf-Driving SystemSimulationTesting & ValidationVehicle IntelligenceVehicle OSai-infrastructure-and-development
Company profileWebsite

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