Senior Robotics Software Engineer, Test and Validation

General Motors • Warren, MI

2d • Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Robotics Software Engineer – Test and Validation will be a key member of the AI Research team within the Autonomous Robotics Center (ARC). In this role, you will define what “ready for production” means for robotic manipulation capabilities and build the validation infrastructure to prove it across simulation, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL), and real workcells. You will own system-level KPIs, measurement integrity, regression gates, and the failure taxonomy that turns field issues into clear, actionable engineering work. This role is critical to delivering reliable, scalable, and safe robotic manipulation systems into GM’s production environments. Work Location: Onsite – Warren, MI Travel: As needed to plants and pilot cells

Requirements

• B.S. or M.S. in Robotics, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• 5+ years of experience in robotics testing/validation, systems integration, or reliability engineering for deployed robotic or mechatronic systems.
• Demonstrated experience with HIL concepts and building closed-loop test setups for embedded and/or robotic systems.
• Strong software automation skills in Python and/or C++, including the ability to build test harnesses, dashboards, and regression gates.
• Experience with simulation and/or log replay techniques for reproducible testing, scenario coverage, and debugging.
• Proven documentation and communication skills, including the ability to turn complex system behavior into clear test requirements, acceptance criteria, and engineering actions.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with industrial robot safety standards and safety-related control system concepts.
• Hands-on ROS 2 testing experience (e.g., integration testing patterns, launch_testing, multi-node validation).
• Experience validating full perception–planning–control stacks, beyond unit-level testing, including system-level performance and robustness.
• Experience defining and applying acceptance criteria for plant deployment readiness, including performance, reliability, and maintainability thresholds.
• Experience working in cross-functional environments with AI/ML, controls, perception, and systems engineering teams to deliver production-grade robotic solutions.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement end-to-end validation frameworks spanning simulation-driven testing and HIL testbeds for controllers, sensors, and actuators.
• Define, instrument, and operationalize measurable KPIs for manipulation performance (e.g., grasp/pick success rate, drop rate, recovery success, cycle-time distributions) and ensure consistent computation across environments.
• Build and maintain regression testing pipelines using reproducible playback (e.g., logged data replay) and automated scenario suites to detect performance drift across software and model updates.
• Develop integration and system tests for multi-node robotics systems, including launch-based testing patterns, test harnesses, and CI-ready execution.
• Establish safety monitoring and compliance-aware validation hooks appropriate for industrial robotics deployments (e.g., risk-based testing, protective stop behaviors, fault monitoring).
• Lead cross-functional failure reviews with AI, planning, controls, and data engineering teams and drive issues to closure (reproduce → isolate → mitigate → prevent recurrence).
• Create clear documentation, dashboards, and reports that translate system behavior and test outcomes into actionable engineering requirements and decisions.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior