Staff Systems Engineer – Release Strategy & Validation

About the Company 

At Torc, we have always believed that autonomous vehicle technology will transform how we travel, move freight, and do business.

A leader in autonomous driving since 2007, Torc has spent over a decade commercializing our solutions with experienced partners. Now a part of the Daimler family, we are focused solely on developing software for automated trucks to transform how the world moves freight. 

Join us and catapult your career with the company that helped pioneer autonomous technology, and the first AV software company with the vision to partner directly with a truck manufacturer. 

Meet the team:  

Torc is building scalable Level 4 autonomous truck software, and this role defines how we verify, validate and release it safely. As a Staff Systems Engineer, you will provide strategic leadership to implement, monitor and qualify our testing and release workflow during Torc’s product development lifecycle.

The Release group plays a critical role in Torc’s product engineering and release lifecycle.  The Release group is responsible for ensuring safe and successful product delivery by working collaboratively across engineering divisions to sponsor and drive the release ecosystem.  We will deliver a structured release process and skillsets to achieve product acceptance, drive performance indicators, and enable the  efficient delivery of product releases.   We will lead system  verification and validation using industry standards and quality monitoring of build deliverables to achieve a robust, reliable, performant and safe product release. 

What you’ll do:

The Staff Systems Engineer – Release Strategy & Validation is responsible to provide strategic expertise in the areas of verification, validation and release by incorporating industry best practices such as ISO 26262 Automotive Functional Safety, ISO 21448 Safety of the Intended Functionality and ISO/PAS 8800 Road vehicles — Safety and artificial intelligence.

A successful candidate will have experience performing thought leadership, cross-function collaboration, and driving improvements for release management processes to meet production goals.   A robust background in large-scale, safety-critical systems and/or software development processes within complex development systems is necessary to guide company engineering procedures.

• Provide leadership, direction and definition for verification and validation lifecycle including strategic approaches for a comprehensive and defensible V&V test plan.
• Be a key stakeholder to create a state of the art verification and validation strategy covering multiple test levels and test environments such as component, subsystem and system testing on Hardware-in-loop (HIL), Simulation for behavior and perception and Vehicle level closed-course and public road work.
• Define and review strategies for product release and associated risks with mitigations
• Verify and review test results and tool qualification activities that support the V&V claim evidence across multiple test levels and test environments.
• Report and communicate to leadership on critical gaps on traceability, defensibility, and completeness
• Provide direction and guidance to teams to apply safety test methods such as test derivation methods, test coverage calculations, sampling strategies, edge case scenarios, FMEA or others
• Lead cross-functional collaboration with PMO (Program Management Office), Engineering, and other stakeholders within and between ARTs (Agile Release Train) (Agile Release Train) and teams to ensure strategic and execution alignment
• Understand the day-to-day activities assocatied with Torc’s product development lifecycle, finding opportunities for efficiency improvements and improved quality.
• Provide insight and guidance for machine learned software with emphasis on training data validation and model testing as part of a larger system.

What you’ll need to succeed:  

• Master’s Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Systems Engineering, or equivalent with 7+ years relevant experience OR Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Systems Engineering, or equivalent with 10+ years relevant experience
• 2+ years overall progressive technical systems or software development experience and 2+ years as individual technical contributor
• 2+ years’ experience leading engineers in the delivery of safety critical software solutions that include complex algorithm development and data models, with emphasis on best practices in coding standards, testing, and systems integration
• 2+ years of experience with launching safety critical commercial products 
• Experience with complex embedded systems including ADAS technologies i.e. autonomous driving software architecture, sensors, networking, compute hardware, control systems
• Experience with software release tools i.e. build systems, software versioning systems, defect management systems, source control etc.
• Strong problem-solving / analytical skills, attention to detail, and ability to learn in unstructured environments
• Strong communication and collaboration skills enabling a positive energy and work environment
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with evolving software/hardware infrastructure
• Experience delivering production systems from early prototype phases through product launch and in-field maintenance.
• Experience in software development, operating systems, development languages, and deployment of software products, or systems engineering including networking, database management, virtual environments, system design, integration, and maintenance
• Exhibit strong servant leadership characteristics and willingness to support the career growth of others and strong facilitation, technical team coaching, and critical systems thinking

Bonus Points!

• Experience testing autonomous vehicles, ROS based robotics systems or ADAS features
• Experience with machine learning software test practices
• Configuration management of safety-critical systems, understanding of systems engineering and verification, validation methodologies.
• Project management experience

Work Location: For this position, we are open to hiring in Ann Arbor, MI (U.S.) office work locations in a hybrid capacity. We are also open to hiring Remote in the United States.

Perks of Being a Full-time Torc’r 

Torc cares about our team members and we strive to provide benefits and resources to support their health, work/life balance, and future. Our culture is collaborative, energetic, and team focused. Torc offers:   

• A competitive compensation package that includes a bonus component and stock options
• 100% paid medical, dental, and vision premiums for full-time employees   
• 401K plan with a 6% employer matchFlexibility in schedule and generous paid vacation (available immediately after start date)Company-wide holiday office closures
• AD+D and Life Insurance  

At Torc, we’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. We celebrate the uniqueness of our Torc’rs and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, veteran status, or disabilities. 

Even if you don’t meet 100% of the qualifications listed for this opportunity, we encourage you to apply. 

Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several geographic markets. Pay is based on a number of factors and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Torc's total compensation package will also include our corporate bonus and stock option plan. Dependent on the position offered, sign-on payments, relocation, and other forms of compensation may be provided as part of a total compensation package, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits. 

Job ID: 102498