Lead Software Engineer – Control

<h2>About the role</h2> <p>We are seeking a Lead Software Engineer to drive the technical evolution of Avride's core Control System. This role is roughly 80% hands-on engineering and 20% technical leadership — you'll spend most of your time architecting and shipping Model Predictive Control (MPC) systems and vehicle dynamics models yourself, while also setting technical direction and unblocking a small team of 2–3 control engineers.</p> <h2>What you'll do</h2> <p><strong>Hands-on (~80%)</strong></p> <ul> <li>Architect, implement, and optimize cutting-edge control systems in modern C++ (C++17/20).</li> <li>Own the design of high-precision trajectory-tracking solutions, from formulation through production deployment.</li> <li>Identify and refine dynamic vehicle parameters using real-world data.</li> <li>Profile and optimize algorithms to meet real-time performance constraints.</li> <li>Write clean, maintainable, production-quality code and set the technical bar for the codebase.</li> <li>Analyze and iterate on system performance using real-world vehicle data.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Leadership (20%)</strong></p> <ul> <li>Provide technical direction and code/design review for a small team of 2–3 control engineers.</li> <li>Break down complex control problems into scoped workstreams and help the team sequence and prioritize them.</li> <li>Mentor engineers on MPC, optimization, and controls best practices.</li> <li>Act as the primary technical point of contact between Controls and the Planning and Hardware teams, ensuring architectural decisions stay cohesive across systems.</li> <li>Drive projects to completion, balancing team velocity with technical rigor.</li> </ul> <h2>What you'll need</h2> <ul> <li>6+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a track record of owning significant technical systems end-to-end.</li> <li>Expertise in modern C++.</li> <li>Deep understanding of algorithms, data structures, and software design patterns.</li> <li>Direct experience with optimization, MPC, and system dynamics.</li> <li>Hands-on experience with data analysis and statistical methods applied to real-world sensor/vehicle data.</li> <li>Demonstrated ability to guide the technical direction of a small team while remaining a strong individual contributor.</li> <li>Exceptional communication and collaboration skills, with a focus on delivering results and driving cross-team alignment.</li> </ul> <h2>Nice to have</h2> <ul> <li>Prior experience formally or informally leading a small engineering team or workstream.</li> <li>Digital signal processing techniques for analyzing real-world sensor data.</li> <li>Advanced knowledge of mathematics, including optimization, probability, and mechanics, and a proven ability to translate complex theory into production-ready algorithms.</li> <li>Relevant publications, patents, or achievements in hackathons/programming contests.</li> <li>A passion for staying at the forefront of the field, actively seeking and implementing state-of-the-art ideas to push performance beyond the current horizon.</li> </ul> <p></p> <div class="ember-view setting-group-item promotion-settings-page__item" data-test-selector="setting-group-item"> <div class="setting-item-core__grid-container" data-test-setting-item="form-closed" data-test-promotion-tag-setting="" data-live-test-promotion-tag-setting="" data-live-test-setting-item=""> <div class="setting-item-core__right-pane"> <div class="ember-view setting-item-core__state t-14 t-black--light" data-test-selector="