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# Principal Systems Engineer - AV Sensor Design

- **Company:** General Motors
- **Location:** United States
- **Salary:** $238,700.0
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Data Analysis, Machine Learning, Systems Development Life Cycle, Sensor Fusion, Signal Processing, Lidar
- **Published:** October 15, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.ultimatejobs.com/jobs/771180489/apply

## About the Role

* Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Applied Physics or related field

 * 13+ years of experience in a remote sensing, lidar development, photonic system development or related, with a majority of that experience concentrated in lidars

 * Demonstrated role as a recognized lidar authority on a program or within an organization with decision making authority on technical direction of lidar technology development

 * Direct experience developing lidar hardware and signal processing as well as calibration methodology and data consumption or analysis
 * Experience with productionization challenges of lidar technology and the trade spaces therein
 * Deep command of lidar fundamentals and their practical impacts to design across optical link budget analysis, target phenomenology, detector physics, noise, laser safety, optical path design, window optics, spectrum selection, and signal processing techniques.
 * Experience developing robust solutions for weather and environmental effects
 * Experience developing lidar for autonomy products
 * Significant experience with SPAD lidars
 * Hands-on proficiency with data analysis and ability to lead root cause analysis and analytic efforts
 * Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability effectively communicate technical strategy to a wide range of audiences of varying background

What Will Give You a Competitive Edge (Preferred Qualifications)

 * PhD in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Applied Physics or related field
 * Patents, publications, or recognized industry contributions in lidar or electro-optical sensing

 * Experience working on L4 (or equivalent) autonomous vehicle programs with an understanding of autonomy behaviors

 * Experience developing or supporting simulation models
 * Knowledge of lidar perception models and sensor fusion consumption of lidar data, including how point cloud characteristics drive ML model performance
 * Experience with extrinsic calibration techniques, localization, or other related topics
 * Experience designing validation and test plans

Compensation : The compensation information is a good faith estimate only. It is based on what a successful applicant might be paid in accordance with applicable state laws. The compensation may not be representative for positions located outside of New York, Colorado, California, or Washington.

## Description

We are seeking a principal systems engineer to join the AV Sensing Design team to lead the technical direction of lidar technology from system-level decisions as part of multi-modality sensing suites through to detailed evaluation of production paths.

As a recognized authority on lidar technology, you will leverage your deep technical expertise to drive the technology path on optical path, signal processing, calibration, failure modes and own the trajectory of how lidars integrate with our autonomy products to achieve performance and cost-effective programs. You will work directly with component, Perception, localization, simulation, and vehicle teams to see performance and efficacy be realized on consumer vehicles.

What You'll Do

You will get the opportunity to be part of the following:

 * Own the technical strategy for lidar development as a part of current and future autonomy program multi-modality sensing suites
 * Work alongside technical experts in sensors and perception to define leading-edge autonomy products
 * Lead trade studies taking into account performance, cost, and integration to influence the next-generation of lidar development
 * Evaluate data products from prototype and production platforms to assess opportunity for improvement
 * Work with production teams and vendors to see technology realized into production designs
 * Define lidar performance requirements to achieve next-generation autonomy capabilities with robustness across broad ODDs