Bachelor's or Master's degree in Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, or related field.
8+ years of experience in systems engineering for complex electro-mechanical systems.
Strong experience translating product-level requirements into detailed engineering specifications.
Solid understanding of industrial safety standards, particularly ANSI B56.
Hands-on familiarity with low-level sensors and feedback systems.
Working knowledge of motor systems and actuation, including fault detection and protection.
Strong technical communication skills.
Responsibilities
Translate product requirements into detailed system specifications.
Define system architectures and interfaces for autonomous platforms.
Own requirements decomposition and traceability across domains.
Develop system-level verification and validation plans.
Lead technical trade studies and risk assessments.
Act as the systems engineering point of contact for safety certification.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure aligned execution.
Benefits
Health benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision) with multiple plan tiers.
Company-paid basic life insurance and voluntary life options.
Fully paid short-term and long-term disability insurance.
Flexible PTO policy and sabbatical leave after 5 years.
Paid Parental Leave and daily lunches for in-office employees.
Full Job Description
About the role
Our Vehicles & Hardware team develops the physical systems that power Cyngn's autonomous products, with a strong focus on real-world deployment, safety certification, and operational robustness.
Cyngn is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer to lead system definition and architecture for autonomous vehicle and robotics platforms. This role is a senior, hands-on systems position responsible for converting high-level product requirements (L0/L1 user stories and product intent) into detailed, testable engineering specifications, architectures, and verification plans using a structured V-model systems engineering approach.
This is a generalist systems role spanning sensors, compute, power distribution, actuation, and safety-critical behaviors. The ideal candidate has deep experience in industrial robotics or vehicle systems, understands safety certification expectations, and can bridge product intent with disciplined engineering execution.
What you'll do
Translate L0/L1 product requirements and user stories into complete, unambiguous, and testable system and subsystem specifications (L2+).
Define system architectures and interfaces for autonomous vehicle and robotics platforms, including:
Sensors (perception and low-level feedback)
Compute and embedded controllers
Power distribution and protection
Actuation and drive systems
Own requirements decomposition, allocation, and traceability across mechanical, electrical, firmware, and software domains.
Develop system-level verification and validation plans, including test strategies, acceptance criteria, and pass/fail definitions aligned with the systems engineering V-model.
Lead technical trade studies, risk assessments, and architectural decisions with a focus on safety, reliability, and manufacturability.
Act as the systems engineering point of contact for industrial safety certification, ensuring system requirements and test plans support compliance.
Collaborate with product management, safety engineering, hardware, firmware, software, and test teams to ensure aligned execution.
Drive cross-functional design reviews, requirements reviews, and system readiness milestones.
Support integration, debugging, and validation of vehicle and robotic systems during development and deployment phases.
Safety & Certification Responsibilities
Incorporate industrial safety requirements into system architecture, requirements, and test planning.
Support compliance efforts related to ANSI B56 standards for industrial trucks and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).
Work closely with safety and compliance teams to define safety functions, fault responses, and operational limits.
Ensure system behaviors are well-defined for normal operation, degraded modes, and fault conditions.
Contribute to safety-related documentation, including requirements, test evidence, and certification support artifacts.
Qualifications
Bachelor's or Master's degree in Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, or related field.
8+ years of experience in systems engineering for complex electro-mechanical systems (robotics, vehicles, industrial automation, autonomy).
Strong experience translating product-level requirements into detailed engineering specifications and verification plans.
Solid understanding of industrial safety standards, particularly ANSI B56 and related AMR / industrial vehicle safety frameworks.
Hands-on familiarity with low-level sensors and feedback systems, including:
Encoders (incremental, absolute)
Angle and position sensors
Temperature sensors
Current and voltage sensing
Working knowledge of motor systems and actuation, including:
Motor commutation concepts (e.g., BLDC, PMSM)
Feedback and control considerations
Fault detection and protection
Experience defining interfaces between sensors, embedded controllers, power electronics, and higher-level compute.
Strong technical communication skills with the ability to clearly document and review complex system behavior.
Comfortable working on-site 5 days per week in Mountain View, CA
Bonus Qualifications
Experience with autonomous mobile robots, industrial vehicles, or material handling equipment.
Prior involvement in safety certification, audits, or compliance testing for industrial or robotic systems.
Familiarity with system integration, bring-up, and hardware validation testing.
Experience working in fast-paced product development environments with cross-functional teams.
Benefits & Perks
Health benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision) through Aetna, Kaiser Permanente, and Guardian, with multiple plan tiers to choose from
Ancillary benefits including accident, critical illness, and hospital indemnity plans (Voya)
Company-paid basic life insurance, plus voluntary (supplemental) life for you and your dependents
Short-term and long-term disability insurance plans, fully paid by Cyngn
HSA and FSA (Health & Dependent Daycare)
Employee Assistance Program
1:1 Health Concierge
Company 401(k)
Commuter Benefits
Flexible PTO policy
Sabbatical leave opportunity after 5 years with the company
Paid Parental Leave
Daily lunches for in-office employees and fully-stocked kitchen with snacks and beverages
What You Can Expect (Cyngn's interview process)
A real person will review your application
We'll kick off the process with a one-sided video interview where you'll share a little more about yourself and we'll get some basic questions out of the way
A Recruiter touch point will go over the process in more detail and answer your questions
A 45-minute interview with the hiring manager
A full-loop interview process consisting of 3-4 additional conversations to gauge technical and soft skills and culture fit.
A final onsite interview with the team.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
The pay range for this role is:
170,000 - 190,000 USD per year (HQ - Terra Bella)
About CYNGN
Cyanogen Inc. was a company that developed open-source software for Android devices. The company was founded in 2013 by Kirt McMaster, Steve Kondik and others. CyanogenMod was the company's initial product. CyanogenMod was a customized, aftermarket firmware distribution for Android devices. CyanogenMod was based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). CyanogenMod was designed to increase performance and reliability over Android-based ROMs released by vendors and carriers. CyanogenMod was discontinued in 2016. Cyanogen Inc. also developed other software products, such as the Cyanogen OS, which was a commercial version of CyanogenMod. Cyanogen OS was pre-installed on some smartphones, such as the OnePlus One, the YU Yureka, and the Wileyfox Swift. Cyanogen Inc. also developed the MOD platform, which was a platform for developers to create and distribute mods for Android devices. Cyanogen Inc. was dissolved in 2016.
