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Applied Intuition is a $15B-valued AI company (founded 2017) powering physical intelligence for autonomous vehicles and defense systems. They work with 18 of the top 20 global automakers and the U.S. military, providing digital infrastructure, operating systems, and autonomy solutions across automotive, defense, trucking, construction, mining, and agriculture.
You will own the hardware and software integration decisions that make vehicle builds work—from compute and sensor architecture through harness routing, sensor tuning, and drive-by-wire (DBW) integration. This is a hands-on systems/hardware engineering role where you'll make and defend real technical tradeoffs and travel onsite (including internationally and for extended stretches) to lead builds and installs in person.
Key responsibilities:
**Technical Integration & Hardware:**
- Define hardware architecture (compute, sensors) and drive procurement of long-lead-time components, including supplier onboarding and purchasing decisions.
- Coordinate wiring harness design/build and sensor mounting workstreams, resolving cross-team dependencies between mechanical design, harness build, and shipping timelines.
- Specify sensor tuning requirements (camera ISP parameters, resolution, glass-to-glass latency) in partnership with hardware and perception teams, and track to closure.
**Autonomy & Drive-by-Wire Coordination:**
- Partner with autonomy and low-level controls teams to scope DBW validation and tuning plans, distinguishing needs for teleoperation vs. full autonomy.
- Identify and flag technical risk early (e.g., insufficient DBW tuning lead time) directly to the engineering team and drive resolution.
**Field Operations & Site Standup:**
- Travel onsite domestically and internationally, including extended stays, to lead vehicle builds, hardware installs, and demo prep in person.
- Scope new operational sites from an engineering standpoint: assess power/network/IT infrastructure needs and prep hardware for regulatory/compliance site visits.
**Cross-Functional Collaboration:**
- Work daily across hardware, embedded, and autonomy software teams to resolve integration issues and keep builds moving.
- Communicate fluidly between deep technical detail and higher-level engineering summaries when working with adjacent teams.
The company operates in-office (5 days/week from the Ann Arbor office), with flexibility for occasional remote work and schedule adjustments.
**Requirements:**
- 2+ years of experience in systems/integration engineering, ideally on automotive, robotics, defense, or autonomy programs.
- Working knowledge of vehicle hardware integration (harnessing, sensor/compute mounting, hardware architecture) sufficient to make and defend build decisions.
- Comfortable making and owning real engineering tradeoffs under firm deadlines (tuning approach, sensor spec, hardware architecture).
- Willingness and ability to travel extensively, including internationally and for multi-week stretches.
- Excellent written and verbal communication; ability to move fluidly between deep technical detail and higher-level engineering summaries.
- Must be a U.S. Citizen.
- Must hold or be eligible for a U.S. Secret security clearance.
**Preferred:**
- Experience with drive-by-wire (DBW) systems and low-level vehicle controls (PID tuning, system identification, slippage/traction compensation).
- Experience specifying or validating camera/sensor requirements (ISP tuning, latency, resolution, frame rate).
- Experience standing up new operational sites or facilities, including vendor sourcing and regulatory/permit coordination.
- BS in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related field.
- Experience on defense or government customer programs.
