---
title: 'Senior Machine Learning Engineer - Localization at Torc Robotics'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-machine-learning-engineer-localization-torc-robotics-us-ann-arbor-vrmvphjqky5t'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-09'
---

# Senior Machine Learning Engineer - Localization at Torc Robotics

- **Company:** Torc Robotics
- **Location:** US Ann Arbor, MI
- **Compensation:** $177k–$213k
- **Work type:** remote
- **Posted:** 2026-09-01
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-09
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/torcrobotics/jobs/8695204002

## Job description

## 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](https://torc.ai/daimler-testing-automated-trucks-public/), 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

Accurate and highly available information about vehicle motion and position is fundamental to the safe operation of autonomous trucks. Core capabilities such as perception, prediction, planning, and control depend on reliable ego-motion and localization estimates to ensure safe and efficient vehicle behavior.

The Ego-Motion & Localization Team develops the ML models, state estimation algorithms, and production software responsible for estimating vehicle pose, velocity, and acceleration in real time. Our solutions fuse information from multiple sensors and maintain robust performance despite sensor imperfections, environmental challenges, and system degradation. As part of this team, you will develop and deploy production-ready localization and sensor fusion solutions and help solve the challenges of bringing autonomous vehicle technology to real-world commercial applications.

## What You'll Do

- Design, develop, and deploy production ML models for ego-motion estimation and localization, including learned pose estimation, sensor extrinsic calibration, map matching, and sensor fusion using camera, LiDAR, radar, and other vehicle sensors.
- Develop scalable training and evaluation workflows using PyTorch, distributed training infrastructure, and large-scale real-world datasets.
- Design and improve state estimation and sensor fusion algorithms for robust vehicle pose, velocity, and acceleration estimation.
- Analyze large-scale vehicle data to characterize performance, identify failure modes, and drive model and system improvements.
- Develop robust, efficient production software in modern C++ and Python across the full development lifecycle.
- Define evaluation, verification, and validation strategies to ensure localization quality, robustness, and safety across diverse operating conditions.
- Make technical design and architecture decisions, balancing model performance, computational efficiency, robustness, and production constraints.
- Collaborate with perception, mapping, planning, controls, and platform teams to deliver integrated autonomous driving capabilities.
- Provide technical leadership through design reviews, code reviews, mentoring, and development of engineering best practices.

## What You'll Need to Succeed

- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Robotics, or a related field with 6+ years of relevant industry experience, or a Master’s degree with 3+ years of relevant industry experience, or a PhD with 1+ year of relevant industry experience.
- Experience with AV or robotics localization systems (e.g., LiDAR-based localization, visual odometry, SLAM, or map-based pose estimation).
- Strong experience developing and deploying ML models for perception, localization, or sensor fusion domains.
- Proficiency with PyTorch and modern ML tooling for training, inference, and optimization.
- Solid understanding of 3D geometry, probabilistic estimation, coordinate transforms, and robotics fundamentals.
- Demonstrated ability to work with large multimodal datasets and build scalable pipelines for processing, labeling, and evaluation.
- Strong software engineering fundamentals in Python and C++, including algorithms, data structures, testing, debugging, and performance optimization.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work effectively on cross-functional teams.

Bonus Points

- Experience with state estimation techniques such as factor graphs, Kalman filtering, nonlinear optimization, or related probabilistic estimation methods.
- Familiarity with distributed computing tools such as Ray, Kubernetes, or similar orchestration frameworks.
- Knowledge of embedded and real-time constraints for on-vehicle deployment.
- Experience in simulation, synthetic data generation, and uncertainty-aware ML modeling.
- Contributions to open-source robotics, perception, or ML frameworks.
- Familiarity with functional safety standards and automotive development processes, including ISO 26262.

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: 102894 Hiring Range for Job Opening US Pay Range $177,300—$212,800 USD

## About Torc Robotics

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Torc Robotics is an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck developing SAE Level 4 autonomous driving software for long-haul, hub-to-hub freight trucks.
- **Entity Type**: Private (subsidiary of Daimler Truck)
- **Headquarters**: Blacksburg, Virginia, USA (additional offices in Fort Worth, TX; Ann Arbor, MI; Montréal, Canada)
- **Founded**: 2005 (as Torc Technologies)
- **Founders**: Group of Virginia Tech alumni (team from the DARPA Urban Challenge)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Autonomous vehicle technology / Trucking & freight logistics
- **Target customers**: B2B – large fleet operators and trucking companies (middle-mile hub-to-hub routes over 250 miles)
- **Mission or purpose statement**: “Drive the future of freight” by commercializing safe, self-driving trucks

## Products & Services
- **Torc Self-Driving Software**: Full-stack autonomy system (perception, planning, control) for SAE Level 4 operation, integrated into the Daimler Truck Freightliner Cascadia platform.
- **Autonomous-Ready Cascadia**: A redundant chassis with fail-safe steering, braking, power net, and secondary communications network built by Daimler Truck.
- **Testing & Validation**: Closed-course and public-road testing in Virginia, Texas, New Mexico, and 20+ U.S. states over the past 14 years.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed (private subsidiary of Daimler Truck)
- **Key Metric**: Commercial launch targeted for **2027**; first driverless (no safety driver) journey completed in **2025**. Acquired Algolux (Montréal) in 2023 for computer vision and ML expertise.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Daimler Truck (parent/owner), AAA (safety partnership), Transdev (shuttle partnership), Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, and major fleet operators.
- **Growth Signals**: Expanding into Canada (Montréal office); headcount growing with 54 open positions posted on Greenhouse; Daimler Truck is building production-ready autonomous Cascadia chassis; years of real-world testing.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Deep truck OEM relationship**: As an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck, Torc has direct integration into the leading Class 8 truck platform (Freightliner Cascadia).
- **20-year legacy**: Founded in 2005 from DARPA Urban Challenge roots; one of the first AV software companies to focus exclusively on trucking.
- **Safety-first design**: Redundant steering, braking, and communications, plus a partnership with AAA on safety criteria.
- **Focused product**: Targets only highway middle-mile (250+ miles), avoiding complex city driving – a clear, commercially viable use case.

## Strategic Focus
- **Commercialization**: First market-ready generation of self-driving trucks on sale in **2027**. Currently validating the system on public roads with safety drivers.
- **Scaling operations**: Expanding engineering centers (Montréal, Ann Arbor, Fort Worth) and building a robust data/ML pipeline at petabyte scale.
- **Talent development**: Growing “Emerging Talent” program (co-ops, internships, early career) and partnerships with educational institutions.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as collaborative, ego-free, and innovative. “Everyone is empowered to solve challenges.” Open forums and accessible leadership.
- **Remote/Hybrid**: Multiple remote positions available (U.S. and Canada), plus on-site roles in Blacksburg, Ann Arbor, Fort Worth, and Montréal.
- **Benefits (U.S.)**:
  - 100% company-paid employee premiums for medical, dental, vision
  - Generous front-loaded PTO, plus a winter shutdown (Christmas–New Year)
  - Fully paid parental leave (100% salary continuation)
  - 401(k) with company match, LTD/STD, life insurance, pet insurance, legal services
- **Benefits (Canada)**: Extended health/dental/vision, RRSP with DPSP matching, employer-paid life/AD&D, LTD.
- **Engineering culture**: Work on cutting-edge autonomy, perception, ML, and data infrastructure alongside world-class experts.

## Sources
1. [torc.ai/about-us](https://torc.ai/about-us/)
2. [torc.ai/careers](https://torc.ai/careers/)
3. [torc.ai/frequently-asked-questions](https://torc.ai/frequently-asked-questions/)
4. [job-boards.greenhouse.io/torcrobotics](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/torcrobotics)

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