Staff Systems Engineer

About Cyngn

Based in Mountain View, CA, Cyngn is a publicly-traded autonomous technology company. We deploy self-driving industrial vehicles like forklifts and tuggers to factories, warehouses, and other facilities throughout North America. To build this emergent technology, we are looking for innovative, motivated, and experienced leaders to join us and move this field forward. If you like to build, tinker, and create with a team of trusted and passionate colleagues, then Cyngn is the place for you. Key reasons to join Cyngn: 

We are small and big.

With under 100 employees, Cyngn operates with the energy of a startup. On the other hand, we’re publicly traded. This means our employees not only work in close-knit teams with mentorship from company leaders—they also get access to the liquidity of our publicly-traded equity.

We build today and deploy tomorrow.

Our autonomous vehicles aren’t just test concepts—they’re deployed to real clients right now. That means your work will have a tangible, visible impact.

We aren’t robots. We just develop them.

We’re a welcoming, diverse team of sharp thinkers and kind humans. Collaboration and trust drive our creative environment. At Cyngn, everyone’s perspective matters—and that’s what powers our innovation.

About this role:

Cyngn is seeking a Staff 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.

• 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.
• 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.

• 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

• 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.

• Health benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision, HSA and FSA (Health & Dependent Daycare), Employee Assistance Program, 1:1 Health Concierge)
• Life, Short-term and long-term disability insurance (Cyngn funds 100% of premiums)
• Company 401(k)
• Commuter Benefits
• Flexible vacation 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
• Monthly meal and tech allowances for remote employees