Senior Research Engineer Intern Fall 2026 in San Francisco

Role Overview We are seeking a Staff Simulation Engineer to build an end-to-end aerial autonomy simulation stack at DoorDash Labs. This is a highly technical, hands-on leadership role focused on defining and implementing the simulation architecture that underpins autonomy development, validation, CI/CD testing, and pilot training. You will operate as the technical authority for simulation: owning core architecture decisions, developing key components yourself, and setting engineering standards. You will build and mentor a small, high-caliber simulation team while remaining deeply involved in implementation and system design. This role is ideal for someone who has built simulation systems from first principles, understands simulator internals deeply, and is excited to create a world-class platform from scratch. Key Responsibilities Architect and implement an end-to-end simulation stack for aerial autonomy at DoorDash Labs.. Develop high-fidelity simulation capabilities, including: Flight dynamics modeling Contact modeling and constraint handling Sensor and perception simulation Autonomy software-in-the-loop (SITL) integration Design and implement scalable simulation infrastructure to support: Regression testing in CI/CD pipelines Continuous validation of flight autonomy and autopilot software stack Mission-level testing and scenario generation Build cloud-deployed simulation systems to enable large-scale parallel testing and pilot training. Partner closely with autonomy, controls, and aircraft teams to ensure simulation fidelity and validation alignment. Establish technical direction, architecture standards, and performance benchmarks for simulation. Mentor and grow a small team of simulation engineers while remaining deeply hands-on. Required Qualifications Master’s or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field. 10+ years of experience in robotics or physics-based simulation. Deep expe

About the Team DoorDash Labs is an independent team within DoorDash. We explore robotics and automation to transform last mile logistics in the long term. If you have a passion for applying robotics solutions in a service used by millions of people, then we want to talk to you! About the Role We are hiring a Firmware Validation & Integration Engineer for our autonomy software team. This is a critical role to build robust and scalable validation for our firmware and systems to ensure reliability at every level. In this role, you will work with our electrical, firmware, and autonomy engineers to build the infrastructure and test suites required to validate the system. This includes designing and implementing our Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulation environments and automation frameworks from the ground up. You will report to the Autonomy Platform Lead on our Autonomy Platform Team at DoorDash Labs. We expect this role to be hybrid with some time in-office and some time remote. You’re excited about this opportunity because you will… Play an integral role on a small and focused team. Design and build Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) systems to simulate vehicle dynamics and sensor data for comprehensive firmware and system-level validation. Develop automated test infrastructure and software tools to exercise multiple embedded platforms throughout our robot system. Interface many layers of our control system including vehicle controls, power management, and motion control to ensure seamless system integration. Implement low-level test sequences and validation algorithms to safely stress-test vehicle components such as batteries, drive-train, and thermal management devices. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify edge cases and hardware-software corner cases that impact vehicle safety and performance. We’re excited about you because… BS/MS degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, or related technical field. 5+ years of experience in validati