How to apply for HIL Test Engineer - System Test

About Glydways

Glydways is building a network of carbon-neutral, interconnected transit pathways using standardized autonomous vehicles on dedicated roadways. The system runs 24/7 with on-demand access and aims to avoid heavy upfront infrastructure costs or ongoing taxpayer subsidies. The company's stated mission is net-negative GHG autonomous transportation for affordable, efficient, and eco-friendly mobility.

About the role

This HIL test engineer role sits in the System Test team, which is responsible for proving that the integrated autonomous transit system is safe, reliable, and ready for real-world operation. You will work across simulation, software-based test environments, hardware-in-the-loop testing, lab testing, vehicle testing, test-track operations, and project work. The position is remote and full-time.

A typical day

A typical day may involve building or debugging a HIL test setup, running test cases against embedded controllers, and reviewing failures with autonomy, embedded software, or systems engineering teams. You might also spend time in a lab or on a test track running vehicle-level tests, or updating test plans based on results from simulation or software-based test environments. Because the role is remote, part of the day is likely spent coordinating with teams who are on-site with hardware.

Who Glydways is looking for

• Has hands-on experience building and running hardware-in-the-loop test setups for autonomous or embedded systems.
• Can write and maintain test cases that connect simulation, software test environments, and physical hardware.
• Is comfortable working across autonomy, vehicle hardware, embedded software, systems engineering, safety, infrastructure, operations, quality, and deployment teams.
• Has experience with lab testing, vehicle testing, or test-track operations, or can show how prior work maps to those environments.

Tips for this application

• Name specific HIL tools, real-time simulators, or test frameworks you have used, and describe one test setup you built or maintained end to end.
• Connect your test experience to autonomous transit or safety-critical systems. If you have not worked in transit, explain how your testing approach transfers to a 24/7 on-demand autonomous vehicle network.
• Mention any experience testing across simulation, software-based test environments, lab testing, vehicle testing, or test-track operations, because the job description lists all of these as part of the team's scope.
• Since the role is remote, state how you have worked effectively with hardware in a lab or test track while being remote from the main team.
• Reference Glydways' specific model: standardized autonomous vehicles on dedicated roadways, carbon-neutral operation, and no taxpayer subsidies. Show you understand what makes their test problem different from generic autonomous vehicle testing.

What to cover in your cover letter

Explain why HIL testing is the right fit for proving safety and reliability in an autonomous transit system. Describe a specific HIL test setup you built or ran, including the hardware, software, and failure modes you covered. Show how you have worked across teams such as autonomy, embedded software, systems engineering, or safety. State how you would approach testing for a 24/7 on-demand transit network with dedicated roadways and standardized vehicles.

Research before applying

• Read Glydways' public materials on their system architecture: standardized autonomous vehicles, dedicated roadways, and 24/7 on-demand access.
• Look for any public information on Glydways' testing approach, pilot projects, or deployment timelines to understand what stage their system test work is at.
• Research hardware-in-the-loop testing for autonomous vehicles, including common real-time simulators and how they connect to embedded controllers.
• Check Glydways' stated environmental and cost goals (net-negative GHG, no taxpayer subsidies) and think about how those goals affect test priorities.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• How would you design a HIL test for a standardized autonomous vehicle operating on a dedicated roadway?
• Describe a time you found a failure in a HIL or lab test that simulation missed. What did you do?
• How do you decide what to test in simulation versus software-based test environments versus HIL versus vehicle or test-track testing?
• What safety and reliability metrics would you track for a 24/7 on-demand autonomous transit system?
• How would you work with autonomy, embedded software, and systems engineering teams to turn a system requirement into a HIL test case?

Common mistakes to avoid

• Listing HIL experience without naming the hardware, software, or specific test setups you worked with.
• Treating this as a generic software test role and ignoring the hardware, lab, vehicle, and test-track parts of the job description.
• Applying without any reference to autonomous transit, safety-critical systems, or the specific Glydways model of dedicated roadways and standardized vehicles.