O

Outrider

Automates yard operations with electric trucks

Hardware Platform Engineer 2 - Test and Reliability

Full-Time
$120k - $150k+ Equity
Mid
Bachelor's
Henderson, CO, USA
In PersonRole is based in Denver, Colorado; field testing may occur locally and at remote customer sites.
Hardware EngineeringHardware Validation & Testing

About the job

Requirements
  • 2–4 years of experience with integrated software/hardware systems such as robotics, autonomous vehicles, or other automotive/aerospace products, ideally with some exposure to test engineering or reliability.
  • A Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering, computer engineering, electrical/electronics engineering, or a similar discipline.
  • Some experience designing or supporting test fixtures and reliability test rigs for electro-mechanical systems.
  • Exposure to accelerated life testing (ALT) methodologies through academic, internship, or professional experience.
  • Experience with data acquisition and instrumentation, including DAQ systems, sensors, oscilloscopes, and multimeters, for capturing and interpreting test data.
  • Experience using basic shop equipment such as a 3D printer, bandsaw, mill, and drill to build rapid prototypes.
  • Strong technical analysis skills and eagerness to learn.
Responsibilities
  • Contribute to test strategies for mechanical and electro-mechanical subsystems by helping define test plans, acceptance criteria, and pass/fail requirements aligned to product specifications and customer use cases.
  • Design, build, and maintain reliability test fixtures and test rigs that simulate real-world operating conditions for life testing, fatigue, thermal cycling, and environmental stress screening, with guidance from senior team members.
  • Support reliability initiatives by analyzing failure modes, assisting with design and process improvements, and contributing to corrective actions that improve product performance, durability, and lifecycle cost.
  • Support field testing and debugging, both locally and at remote customer sites.
  • Support manufacturing operations by running and maintaining assembly test fixtures.
Desired Qualifications
  • Working knowledge of Python and/or C++ for test automation or hardware-in-the-loop validation.
  • Familiarity with wiring sensors and designing cable harnesses.
  • Experience with industrial automation equipment and/or systems for use in hardened environments.
  • Background in electrical engineering, controls, or mechatronics, with experience integrating sensors, actuators, or embedded systems into test setups.
  • Experience in manufacturing, industrial, or process engineering, particularly around production test stations, fixture uptime, or line troubleshooting.
  • Experience working in a multidisciplinary robotics team.

About the company

O

Outrider

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cbWebsite

Outrider automates yard operations at logistics hubs with an integrated system of software, robotics, and electric yard trucks to handle tasks like moving trailers and managing yard traffic. The product coordinates these tasks using sensors and control software to replace manual work, increasing efficiency, reducing turn times, and improving asset tracking and space utilization while lowering emissions. It differentiates itself by offering a full stack solution—hardware, software, and ongoing support—tailored to yard automation and sustainability, not just components. The goal is to help hubs operate faster and more safely while reducing carbon footprint and making space usage more efficient.

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

Series D

Total Funding

$306M

Headquarters

Commerce City, Colorado

Founded

2017

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • On October 1, 2026, YMX chose Outrider for a five-year commercialization push.
  • YMX will finance, operate, and support deployments, lowering customer adoption friction.
  • Outrider said orders run through 2027, with food, retail, CPG, and automotive.

What critics are saying

  • The YMX deal is non-exclusive, so rivals can copy the channel model.
  • Outrider still depends on enterprise site rollouts; delays burn cash before revenue scales.
  • If 2026 deployments slip again, nine years of autonomy work becomes a stranded technology.

What makes Outrider unique

  • Outrider is the only vendor focused exclusively on yard-operations automation.
  • Its safety stack covers 200,000 hazards and earned TÜV SÜD review.
  • Five years of yard data and 100,000 autonomous moves sharpen routing.

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Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Hybrid Work Options
  • Company Equity
  • Home Office Stipend

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

-11%

1 year growth

-11%

2 year growth

-11%
PR Newswire
Oct 1st, 2026
YMX Logistics and Outrider partner to deploy autonomous, zero-emission yard trucks across enterprise sites

YMX Logistics and Outrider have formed a five-year strategic partnership to deploy autonomous, zero-emission yard trucks at YMX customer sites. The agreement establishes YMX as a full-service provider for enterprise shippers adopting autonomous yard operations, combining Outrider's self-driving technology with YMX's service offerings. Initial deployments will target customers in food and beverage, retail, consumer packaged goods, and automotive sectors starting this year. YMX will lead implementations, finance and operate the self-driving fleets, whilst Outrider provides remote monitoring and technical support. The partnership addresses rising operational costs, with US diesel averaging $6.38 per gallon as of 28 September 2026. Outrider's system automates trailer movements, navigates mixed-traffic yards, and integrates with existing management systems. TÜV SÜD certified Outrider's safety approach aligns with autonomous vehicle conformity requirements.

FreightWaves
Feb 10th, 2025
The Autonomous Yard Dog Gets An Ai-Powered Upgrade

The yard dog, the diminutive cousin of the Class 8 tractor, is getting an autonomous AI-powered upgrade courtesy of Outrider.Outrider, an autonomous yard operations leader, recently announced an industry-first deployment of advanced reinforcement learning (RL) techniques across its customer sites. FreightWaves spoke with Andrew Smith, founder and CEO of Outrider about what the release means for the startup and how it’s taking the humble yard dog to new heights.For those outside the supply chain, yard operations can consist of drayage operations at ports, intermodal operations at railheads, or in the yards from distribution centers to trucking terminals. The humble yard dog is used to shuttle empty and loaded trailers to and from docks to parking places, where the larger Class 8 tractor hauls the goods for longer distances.Outrider noted in the release that incorporating the RL techniques increased path planning speed by 10x and enabled the Outrider System the ability to move freight more efficiently and safely through crowded, chaotic and busy distribution yards. Smith adds that right now their network represents about 20% of all yard trucks operating in North America with many customers invented in pilot operations since the early days of the company back in 2017.How the reinforcement learning worksRL is part of the successful application of AI in the physical world, where the AI collects a large dataset that is then used to train the AI. For the yard dog, Smith notes the 5 years’ worth of data collected from their autonomous yard trucks is the primary source to train the system. Outrider boasts over 200,000 safety scenarios while third-party safety experts and its Fortune 500 customers validate the safety cases.With that training data, the next step is to reinforce positive behaviors and interactions

FreightWaves
Jan 24th, 2025
Kodiak Robotics Strikes First In The Driverless Truck Commercialization Race

Kodiak Robotics strikes first in the driverless truck commercialization race(Photo: Kodiak Robotics)The Permian Basin, known for its huge deposits of oil and natural gas, now boasts the first successful customer launch for driverless truck delivery operations  On Friday Kodiak Robotics and Atlas Energy Solutions announced that Atlas completed the delivery of 100 loads of proppant with two RoboTrucks equipped with Kodiak Driver, Kodiak’s self-driving system. The RoboTrucks are part of Atlas’s launching of the Dune Express, a 42-mile autonomous conveyor belt in the desert that transports sand from Kermit, TX to a facility in eastern New Mexico. The Atlas autonomous RoboTrucks then transport frac sand to customers across the Delaware Basin. This is part of a larger effort by Atlas to automate its entire supply chain. Kodiak Robotics’ initial driverless operations with Atlas, announced last July, involved Kodiak making deliveries with Kodiak-owned trucks. The release notes Atlas is now able to complete its own driverless deliveries across the 75,000 square mile Permian Basin in West Texas and Eastern New MexicoDon Burnette, Founder and CEO at Kodiak said in the release, “this is an incredible moment, for us and for the autonomous trucking industry as we have officially delivered a commercial RoboTruck to a customer and launched commercial operations.”Atlas is expected to expand its RoboTruck operation over the course of this year with Kodiak announcing the opening of an 18,000 square foot facility in Odessa, Texas to help support the operations. Looking ahead, Kodiak looks to extend its safety case to highways for its long-haul customers.Electric vehicle startup Canoo files for bankruptcy, ceases operations(Photo: Canoo)The medium-duty electric vehicle space continues to get smaller. Seven-year-old electric vehicle startup Canoo has filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy and announced an immediate halt to operations. A press release noted the liquidation process is being overseen by a bankruptcy trustee in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court.Despite its partnerships with NASA, the Department of Defense, the U.S

FreightWaves
Jan 24th, 2025
The Autonomous Yard Dog Gets An Ai-Powered Upgrade

The yard dog, the diminutive cousin of the Class 8 tractor, is getting an autonomous AI-powered upgrade courtesy of Outrider.Outrider, an autonomous yard operations leader, recently announced an industry-first deployment of advanced reinforcement learning (RL) techniques across its customer sites. FreightWaves spoke with Andrew Smith, founder and CEO of Outrider about what the release means for the startup and how it’s taking the humble yard dog to new heights.For those outside the supply chain, yard operations can consist of drayage operations at ports, intermodal operations at railheads, or in the yards from distribution centers to trucking terminals. The humble yard dog is used to shuttle empty and loaded trailers to and from docks to parking places, where the larger Class 8 tractor hauls the goods for longer distances.Outrider noted in the release that incorporating the RL techniques increased path planning speed by 10x and enabled the Outrider System the ability to move freight more efficiently and safely through crowded, chaotic and busy distribution yards. Smith adds that right now their network represents about 20% of all yard trucks operating in North America with many customers invented in pilot operations since the early days of the company back in 2017.How the reinforcement learning worksRL is part of the successful application of AI in the physical world, where the AI collects a large dataset that is then used to train the AI. For the yard dog, Smith notes the 5 years’ worth of data collected from their autonomous yard trucks is the primary source to train the system. Outrider boasts over 200,000 safety scenarios while third-party safety experts and its Fortune 500 customers validate the safety cases.With that training data, the next step is to reinforce positive behaviors and interactions

WTWH Media LLC
Jan 23rd, 2025
Outrider Uses Reinforcement Learning To Speed Path Planning By Tenfold

Outrider is using reinforcement learning to enhance throughput at truck yards. Source: Outrider. Outrider Technologies Inc. today said it has deployed advanced reinforcement learning, or RL, techniques to maximize freight throughput at customer sites. The company said its RL models can increase path-planning speed by 10x and enable the Outrider System to move freight more efficiently and safely through busy, complex distribution yards. “Using the latest advances in AI, Outrider is continually decreasing the turn time of trailers moved autonomously in logistics yards,” said Vittorio Ziparo, chief technology officer and executive vice president of engineering