About

I work across the full lifecycle of perception systems, including model integration, GPU-accelerated inference, system optimization, and deployment under real-time and safety-critical constraints. My experience spans ROS 2-based system design, CUDA/TensorRT acceleration, and automotive-grade software development practices.

Work Experience

Isuzu Technical Center of America (ITCA) Jan. 2021 – Present
Lead Engineer, Autonomous – Advanced Engineering Jun. 2024 – Present
– Deployed perception components on NVIDIA TensorRT, including:
   FCOS object detection, FCOS segmentation, SORT tracker, and SCNN lane detection
   for autonomous driving applications.
– Conducted research on Transformer-based perception architectures.
– Conducted research on manifold (matrix Lie group) methods for vehicle localization.
Sr. Engineer, Autonomous and AI – Advanced Engineering Jan. 2022 – May 2024
– Led development of perception components: object detection, tracking, and visualization.
   Implemented ROS visualization for MVXNet: MVXNet demo.
   Developed structure-aware single-stage 3D object detection.
   Developed LiDAR object detection and tracking: 3D-LiDAR multi-object tracking.
   Developed multi-object tracking: Multi-object tracking demo.
– Developed localization components: wheel odometry, GNSS/IMU processing, and Fast-LOAM.
   Developed Visual SLAM: Visual SLAM demo.
– Acting scrum master; contributed to software architecture design and stack integration.
– Provided technical mentorship and supervised interns.
Autonomous Driving Engineer – Powertrain and Vehicle R&D Jan. 2021 – Dec. 2021
– Developed core sensor components for centralized sensor fusion (cameras and LiDARs).
– Curb detection using 3D LiDAR point clouds: Moriyama dataset demo.
– Object detection using 3D LiDAR point clouds: Moriyama dataset demo.
– Point cloud 3D map construction using Fast LOAM and OctoMap: Moriyama dataset demo.
– Software stack management with release tags and version control via git submodules.
– Component integration and testing in simulation and on the real truck.
APTIV Jul. 2018 – Jan. 2021
Algorithm Engineer – Scene Perception Algorithm Team Oct. 2020 – Jan. 2021
– Developed unit test cases in vectorCAST for perception components.
Algorithm Engineer – Fused Road Model (FRM) Team Sep. 2018 – Sep. 2020
– Developed fusion algorithms for object trail processing:
   Road shape estimation and lane centerline prediction.
– Designed FRM state machine and mode manager.
– Implemented error handling for vision, object fusion, and vehicle state inputs.
– Developed FRM analysis pipeline and dashboard.
– Coverity static analysis (AUTOSAR and MISRA C++); developed unit tests in Google Test.
Algorithm Engineer – Autonomous Driving Behavior Team Jul. 2018 – Aug. 2018
– Developed prediction and cost function algorithm for cooperative social behavior.
– Contributed to Ottomatika code migration from urban pilot to highway pilot.

Technical Skills

Programming Languages: C++ (advanced), Python (advanced)
Robotics & Middleware: ROS 2 (custom packages, ament/CMake, rviz, rosbag workflows)
Model Deployment & Acceleration: TensorRT (engine build, ONNX import, C++/Python inference), CUDA
Computer Vision & 3D Perception: OpenCV, Point Cloud Library (PCL), Ceres Solver, g2o
Machine Learning Frameworks: PyTorch, ONNX ecosystem
Operating Systems: Linux/Unix (extensive experience with Ubuntu, shell and system commands)
Software Quality & Standards: AUTOSAR C++, MISRA C++, CERT C++ static analysis and compliance
Testing & Benchmarking: Google Test, pytest, Google Benchmark
High-Performance Computing: HPC clusters using SLURM
Documentation: LaTeX, TikZ
Build & Tooling: CMake, colcon, git

Publications

  1. Zhang, Y.-C. (2025+) Error State Kalman Filter on Matrix Lie Group. preprint.
  2. Zhang, W., Yu, W., Jia, Q., and Zhang, Y.-C. (2022) Exploration and Sweeping for Autonomous Sweeper Truck. Isuzu Technical Journal 134, 42-51.
  3. Zhang, Y.-C. (2021) Road Geometry Estimation Using Vehicle Trails: A Linear Mixed Model Approach. Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems 27, 127-144.
  4. Zhang, Y.-C., Sakhanenko, L. (2019) The Naive Bayes Classifier for Functional Data. Statistics & Probability Letters 152, 137-146.
  5. Chiou, J.-M., Zhang, Y.-C., Chen, W.-H., and Chang, C.-W. (2014) A Functional Data Approach to Missing Value Imputation and Outlier Detection for Traffic Flow Data. Transportmetrica B: Transport Dynamics 2, 106-129.
  6. Fan, T.-H., Wang, Y.-F., and Zhang, Y.-C. (2014) Bayesian Model Selection in Linear Mixed Effects Models with Autoregressive(p) Errors Using Mixture Priors. Journal of Applied Statistics 41, 1814-1829.

Research Talk

Education

Ph.D., Statistics and Probability Aug. 2013 – Jun. 2018
Michigan State University, USA
Advisor: Dr. Lyudmila Sakhanenko
M.S., Statistics Sep. 2007 – Jun. 2009
National Central University, Taiwan
B.S., Mathematics Sep. 2003 – Jun. 2007
National Central University, Taiwan

Teaching

Teaching Assistant & Instructor, Michigan State University, USA (2013–2018)

Honors