Ryan Verbrugge
Site Autonomy Engineer · Robotics Engineer
- Eden Prairie, Minnesota
- ryan.verbrugge@maymobility.com
- GitHub
Experience
Site Autonomy Engineer
Mar 2026 – PresentMay Mobility · Eden Prairie, MN
- Autonomous vehicle maintenance and upkeep
- Sensor calibrations for vehicle fleet
- Handled mapping updates for Eden Prairie production fleet
- Extensive testing for upcoming software and hardware releases
Research Assistant
Aug 2022 – PresentMichigan Technological University · Houghton, MI
- Conducted research spanning legged robotic control to perception and path planning systems in autonomous vehicles
- Assisted graduate student peers on additional research topics
Research Areas
- 8/2024 – Present: Winter Snow dataset for LiDAR systems and neural network training for vehicle detection in heavy snow environments
- 6/2023 – Present: Automated bat counting system for White Nose Disease population study with the DNR (see the Fat Bat project)
- 6/2023 – 9/2024: ARPA-E NextCar II, road surface analysis and data collection
- 1/2023 – 5/2023 (main researcher): Bipedal locomotion and gait correction on low-mu surfaces
- 8/2022 – 8/2023 (main researcher): Calculating fractional order calculus through the use of symmetric neural networks
Software Developer
Sep 2025 – Nov 2025Steelhead Technologies · Calumet, MI
- Implemented improved UI design for web-based applications
- Improved admin/user communication and interaction through back-end SQL data
Undergraduate Class Grader – Neuromorphics
Mar 2025 – Apr 2025Michigan Technological University · Houghton, MI
- Rewrote labs to provide proper content information and formatting
- Assisted students in asynchronous learning labs
- Graded students on assigned tasks
Autonomous Simulations Intern
Jun 2024 – Aug 2024Hexagon – Manufacturing Intelligence Division · Novi, MI
- Developed interfaces between simulation software and major autonomous vehicle software
- Developed automotive simulations for autonomous vehicle testing and development
- Produced documentation for customer support
- Supported and assisted customer usage of simulation software
Undergraduate Lab Assistant – ROS
Sep 2023 – Dec 2023Michigan Technological University · Houghton, MI
- Transferred labs from ROS Melodic to Noetic
- Rewrote labs to provide better flow and ease of knowledge acquisition for students
- Assisted students in learning and understanding beginning topics for ROS
- Started creation of new lab curriculum for students in upcoming years
IT Operations Student – Tier 1
Oct 2021 – Dec 2022Michigan Technological University IT · Houghton, MI
Education
BS in Robotics Engineering
Aug 2021 – Aug 2025Michigan Technological University
Additional Projects
AutoDrive Challenge II
The AutoDrive II Challenge is a GM and SAE sponsored event in which universities receive a stock Chevy Bolt EUV and make it autonomous over five years (2021–2026). Scored challenges progressively get harder each year, spanning base-level object detection to non-GPS-based localization. Teams meet each June to compete at the University of Michigan's test track, M-City.
Roles: Michigan Tech AutoDrive Team Captain, Robotics Systems Enterprise Director, Enterprise Assistant Director, Outreach Coordinator, Lab Manager, Team Lead
Personal Contributions
- Computer vision through use of a neural network and a camera
- Object detection and tracking through a LiDAR sensor
- Autonomous vehicle simulation for subsystem testing
- Implementation of feature-level sensor fusion
- Creation of vehicle behavior management system
- Creation of mapping and path planning system using a standard planning algorithm
- Built LiDAR-based localization system from scratch