# Mahima Arora

> Autonomous Vehicle Researcher @ NIST | Robotics Engineer | Robust Perception & System Interaction

Location: Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States
Profile: https://flows.cv/mahima

With 3+ years of experience in Autonomy and Software industry and a Masters in Robotics Engineering,  I am currently driving innovation with autonomy software solutions, paving the way for safer and smarter transportation.

I am passionate about shaping the next generation of autonomous systems. 🤖🚗

## Work Experience
### Autonomous Driving Engineer @ National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Jan 2023 – Present | Gaithersburg, MD
NIST and UMD are affiliated by PREP program which allows UMD faculty to work at NIST. https://prep.umd.edu/

### Software Engineer @ National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Jan 2023 – Present
Developed ROS 2-based frameworks for real-time testing and validation of perception models on both physical autonomous vehicles and CARLA simulations.
Debugged sensor data from cameras, lidar, and GPS in vehicle to extract key features for sensor fusion, supporting accurate object detection, localization, and perception in autonomous vehicle scenarios.
Designed and executed complex experimental setups for sensor-driven perception scenarios, including multi-modal input from vehicle sensors.
Implemented a Level 1 autonomous traffic sign recognition feature using ROS 2 and Python, demonstrating end-to-end perception and classification capabilities.
Pioneered the design of a novel cutting-edge framework methodology for testing autonomous vehicle (AV) systems interaction.

### Robotics Software Engineer @ Children's National Hospital
Jan 2023 – Jan 2023 | Washington DC-Baltimore Area
Developed path-planning algorithm to generate optimum trajectories for a neurosurgical procedure using DFS.
Generated point cloud from MRI data to create cost map and reward map for critical brain structures.
Enhanced code base to improve maintainability and reduce time required to run software by 80%.
Created a user-friendly GUI for neurosurgeons to generate surgical trajectories in MATLAB.
Collaborated with neurosurgeons to compare generated trajectories in Slicer visualization tool.

### Graduate Teaching Assistant (Human-Robot Interaction) @ University of Maryland
Jan 2022 – Jan 2023 | United States

### Software Engineer @ Vecna Robotics
Jan 2022 – Jan 2022
Enhanced the existing testing pipeline to deploy new URDF files to simulation 40% faster.
Created a unified robotics description format file (URDF) of a complex forklift for use in simulation.
Designed and implemented test scenarios to verify dynamic stability and inform the robot’s motion planning strategy.
Analyzed camera coverage of onboard 3D depth cameras to ensure situational awareness using simulation.

### Graduate Student Assistant (Art Library) @ University of Maryland
Jan 2021 – Jan 2022 | College Park, Maryland, United States

### Software Engineer @ Intelizign Engineering Services Pvt Limited
Jan 2020 – Jan 2021 | Pune, Maharashtra, India

### Software Engineer Intern @ Siemens PLM Software
Jan 2019 – Jan 2020 | Pune Area, India

### Undergraduate Research Assistant @ ENSMM Ecole nationale supérieure de Mécanique et des Microtechniques
Jan 2017 – Jan 2017 | France


## Education
### Master's degree in Robotics
University of Maryland

### Bachelor's degree in Mechatronics Engineering
UPES

### Robotics Engineering
University of Maryland

### Mechatronics in Robotics, and Automation Engineering
University of Petroleum and Energy Studies


## Contact & Social
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mahima-arora2208
- Website: https://mahimaarora2208.github.io/

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Source: https://flows.cv/mahima
JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/mahima/resume.json
Last updated: 2026-04-05