Self-driving truck company opens $5.6 million Ann Arbor Twp. facility, creating 500 local jobs

TORC Robotics, an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG and a leader in autonomous truck technology, has announced the opening of a new facility in Ann Arbor Township. Backed by a $3 million grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund, the company will invest $5.6 million into the expansion. This development will also result in the creation of up to 500 high-paying jobs. 

"This announcement is just the beginning and there’s still a lot of work ahead. TORC has an office in Ann Arbor Township at 2211 Old Earhart Dr. and is actively hiring," says Jennifer Olmstead, director of business development at Ann Arbor SPARK. "Right now, they have 39 open positions posted. I encourage recent graduates and anyone who wants to be at the forefront of autonomous trucking to consider joining this exciting next chapter."

TORC is headquartered in Virginia, with engineering offices in Austin, Tex.; and Montreal, Canada. The company also has a fleet operations facility in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas. Ann Arbor SPARK partnered with TORC and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to support the company’s decision to choose Michigan over competing sites in Texas and Virginia.

"I tell people this really a great example of the types of projects that I get to work on in Ann Arbor," Olmstead says. "Ann Arbor offers a rare combination of assets that align perfectly with TORC’s long-term goals — deep engineering talent, a thriving tech ecosystem, and proximity to the global heart of the automotive industry."

While TORC's new Ann Arbor hub will not host on-site vehicle testing, it will be a research and development facility. The company plans to hire engineers and technologists at an average salary of $177,000 annually.

Olmstead shares that TORC’s plan to hire 500 people is a major win not just for the local economy, but for Michigan’s leadership in autonomous mobility. Among the 39 open positions listed on TORC's careers page are roles in software engineering, machine learning, and engineering leadership.

"These are high-wage, technical jobs that will create new opportunities for local talent and attract new professionals to the region," she says. "We’ve already seen TORC host tech talks and engage in the community as part of their broader talent strategy. Their growth will help fuel a strong talent pipeline and encourage startup activity."

Olmstead adds that TORC's chief technology officer, CJ King, has strong connections to Michigan and Ann Arbor. She says he knew that the city's assets fit TORC's model for growth. She says that SPARK has "seen again and again that this region delivers not just talent, but the kind of community and infrastructure that helps companies go from idea to impact." She cites May Mobility, which launched in Ann Arbor in 2017 with just two employees and now has a staff of 200.

"We’ve seen this kind of trajectory before," she says. "... Toyota also began with a small team more than two decades ago and now employs over 2,000 people here. TORC follows in this tradition — choosing Ann Arbor not just as a place to work, but as a strategic home for innovation and scale."