Motion Planning Engineer - Trajectory Generation

Role overview Join a motion-planning team building trajectory generation algorithms for a commercial driverless robotaxi fleet. The work combines research and production engineering, with responsibility for designing optimization algorithms that shape how autonomous vehicles move safely and comfortably. You will collaborate closely with behavior planning, prediction, and controls teams to integrate your work into the broader motion stack.

Responsibilities - Develop state-of-the-art trajectory optimization algorithms that balance safety, comfort, and intuitive behavior in real on-road driving - Build and maintain robust, scalable C++ software that integrates with the wider motion-planning and controls architecture - Contribute design and code reviews grounded in a deep understanding of the team's services and underlying technologies - Use modern development tooling, including simulation, testing, and continuous integration, to enable rapid iteration - Collaborate with machine-learning and decision-planning teams to deliver end-to-end integrated solutions - Author project proposals that shape long-term technical roadmaps spanning multiple subsystems - Mentor more junior engineers and help build a culture of product-focused research and development

Requirements - 0 to 3+ years of C++ software development experience, with educational projects, internships, or PhD research counting toward this range - Bachelor's, master's, or PhD degree in robotics, computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, or a closely related field - Experience with model predictive control, motion planning, planning under uncertainty, vehicle dynamics and control, and simulation environments - Working knowledge of numerical optimization algorithms such as interior-point methods and sequential quadratic programming - Hands-on experience with optimization solvers such as IPOPT or Gurobi - Demonstrated ownership of technical features, from problem formulation and algorithm design through implementation and validation

Nice to have - Proficiency with Python for tooling, analysis, or prototyping

Benefits and work setup - Base salary range of $142,000 to $190,000 USD, with possible additional compensation such as a bonus or equity - Benefits program eligibility, typically including medical, dental, vision, 401(k) with company match, health savings accounts, life insurance, and pet insurance - Work authorization verification is part of onboarding