Autonomy Motion Planning Engineer for Off-Road Robotics

Foundation; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 195,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Vision plan

Equity

Job summary

Foundation seeks an experienced robotics engineer to shape motion-planning and autonomy for an all-terrain vehicle intended for commercial and defense use. You will define planning architecture, implement planning algorithms, and collaborate with vehicle engineering on sensors and compute selection.

The role demands hands-on robotics experience, strong coding in ROS2/C++, and the ability to test in real-world environments, balancing safety with high-performance trajectory planning.

Qualifications

• Strong background in robotics, controls, or related fields (MSc or equivalent experience).
• Hands-on experience with motion planning algorithms.
• Proficiency in ROS2, C++, Python, internal middleware, and spatial representations.

Responsibilities

• Set short and long term direction for planning architecture and priorities.
• Design and implement motion planning algorithms for off-road ATV navigation.
• Integrate waypoints, obstacle avoidance, and terrain constraints into safe, drivable paths.
• Tune and validate control parameters for robust performance on rough, off-road terrain.
• Design test scenarios and evaluate planning algorithms in both simulation and field environments.
• Set real-time replanning policies and continuity rules for changing conditions.
• Generate speed profiles from curvature, visibility, slope, and surface quality; respect slow/no-go zones.
• Collaborate with vehicle engineering to create an integrated system, including sensor/compute selection and integration.
• Implement state-of-the-art approaches to trajectory planning, route planning, and real-time control.

Skills

Motion planning

ROS2

C++

Python

Vehicle dynamics knowledge

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Computer Science/Math/Electrical

Tools

Internal middleware

Point cloud data

Occupancy representations

Map representations

Cost representations

Job description

Foundation seeks an experienced robotics engineer to shape motion-planning and autonomy for an all-terrain vehicle intended for commercial and defense use. You will define planning architecture, implement planning algorithms, and collaborate with vehicle engineering on sensors and compute selection.

The role demands hands-on robotics experience, strong coding in ROS2/C++, and the ability to test in real-world environments, balancing safety with high-performance trajectory planning.