Motion Planning Engineer – Equity & Autonomous Driving

DiDi; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 141,000 - 235,000; Full time

Job summary

DiDi Autonomous Driving is seeking a Software Engineer / Sr. Software Engineer to advance core decision-making and motion planning systems for autonomous vehicles.

You will build algorithms enabling safe, smooth navigation across complex environments, spanning high-level behavior to low-level trajectory optimization. The role emphasizes collaboration with Prediction, Perception, and Control teams and requires strong C++ skills and robotics fundamentals to deliver robust world models and safe

Qualifications

• B.S./M.S. in Computer Science, Robotics, or a related field.
• Experience in autonomous systems, robotics, or automotive software development.
• Strong proficiency in C++ for real-time algorithms.
• Robotics fundamentals: decision-making, motion planning, control theory, and optimization.
• Experience in motion planning, trajectory optimization, world environment reasoning, and cost design.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement the core motion planning logic for high-level actions such as lane changes and merges.
• Develop and optimize motion planning algorithms that integrate geometry reasoning and speed profiling into a cohesive trajectory.
• Architect and enhance the geometry system for generating feasible, compliant paths.
• Refine the velocity system for context-aware, comfortable, and safe velocity profiles.
• Model complex driving scenarios and agent interactions to build a robust world model for the behavioral planner.
• Design costs for trajectory ranking to balance ETAs, comfort, and safety.
• Conduct in-depth analysis, testing, and debugging across scenarios and lead root-cause investigations.
• Collaborate with Prediction, Perception, and Control teams to ensure smooth data flow from understanding to motion.

Skills

C++

Motion planning

Trajectory optimization

Optimization

Robotics fundamentals

Education

B.S./M.S. in Computer Science, Robotics, or related field

PhD or internship in robotics planning systems

Job description

DiDi Autonomous Driving is seeking a Software Engineer / Sr. Software Engineer to advance core decision-making and motion planning systems for autonomous vehicles.

You will build algorithms enabling safe, smooth navigation across complex environments, spanning high-level behavior to low-level trajectory optimization. The role emphasizes collaboration with Prediction, Perception, and Control teams and requires strong C++ skills and robotics fundamentals to deliver robust world models and safe