Motion Planning Tech Lead — Autonomous Vehicles

Motional; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 240,000 - 330,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401k with company match

Health savings account

Life insurance

Pet insurance

Job summary

Motional is seeking a Principal Engineer, Team Lead- Motion Planning to lead a team delivering production-quality motion planning software for autonomous vehicles. You will guide architecture, collaborate with cross-functional groups, and mentor engineers to achieve safe, scalable planning solutions.

The role emphasizes leadership in planning algorithms, control systems, and data-driven approaches, with a focus on passenger comfort and reliability in complex environments.

Qualifications

• Masters or PhD in Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
• Established history of delivering production-quality motion planner in a leadership capacity.
• Advanced proficiency in search algorithms.
• Experience developing motion planning solutions with ML.
• Expertise in C++ software development, Linux, and Python, with knowledge of SQL.
• Strong understanding of motion planning under uncertainty and interactions with dynamic agents.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team within the motion planning organization, responsible for planning algorithms and constraint generation.
• Provide technical direction and make strategic decisions on architecture, resources, and debt management.
• Deliver a robust, scalable planner with safety-focused design across prototyping, testing, deployment, and production.
• Use metrics to guide development and improve planning components.
• Mentor team members and foster an inclusive, collaborative environment.

Skills

Motion planning

C++

Python

Linux

Leadership

Team management

Robotics

ML in motion planning

Education

Master's degree in Robotics

PhD in a related field

Tools

Simulation tools

Git

Job description

Motional is seeking a Principal Engineer, Team Lead- Motion Planning to lead a team delivering production-quality motion planning software for autonomous vehicles. You will guide architecture, collaborate with cross-functional groups, and mentor engineers to achieve safe, scalable planning solutions.

The role emphasizes leadership in planning algorithms, control systems, and data-driven approaches, with a focus on passenger comfort and reliability in complex environments.