Planning & Control Engineer, Early Career

Bot; Houston, Northern (TX, KY); Hybrid; USD 60,000 - 82,000; Full time

Job summary

Bot Auto is seeking an early-career Planning & Control Engineer to help develop and improve the driving behavior of our autonomous trucks. This role focuses on algorithm and software development, using vehicle data and simulation to evaluate performance.

You will work with experienced engineers to investigate problems, design tests, and produce reproducible results while emphasizing rigorous experimentation and evidence-based conclusions. Recent graduates are welcome.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated strong experimental habits: formulate clear questions, establish baselines, design meaningful comparisons, interpret results.
• Strong programming fundamentals in C++ and Python, including implementing, debugging, and testing algorithms.
• Solid foundation in motion planning, decision-making, optimization, robotics, or feedback control; depth in one area preferred.
• Experience completing a substantive technical project involving implementation and evaluation.
• Ability to communicate technical reasoning clearly, distinguish observations from assumptions, and explain limitations.
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Robotics, CS, EE, Mech or related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Responsibilities

• Develop planning and control software: implement and improve algorithms in behavior planning, motion planning, trajectory generation, or vehicle control.
• Investigate real-world driving issues using logs, simulation, and code analysis to understand unexpected behavior and test hypotheses.
• Design and run meaningful experiments with clear baselines and appropriate scenarios and metrics.
• Make results reproducible: maintain scripts and records, document tests and observations.
• Analyze failures and regressions, identify root causes, and drive algorithm improvements.
• Collaborate on implementation and validation with other teams through reviews and integration.

Skills

C++

Python

Experimental habits

Robotics basics

Motion planning

Education

Bachelor's degree in Robotics or related field

Job description

Planning & Control Engineer, Early Career

Houston, TX

Company Introduction

At Bot Auto, we are revolutionizing the transportation of goods with our cutting-edge autonomous trucks, enhancing the quality of life for communities around the globe. With the agility of a start-up and the wisdom of seasoned experts, Bot Auto boasts a team that has achieved numerous world-firsts and unparalleled innovations. United by a shared vision, we create miracles and propel the future of transportation. Join us and transform your dreams into reality.

About the Role

We are looking for an early-career Planning & Control Engineer to help develop and improve the driving behavior of our autonomous trucks.This is primarily an algorithm and software development role. Working with experienced engineers, you will investigate driving problems, implement improvements, and evaluate their performance through simulation and vehicle data. You will also collaborate with our Validation team to develop targeted tests and identify regressions.
Rigorous experimental habits are central to this role. We value engineers who investigate why an approach works, understand where it fails, and draw conclusions supported by evidence—not just produce successful demonstrations.

This role is intended for recent graduates and engineers with approximately 0–3 years of relevant experience. Prior autonomous-driving industry experience is not required.

Responsibilities

• Develop planning and control software. Implement and improve algorithms in behavior planning, motion planning, trajectory generation, or vehicle control, with assignments aligned with your technical strengths.
• Investigate real-world driving issues. Use vehicle logs, simulation, and code analysis to understand unexpected behavior, develop testable hypotheses, and investigate root causes with guidance from experienced engineers.
• Design and run meaningful experiments. Establish clear baselines, make deliberate comparisons, and choose scenarios and metrics that test the intended hypothesis. Distinguish genuine improvements from changes caused by unrelated factors.
• Make results reproducible and conclusions transparent. Maintain experiment scripts and records of relevant code, configurations, and datasets. Document what was tested, what was observed, and what remains uncertain.
• Analyze failures and regressions. Investigate counterexamples and performance trade-offs rather than relying only on successful cases or aggregate metrics. Turn findings into algorithm improvements and targeted regression tests.
• Collaborate on implementation and validation. Participate in design and code reviews, integrate changes into the autonomy stack, and work with Simulation and Validation engineers to assess performance.

Required Qualifications

• Demonstrated strong experimental habits: the ability to formulate a clear question, establish a baseline, design a comparison that meaningfully tests a hypothesis, and interpret results critically. You should be comfortable reporting negative results, identifying limitations, and revising your original hypothesis when the evidence does not support it.
• Strong programming fundamentals and hands-on experience in C++ and Python, including implementing, debugging, and testing algorithms.
• A solid foundation in at least one relevant area, such as motion planning, decision-making, optimization, robotics, or feedback control. Depth in one area is more important than familiarity with every area.
• Experience completing a substantive technical project that involved both implementation and evaluation. Research, internships, robotics competitions, and substantial academic or personal projects are welcome.
• Ability to communicate technical reasoning clearly, distinguish observations from assumptions, and explain both the strengths and limitations of a proposed solution.
• A bachelor’s degree or higher in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with closed-loop simulation, physical robots, or vehicle-based experiments.
• Familiarity with vehicle dynamics, system identification, or interactions between planning and control.
• Experience with decision-making under uncertainty, dynamic environments, or interactions with other road users.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Bot Auto’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.