Senior Motion Planning Engineer for Autonomous Vehicles

MRINetwork; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 176,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Life and disability insurance

401(k)

Unlimited PTO and paid parental leave

Pre-tax commuter benefits

Flexible daily hours (on-site)

Visa transfers and sponsorships

Job summary

MRINetwork in San Francisco, CA is seeking a Senior Motion Planning Engineer to design algorithms for path and trajectory planning and coordinate fleets on-site. You will own planning solutions that enable heavy autonomous ground vehicles to navigate obstacles, manage intersections, and deploy in live environments.

Requirements include 5+ years in robotics/autonomy, strong Python/NumPy, and hands-on experience with motion planning and deployment from research to real-world systems.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of robotics or autonomy engineering experience.
• Hands-on experience building path planning or trajectory optimization for robots or autonomous vehicles.
• Strong understanding of motion planning algorithms including non-holonomic planning.
• Strong Python and NumPy skills for numerical computing and algorithm development.
• Experience taking autonomy software beyond research or simulation into real-world deployment.
• A BS, MS, or PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Comfort working with ambiguity and taking technical ownership.
• Availability to work on-site in San Francisco five days per week.

Responsibilities

• Develop path and trajectory planning: build algorithms to navigate obstacles safely while reducing unnecessary stops.
• Improve intersection management: determine vehicle crossing sequences to reduce congestion and wait time.
• Coordinate multiple vehicles: plan around intersecting trajectories to prevent conflicts and deadlocks.
• Build fleet planning algorithms: translate changing site conditions into vehicle assignments and coordinated activity.
• Support live deployments: work with controls and systems engineers to evaluate behavior, diagnose issues, and improve performance.
• Help shape the planning team: contribute to architecture and development of new planning capabilities.

Skills

Motion planning

Python

Non-holonomic planning

Trajectory optimization

Ambiguity tolerance

Robotics

Education

BS/MS/PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, or related field

Tools

C++

Shapely

Computational geometry

Job description

MRINetwork in San Francisco, CA is seeking a Senior Motion Planning Engineer to design algorithms for path and trajectory planning and coordinate fleets on-site. You will own planning solutions that enable heavy autonomous ground vehicles to navigate obstacles, manage intersections, and deploy in live environments.

Requirements include 5+ years in robotics/autonomy, strong Python/NumPy, and hands-on experience with motion planning and deployment from research to real-world systems.