Senior Software Engineer, Motion Planning – DoorDash Labs, DoorDash Air

Doordashusa; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 168,000 - 247,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) plan with employer matching

16 weeks paid parental leave

Health, dental, and vision benefits

Paid time off and sick leave

Commuter benefits match

Mental health program

Job summary

Doordashusa is seeking a Senior Planner Engineer in San Francisco to design and implement behavior and motion planning algorithms for autonomous delivery systems. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in C++ and robotics, with experience shipping production-level systems.

This role involves collaborating with various teams to solve critical challenges and enhance efficiency in last-mile logistics. Compensation ranges from $168,000 to $247,000, along with numerous benefits including equity grants.

Qualifications

• Proven track record of shipping production-level autonomy systems.
• Experience developing or deploying robotics, or real-time decision-making systems.
• Comfortable with performance metrics to guide engineering decisions.

Responsibilities

• Design real-time behavior and motion planning features for urban/suburban driving.
• Lead root-cause analysis to eliminate planner-related failures.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to enhance autonomy.

Skills

C++ software engineering

AI coding tools proficiency

motion planning experience

data-driven evaluation

Education

BS/MS/PhD in CS, EE, Robotics or equivalent experience

Job description

About the Team

DoorDash Labs, established in 2018, serves as the innovation hub for DoorDash, focusing on developing automation and robotics solutions to enhance last‑mile logistics. The team's mission is to create technologies that support and augment human networks, aiming to improve efficiency for Dashers, merchants, and consumers alike. We’re ruthlessly focused on business impact and are a highly senior and nimble team composed of veterans from a variety of robotics industries.

About the Role

We are seeking a seasoned Senior Planner Engineer with a proven track record of shipping production‑level autonomy systems. The engineer will design, implement, and deploy behavior and motion planning algorithms that enable safe, reliable, and fully autonomous delivery. The ideal candidate has lived through the full development lifecycle of an autonomous product and intimately understands the practical challenges and trade‑offs required to build planning systems that are not just novel, but robust, reliable, and performant. You will be a key technical voice, expected to solve our most critical challenges by drawing upon your extensive prior experience in the field.

Responsibilities

• Design and ship real‑time behavior and motion planning features for complex urban/suburban driving scenarios.
• Lead root‑cause analysis and systematically eliminate planner‑related disengagements and long‑tail failures.
• Build scalable evaluation, simulation, and validation frameworks to ensure safe rollout to new geo‑fenced regions.
• Collaborate cross‑functionally with perception, prediction, controls, and platform teams to deliver end‑to‑end autonomy improvements.
• Contribute to architecture decisions that improve planner robustness, generalization, and computational efficiency.

Qualifications

• BS/MS/PhD in CS, EE, Robotics, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Proficiency in using AI coding tools (e.g., Claude Code, Codex, Cursor) throughout the software development lifecycle, including designing, generating code, testing, monitoring, and releasing software.
• Strong C++ software engineering experience building robust, production‑quality systems.
• Experience developing or deploying motion planning, robotics, or real‑time decision‑making systems.
• Comfortable working with data‑driven evaluation, simulation, and performance metrics to guide engineering decisions.

Compensation and Benefits

Pay range: $168,000 – $247,000 USD, localized by work location.

In addition to base salary, compensation includes opportunities for equity grants. Talk to your recruiter for more information.

• 401(k) plan with employer matching
• 16 weeks paid parental leave
• Health, dental, and vision benefits
• Paid time off and paid sick leave in compliance with applicable laws
• Commuter benefits match
• 11 paid holidays
• Disability and basic life insurance
• Family‑forming assistance
• Mental health program
• Flexible paid time off/vacation and sick time accrual details

Notice to Applicants for Jobs Located in NYC or Remote Jobs Associated With Office in NYC Only

Notice to Applicants for Jobs Located in NYC or Remote Jobs Associated With Office in NYC Only

About DoorDash

At DoorDash, our mission to empower local economies shapes how our team members move quickly, learn, and reiterate in order to make impactful decisions that display empathy for our range of users—from Dashers to merchant partners to consumers. We are a technology and logistics company that started by enabling door‑to‑door delivery, and we are looking for team members who can help us go from a company that is known as the place you order food to a company that people turn to for any and all goods.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

We’re committed to growing and empowering a more inclusive community within our company, industry, and cities. We hire and cultivate diverse teams of people from all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, believing that true innovation happens when everyone has room at the table and the tools, resources, and opportunity to excel.

Statement of Non-Discrimination

In keeping with our beliefs and goals, no employee or applicant will face discrimination or harassment based on race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, age, gender, marital/domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability status, or veteran status. Above and beyond protected categories, we also strive to prevent other subtler forms of inappropriate behavior (i.e., stereotyping) from ever gaining a foothold in our office. Whether blatant or hidden, barriers to success have no place at DoorDash. We value a diverse workforce—people who identify as women, non‑binary or gender non‑conforming, LGBTQIA+, American Indian or Native Alaskan, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, differently‑abled, caretakers and parents, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply.