Software Engineer, Autonomous Vehicles (Motion Planning)

Helm.ai; United States; Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401K

Remote-friendly

Free lunch

Wellness stipend

Office setup allowance

Company retreats

Job summary

Helm.ai is hiring a senior software engineer to design, implement, and test vehicle software for autonomous driving. You will work on core planning, trajectory generation, and safety-critical behaviors with cross-functional teams in the South Bay office.

We value deep expertise in backend systems, ROS/ROS2, and real-time software, plus collaboration with AI, perception, and control groups to advance highway and urban autonomy.

Qualifications

• MS/PhD in robotics, computer science, electrical engineering, or equivalent.
• Strong C++ for real-time systems; Python for tooling.
• Experience with planning algorithms and decision architectures (FSMs/behavior trees).
• Hands-on ROS/ROS2 experience.

Responsibilities

• Architect core behavior planning and decision frameworks for complex maneuvers.
• Develop real-time trajectory generation balancing safety and progress.
• Translate rules into safe, verifiable planning behaviors for OD/ODD constraints.
• Tackle edge cases like pedestrians, occlusions, and construction zones.
• Integrate planner with perception, prediction, localization, and control modules.
• Test via simulations, closed-course trials, and live on-road testing.
• Optimize for embedded automotive hardware and real-time performance.

Skills

C++

Python

ROS/ROS2

Planning algorithms

Behavior trees

Vehicle dynamics

Embedded systems

Education

MS/PhD in robotics or CS or EE

Tools

CARLA

Job description

We help make autonomous technologies more efficient, safer, and accessible.

Helm.ai builds AI software for autonomous driving and robotics. Our “Deep Teaching” methodology is uniquely data and capital efficient, allowing us to surpass traditional approaches. Our unsupervised learning software can train neural networks for L2/L3 autonomy, which drastically reduces the need for human annotation and is hardware-agnostic. We work with some of the world’s largest automotive manufacturers towards mass production and we’ve raised over $100M from Honda, Mando, and others to help us scale.

We are looking for versatile engineers to shape core components of the next generation of the Helm.ai autonomous stack. No prior experience in autonomous vehicles is required—we prioritize deep expertise in backend systems and a proven track record in high-impact software engineering. In this senior role, you will design, implement, and test safe, efficient, and reliable vehicle software/hardware systems, collaborate with sensor and compute vendors, partner with Helm.ai’s AI teams, and work with customers to advance highway and urban autonomous driving capabilities.

You will:

• Architect core behavior planning: Own the logic and decision frameworks that guide the vehicle through complex maneuvers (like unprotected turns, dynamic merges, and yielding).

• Optimize trajectories: Develop robust trajectory generation systems that perfectly balance safety, passenger comfort, and vehicle progress.

• Ensure verifiable safety: Translate complex traffic rules and operational design domain (ODD) constraints into interpretable, highly safe planning behaviors.

• Solve the long-tail: Tackle exciting, real-world edge cases, from unpredictable pedestrians and occlusions to complex construction zones.

• Drive cross-functional integration: Collaborate closely to seamlessly connect your planner with perception, prediction, localization, and control modules.

• Test and validate: Prove out your solutions through rigorous scenario-based simulations, closed-course trials, and live on-road testing.

• Optimize for real-time: Deliver robust, highly deterministic performance tailored for embedded automotive hardware.

You have:

• MS/PhD in robotics, Computer science, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent industry experience.

• Solid C++ for robust, real-time systems, paired with Python for tooling and data analysis.

• Deep familiarity with both planning algorithms (search, sampling and optimization-based) and complex decision architectures (like FSMs and behavior trees).

• A solid grasp of vehicle kinematics and dynamics to ensure safe, smooth, and realistic motion profiles.

• Hands-on experience with ROS/ROS2 or comparable autonomous middleware.

The following are not required but a plus:

• Experience shipping a planner on public roads and analyzing real-world disengagement data.

• Hands-on experience with tools like CARLA or custom in-house scenario frameworks.

• Competitive health insurance options

• 401K plan management

• Remote-friendly and flexible team culture

• Free lunch and fully-stocked kitchen in our South Bay office

• Additional perks: monthly wellness stipend, office set up allowance, company retreats, and more to come as we scale

• The opportunity to work on one of the most interesting, impactful problems of the decade

Helm.ai is proud to be an equal opportunity employer building a diverse and inclusive workforce. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

Any unsolicited resumes/candidate profiles submitted through our website or to personal email accounts of employees of Helm.ai are considered the property of Helm.ai and are not subject to payment of agency fees.