Software Engineer – Behavior Capabilities

Zoox; Foster City (CA); On-site; USD 189,000 - 270,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Amazon Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)

Zoox Stock Appreciation Rights

Potential sign-on bonus

Job summary

Zoox is seeking an engineer to contribute to algorithmic advancements within its Operational Planning team. This team is focused on making the robot operate effectively under various conditions. Responsibilities include enhancing driving behavior algorithms, developing strategies for performance degradation, and integrating solutions within the driving stack.

The ideal candidate will have a Master’s degree in Computer Science, fluency in C++, and extensive experience in programming and algorithm design.

Base salary ranges from $189,000 to $270,000 with additional compensation including RSUs and potential bonuses.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience in a related field.
• Extensive experience with programming and algorithm design.
• PhD in related fields is a bonus.

Responsibilities

• Create principled algorithmic improvements to driving behavior.
• Collaborate to develop strategies for performance mitigation.
• Architect scalable solutions for driving stack integration.
• Partner with validation teams to execute algorithm tests.

Skills

C++ fluency

Algorithm design

Vehicle kinematics understanding

Education

Master's degree in Computer Science or related field

Job description

TheBehavior Capabilities opportunity falls within theFail Operational Planning team at Zoox. This team works to ensure that the robot continues to operate effectively, even in the presence of minor compartmentalized failures or degraded capabilities. The focus of the team includes developing behavioral and motion planning algorithms to improve trip progress, vehicle uptime metrics, and correspondingly a better customer experience. This is a cutting‑edge problem which requires teamwork and collaboration across a diverse group of experts including Planner, Perception, Prediction, Hardware, and more.

On this team, you will contribute to the next generation of algorithmic advancements to expand our robot’s ability to drive in some of the most complex scenarios. We are looking for an engineer who is excited to understand the interdependencies within the driving stack and takes ownership of their projects and has a holistic product‑focused approach toward development.

Responsibilities

• Create principled algorithmic improvements to specific areas of driving behavior and implement those changes in our code base.
• Collaborate cross‑functionally to develop strategies and intelligent behaviors to mitigate performance degradation under various failure modes of the system.
• Architect and implement scalable solutions ensuring seamless integration with the rest of the driving stack.
• Partner with validation teams to define and execute tests for developed algorithms.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Computer Science or related field
• Fluency in C++
• Extensive experience with programming and algorithm design
• Understanding of vehicle kinematics
• 4+ years of experience in a related field

Bonus Qualifications

• PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field
• Experience shipping products to market (commercial robotics, drones, consumer devices etc.)
• Demonstrated ability to create real‑time motion planning algorithms in a cross‑functional team

Base Salary Range: $189,000 - $270,000 a year. Compensation includes salary, Amazon Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), and Zoox Stock Appreciation Rights. A sign‑on bonus may be offered.