Software Engineer, Planning & Controls - Autonomy & Robotics, DoorDash Air

DoorDash; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 199,000 - 292,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity grants

Benefits package

Job summary

DoorDash is seeking a Planning & Controls Engineer to own and develop flight control, motion planning, and mission planning algorithms for drone delivery. This role is hands-on, involving C++ development on embedded platforms, flight testing, and iterative refinement.

You will contribute to the autonomy software stack, tuning fault-tolerant control, and bringing up controllers on new drone platforms while collaborating with a small focused team.

Qualifications

• Deep controls fundamentals including linear/nonlinear systems and stability analysis.
• Experience developing and tuning flight controllers on embedded platforms.
• Experience with state estimation integration and motion planning concepts.

Responsibilities

• Develop and tune low-level flight control algorithms for multirotor and hybrid aircraft on embedded platforms.
• Own dynamics simulation and aerodynamics modeling of the aircraft.
• Build trajectory motion planners for smooth flight and obstacle avoidance; test on hardware.

Skills

C++

Embedded systems

Flight control

Motion planning

State estimation

Dynamics modeling

MPC

Open-source

Education

MS/PhD in EE/ME/CS/Robotics

Tools

PX4

Job description

DoorDash Labs is an independent team within DoorDash. We explore robotics and automation to transform last mile logistics in the long term. If you have a passion for applying robotics solutions in a service used by millions of people, then we want to talk to you!

We're hiring a Planning & Controls Engineer in our Autonomy Software team. In this role, you'll own and develop flight control, motion planning, and mission planning algorithms for robust, fault-tolerant drone delivery. This is a hands-on role: you will design controllers, implement them in C++, on embedded platforms, test them in flight, and iterate.

You're excited about this opportunity because you will…

• Play an integral role on a small and focused team
• Develop and tune low-level flight control algorithms for overactuated multirotor and hybrid aircraft on embedded platforms
• Own the dynamics simulation and aerodynamics modeling of the aircraft
• Bring up and tune flight controllers on new drone platforms
• Develop, tune, and test fault-tolerant control (loss of one or more motors, safe landing, emergency behaviors)
• Build a trajectory motion planner for smooth flight and obstacle avoidance within the operating envelope
• Help develop the high-level mission route planner with fallback locations

We're excited about you because…

• You have deep controls fundamentals: linear and nonlinear systems, stability analysis, controller synthesis and tuning, frequency domain analysis, optimization, and linear algebra
• You have excellent knowledge of C++ and embedded systems
• You bring dynamics modeling and simulation experience with aerodynamics knowledge
• You have experience developing and tuning flight controllers, interfacing with state estimation
• You have excellent knowledge of motion planning algorithms (trajectory optimization and nonlinear optimization, A*/D*/RRT variants)
• You have experience with sensorless brushless DC motor control
• You've built or owned a robot control stack end-to-end, from design through implementation to hardware testing
• MS/PhD degree in EE, ME, CS, Robotics, or related technical field
• Nice to have experience includes:
• Familiarity with PX4 internals (mixer, rate controller, position controller)
• Experience with hybrid VTOL transition control
• Experience with tethered or suspended payload dynamics
• Contributions to open-source flight stacks or robotics frameworks
• Published papers in controls, motion planning, or aerial robotics
• Experience developing a Model Predictive Controller (MPC), including formulation, solver, and deployment

Compensation

The successful candidate’s starting pay will fall within the pay range listed below and is determined based on job-related factors including, but not limited to, skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions. Base salary is localized according to an employee’s work location. Ranges are market-dependent and may be modified in the future.

In addition to base salary, the compensation for this role includes opportunities for equity grants.

DoorDash cares about you and your overall well-being. That's why we offer a comprehensive benefits package to all regular employees, which includes a 401(k) plan with employer matching, 16 weeks of paid parental leave, wellness benefits, commuter benefits match, paid time off and paid sick leave in compliance with applicable laws (e.g. Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act). DoorDash also offers medical, dental, and vision benefits, 11 paid holidays, disability and basic life insurance, family-forming assistance, and a mental health program, among others.

See below for paid time off details:

• For salaried roles: flexible paid time off/vacation, plus 80 hours of paid sick time per year.
• For hourly roles: vacation accrued at about 1 hour for every 25.97 hours worked (e.g. about 6.7 hours/month if working 40 hours/week; about 3.4 hours/month if working 20 hours/week), and paid sick time accrued at 1 hour for every 30 hours worked (e.g. about 5.8 hours/month if working 40 hours/week; about 2.9 hours/month if working 20 hours/week).

The national base pay range for this position within the United States, including Illinois and Colorado.

$198,600 - $292,000 USD

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.DoorDash is growing rapidly and changing constantly, which gives our team members the opportunity to share their unique perspectives, solve new challenges, and own their careers. We're committed to supporting employees’ happiness, healthiness, and overall well-being by providing comprehensive benefits and perks including premium healthcare, wellness expense reimbursement, paid parental leave and more.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

We're committed to growing and empowering a more inclusive community within our company, industry, and cities. That's why we hire and cultivate diverse teams of people from all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We believe 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 discrimination and harassment based on "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. Thank you to the Level Playing Field Institute for this statement of non-discrimination.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, and any other state or local hiring regulations, we will consider for employment any qualified applicant, including those with arrest and conviction records, in a manner consistent with the applicable regulation.

If you need any accommodations, please inform your recruiting contact upon initial connection.

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