Staff Autonomy Engineer San Francisco Bay Area

TAR; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

TAR in San Francisco is hiring a Staff Autonomy Engineer to build critical autonomy software across perception, planning, and controls, shaping the stack that runs TAR's robots. You will own a core autonomy area, mentor engineers, and collaborate with robotics, hardware, and field teams to set priorities and drive deliveries.

You will write production code, debug on real hardware, and validate results in the field, with travel to West Texas as needed.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of production engineering experience with robotics at scale.
• Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering or equivalent.
• Proven track record shipping production autonomy software on real hardware.
• Experience owning a robotic system through development, field deployment and operation.
• Depth in perception, state estimation, planning or controls with real-time, safety-critical work in Rust, C, or C++.
• Leadership across software, hardware and field teams with ownership clarity.
• Ability to simplify decisions and communicate trade-offs clearly.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and operate autonomy software across perception, localization, planning, and controls.
• Own a part of the autonomy stack and drive priorities and architectural decisions.
• Turn ambiguous needs into concrete technical proposals with scope and delivery path.
• Influence architecture across perception, planning, and fleet layers while preserving ownership.
• Communicate tradeoffs with mechanical, electrical, and manufacturing teams.
• Improve simulation, CI, testing, and release practices before deployment.
• Spend time at the West Texas site to connect field performance with software fixes.
• Mentor engineers and contribute to hiring and technical judgment.

Skills

Rust

C

C++

Autonomy software

Robotics leadership

Mentoring

Real-time systems

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering

Job description

TAR’s mission is to power intelligence for the world. We are building the world’s first off-grid power plant for data centers powered by renewable technologies.

We firmly believe AI should be built in the US for the benefit of all people. For that, power must be fast, clean and scalable. We are singularly focused on delivering GW-scale power faster than anyone has ever done, by rethinking every layer of the stack.

We vertically integrate to solve every bottleneck, from racking systems to power electronics to dispatch algorithms to on-site construction.

Leave your mark on the future of civilization-scale energy infrastructure.

Company

TAR is both a hardware and software company, we are building out massive, critical, physical infrastructure. TAR is working directly with one of the largest compute providers to scale and deploy 5GWs by 2028.

• High ownership. High Agency. Own project end-to-end. Great people don’t need to be managed.
• Speed. We achieve great things on incredible timelines. We push ourselves to go faster.
• First principles. No ego. No hierarchy. Challenge every assumption.
• Passion. Solving the energy problem is one of the largest challenges that faces the world now and in the future.

About the role

As a Staff Autonomy Engineer, you will build critical autonomy software and help shape the technical direction of the stack that runs TAR's robots, from on-machine perception, planning, and controls to the fleet layer that coordinates many machines on one site.

You will own a core technical area and solve problems across the autonomy stack and its hardware, working with leadership and the robotics, hardware, and field teams to set priorities, make architectural decisions, and turn ambiguous needs into concrete engineering work.

Writing production code, debugging on real hardware, and validating results in the field are central to the role. You will also mentor engineers and help the team make better technical decisions.

The role is based at our San Francisco engineering office, with West Texas occasional travel as needed.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and operate safety critical autonomy software across perception, localization, planning, and controls. Tune safety, reliability, and operational flow so that it adapts to construction and power sites with humans and other robots.
• Own a part of the autonomy stack. Identify dependencies, sequence work, and make the consequences of competing priorities explicit.
• Turn ambiguous needs into concrete technical proposals with clear scope, alternatives, and a practical path to delivery.
• Influence architectural decisions across connected systems, such as how perception, planning, and controls share state and how the fleet layer deconflicts machines on one site. Establish clear interfaces while preserving ownership within individual engineering areas.
• Communicate tradeoffs with mechanical, electrical, and manufacturing counterparts. Define how software exchanges telemetry and commands with the machine, handles communication failures, and passes testing before deployment.
• Improve simulation, CI, testing, and release practices so the team validates changes before they reach a machine.
• When needed, spend time at the West Texas site, closing the loop between field performance and software fixes.
• Mentor engineers through design discussions, code reviews, and collaborative problem-solving. Contribute to hiring and help develop technical judgment across the team.

Qualifications

• Typically 8+ years of production engineering experience, including ownership of robotics systems at scale and leadership of complex technical projects. We also welcome candidates with fewer years who can demonstrate comparable scope and impact.
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• A strong record of personally shipping production autonomy software on real hardware, with current depth in implementation, debugging, and system design.
• Experience owning a robotic system through development, field deployment, and ongoing operation.
• Depth in at least one of perception, state estimation, planning, or controls, with real-time, safety-critical experience in Rust, C, C++.
• Evidence of leading complex technical work across software, hardware, and field teams, including situations where requirements or ownership were initially unclear.
• The judgment to choose an appropriately simple solution, recognize when a decision has wider consequences, and explain trade-offs clearly.
• Experience translating field needs into technical priorities and an achievable delivery plan.
• The ability to improve other engineers' work through collaboration, constructive feedback, and mentoring.

You do not need to have held a Staff title. We are interested in the scope of the work you have owned, the decisions you have made, and the results you can explain.

Nice to have

• Experience building autonomy for energy, industrial infrastructure, robotics, or other environments where software interacts with physical systems in adverse conditions.
• Deep experience in simulation, optimization, geospatial systems, design automation, product engineering, or industrial controls.
• Experience building shared platforms or integrating systems across teams with different technical and operational needs.
• Experience delivering software in a small team where you helped define both the problem and the approach.