Staff Motion Planning Engineer - Trajectory Generation

Motional; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); Hybrid; USD 205,000 - 272,500; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work arrangement

Job summary

Motional is seeking a lead engineer on the Motion team to architect and advance motion planning, trajectory optimization, and production-ready autonomous vehicle software. You will own critical algorithms and guide cross-functional teams to deliver safe, comfortable robotaxi behavior.

The role requires 5+ years in production C++ for real-time or safety-critical systems, with strong MPC, planning under uncertainty, and embedded optimization experience.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of production-grade C++ experience in real-time or safety-critical apps.
• Degree in Robotics, CS, CE, EE or related field.
• Proven ownership of large-scale technical development initiatives from problem to on-vehicle production.
• Expertise in MPC, motion planning architectures, planning under uncertainty, and vehicle dynamics/control.
• Strong knowledge of non-linear and numerical optimization methods.
• Experience deploying and optimizing solvers in real-time embedded environments.
• Bonus: Python for simulation and rapid prototyping.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic technical leadership for motion planning and trajectory optimization.
• Lead cross-functional design with planning, prediction, and control teams.
• Draft and drive long-term technical roadmaps for safety-critical subsystems.
• Mentor engineers and foster a product-focused, rigorous research culture.

Skills

C++ development

Real-time systems

Low-latency software

Safety-critical engineering

Python (bonus)

Education

Bachelor's/Master's/PhD in Robotics/CS/CE/EE

Tools

IPOPT

Gurobi

OSQP

CasADi

Job description

Misson Summary

On our Motion team, you will serve as a technical leader, leveraging your deep expertise in motion planning, robotics, and software development to architect and advance the capabilities of production‑ready autonomous vehicles. In this role, you will drive innovative research, own systemic design processes, and spearhead the implementation of performance‑critical algorithms that enable safe, comfortable, and intuitive autonomous vehicle behaviors across Motional's fleet of robotaxis.

If you are passionate about autonomous driving, thrive on solving challenging motion planning problems, and are eager to make a significant impact in a rapidly evolving field, we want to hear from you.

Technical Scope

• Architect State‑of‑the‑Art Solutions: Drive the long‑term technical strategy and framework for motion planning and trajectory optimization algorithms to guarantee safe, smooth, and comfortable vehicle motion.
• Scalable Core Software Architecture: Own the structural design of robust and scalable software that enables real on‑road impact by evaluating, benchmarking, and integrating diverse optimal control techniques and motion planning algorithms.
• Systemic Code Quality & Governance: Establish code quality benchmarks and lead high‑impact architectural code and design reviews (C++) based on an exhaustive understanding of the cross‑functional teams' services and technologies.
• Advanced Engineering Infrastructure: Champion and define modern development toolchains, including next‑generation testing frameworks, high‑fidelity simulation, and continuous integration, to enable rapid development cycles across the organization.

Role Responsibilities

• Strategic Technical Leadership: Define, justify, and navigate complex system trade‑offs and highly technical concepts to engineering peers and executive leadership to drive critical platform‑level decisions.
• Cross‑Functional Orchestration: Lead architectural co‑design and alignment with adjacent teams working on decision/behavior planning, prediction, and vehicle control to build comprehensive, integrated, and safety‑critical solutions.
• Subsystem Roadmapping: Author high‑impact project proposals that anchor long‑term technical roadmaps and span multiple safety‑critical vehicle subsystems.
• Engineering Mentorship: Cultivate the technical growth of senior and junior team members alike, fostering an organizational culture of product‑focused engineering, rigorous research, and cutting‑edge development.

What we're looking for

• Extensive Production Experience: 5+ years (or equivalent expert level) of production‑grade C++ software development, with a proven track record in real‑time, low‑latency, or safety‑critical applications.
• Educational Background: Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD degree preferred in Robotics, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• Proven Technical Ownership: A distinct track record of defining, scaling, and leading large‑scale technical development initiatives from initial problem formulation through algorithm design, validation, and on‑vehicle production implementation.
• Motion Planning & Control: Deep, domain‑expert experience with Model Predictive Control (MPC), motion planning architectures, planning under uncertainty, vehicle dynamics/control, and closed‑loop simulation environments.
• Theoretical Excellence: Thorough, first‑principles mathematical understanding of non‑linear and numerical optimization algorithms (including interior point methods, sequential quadratic programming, and convex/non‑convex optimization formulations).
• Solver Optimization Expertise: Extensive experience deploying, customizing, and scaling numerical optimization solvers (e.g., IPOPT, Gurobi, OSQP, CasADi) within real‑time embedded environments.
• Strong knowledge of Python for simulation, data analysis, or rapid prototyping is considered a bonus.

We encourage a hybrid schedule with in‑office time at one of our locations in Boston, Pittsburgh, or Las Vegas to support collaboration, or this role can be fully remote.

Compensation

$205,000 — $272,500 USD (base salary only). This role may include additional forms of compensation such as a bonus or company equity.

Candidates for certain positions are eligible to participate in Motional’s benefits program. Motional’s benefits include but are not limited to medical, dental, vision, 401k with a company match, health saving accounts, life insurance, pet insurance, and more.

Motional AD Inc. is an EOE. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. To comply with Federal Law, we participate in E‑Verify. All newly‑hired employees are queried through this electronic system established by the DHS and the SSA to verify their identity and employment eligibility.