Staff Software Engineer – Motion Planning

Torc Robotics; Blacksburg (VA); On-site; USD 186,200 - 223,400; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus component

Stock options

100% paid medical, dental, vision

401(k) with 6% match

Job summary

Torc Robotics is seeking a Staff Motion Planning Engineer in Blacksburg to lead motion planning, trajectory generation, and optimization for autonomous trucks. You will drive architectural strategy, scale planning capabilities, and collaborate with autonomy, controls, and simulation teams to deliver safe and reliable autonomy at scale.

You will contribute to production‑quality C++ software, perform architecture reviews, and mentor engineers while guiding platform modernization and performance

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field with 10+ years experience OR Master’s with 7+ years OR PhD with 5+ years.
• Experience as Staff/Principal or multi‑team technical leader leading large cross‑functional initiatives.
• Deep expertise developing robotics, autonomous vehicle, ADAS, or real‑time software systems.
• Deep expertise in modern C++ development within Linux environments.
• Experience with motion planning, trajectory generation, trajectory optimization, behavior planning, or decision-making for robotics.
• Strong understanding of vehicle dynamics, kinematics, trajectory feasibility, and planning architecture.
• Proficiency in software engineering fundamentals, system design, and scalable development practices.
• Experience with version control, build systems, and packaging; familiarity with test automation (pytest, Robot Framework, gtest).

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership across autonomy, controls, simulation, safety, and validation teams.
• Design, develop, and optimize motion planning algorithms including trajectory generation and optimization.
• Develop production‑quality software in C++ on Linux and collaborate with Safety, Perception, Validation teams.
• Lead validation strategies using SiL/HiL/ViL environments and issue debugging in simulation and on vehicles.

Skills

Technical leadership

Motion planning

Problem solving

Communication

Collaboration

Independent work

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Robotics/EE

Master's degree or PhD (advantage)

Tools

C++

Linux

Git

ROS/ROS2

Job description

Staff, Software Engineer – Motion Planning

Blacksburg, VA, Remote – US

Company Overview

About The Company: At Torc, we have always believed that autonomous vehicle technology will transform how we travel, move freight, and do business. A leader in autonomous driving since 2007, Torc has spent over a decade commercializing our solutions with experienced partners. Now a part of the Daimler family, we are focused solely on developing software for automated trucks to transform how the world moves freight.

Team

Meet The Team: Torc is hiring a Staff Motion Planning Engineer to lead technical development for the planning, prediction, and decision‑making systems that determine how our autonomous trucks navigate the world safely, efficiently, and predictably. Our team operates at the intersection of robotics, machine learning, optimization, simulation, and safety.

Responsibilities

What You'll Do: This role is focused on motion planning, trajectory generation, and trajectory optimization for autonomous vehicles in unstructured environments. You will provide technical leadership across teams, drive architectural strategy, engineering excellence, and scalable system design, and contribute directly to the design, development, validation, and deployment of planning capabilities.

This role operates at a multi‑team level with broad organizational impact. You will work closely with engineers and leaders across autonomy, controls, simulation, safety, and validation to help deliver safe, robust, and reliable autonomy behaviors at scale.

• Technical Leadership
  • Define and maintain architectural vision across teams, platforms, and services to ensure scalability, reliability, maintainability, long‑term technical alignment, and consistency of software design patterns.
  • Support Engineering Managers and Senior ICs in resolving complex technical design, architecture, and implementation challenges across multiple domains while balancing feasibility against business objectives.
  • Establish and promote engineering best practices for code quality, automated testing, performance optimization, monitoring, security, and operational excellence.
  • Conduct architecture reviews, technical deep dives, design sessions, and technical assessments to guide engineering decisions and solution direction.
  • Mentor and coach senior and mid‑level engineers, helping grow future Staff and Principal engineers through technical guidance and leadership development.
  • Foster a culture of engineering excellence, documentation, collaboration, innovation, and knowledge sharing across the organization.
  • Translate complex technical concepts, trade‑offs, and architectural decisions into clear recommendations for leadership and cross‑functional stakeholders.
  • Lead major technical initiatives such as platform modernization, observability enhancements, performance optimization, scalability improvements, and reliability engineering efforts.
• Software Development
  • Design, develop, and optimize motion planning algorithms including trajectory generation, trajectory selection, behavior planning, and optimization‑based planning approaches for autonomous trucks.
  • Develop planning solutions leveraging techniques such as graph search, sampling‑based planning, optimization‑based planning, spline/B‑spline trajectories, convex optimization, and Frenet‑frame approaches.
  • Incorporate vehicle kinematic and dynamic constraints into planning systems to ensure safe, feasible, and comfortable vehicle behavior.
  • Develop production‑quality software using modern C++ within a Linux environment while adhering to quality, safety, testing, and deployment best practices.
  • Collaborate closely with Safety, Controls, Perception, Validation, and Simulation teams to develop safe and reliable autonomous driving behaviors.
• Testing, Integration, and Metrics
  • Develop and execute validation strategies across Software‑in‑the‑Loop (SiL), Hardware‑in‑the‑Loop (HiL), and Vehicle‑in‑the‑Loop (ViL) environments.
  • Investigate and debug vehicle behavior by reproducing issues in simulation, analyzing system performance, and implementing software improvements.
  • Support vehicle integration, deployment activities, and post‑deployment investigations to ensure reliable autonomy performance.
  • Perform on‑vehicle troubleshooting using real‑time diagnostic tools and in‑depth log analysis.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical field with:
  • 10+ years of industry experience OR
  • Master’s degree with 7+ years of experience OR
  • PhD with 5+ years of experience.
• Proven experience operating as a Staff, Principal, or multi‑team technical leader within complex engineering organizations, including leading large cross‑functional technical initiatives.
• Deep expertise developing robotics, autonomous vehicle, ADAS, or other complex real‑time software systems.
• Deep expertise in modern C++ development within Linux‑based environments.
• Diverse experience developing motion planning, trajectory generation, trajectory optimization, behavior planning, or decision‑making systems for robotics or autonomous systems.
• Strong understanding of vehicle dynamics, vehicle kinematics, trajectory feasibility, and planning system architecture.
• Strong foundation in linear algebra, numerical optimization, geometry, and robotics algorithms.
• Hands‑on experience with analyzing metrics to optimize performance in a resource‑constrained environment.
• Excellent troubleshooting skills with the ability to perform both real‑time diagnostics and in‑depth post‑analysis.
• Mastery of software engineering fundamentals, system design principles, and scalable development practices.
• Experience with version control (Git), build systems, and package management.
• Understanding of test automation principles and proficiency with unit testing and test automation frameworks (pytest, Robot Framework, gtest, etc.).
• Strong problem‑solving skills and the ability to debug complex system‑level issues.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills within cross‑functional engineering teams.
• Ability to work independently while contributing effectively within a highly collaborative environment.

Bonus Points

• Experience with Model Predictive Path Integral (MPPI), Model Predictive Control (MPC), convex optimization, quadratic programming (QP), nonlinear optimization, or other optimization‑based planning techniques for autonomous vehicles.
• Experience applying machine learning techniques such as imitation learning, reinforcement learning, or hybrid planning architectures.
• Experience integrating machine learning models into real‑time or production systems.
• Experience working with simulation platforms and large‑scale autonomy validation environments.
• Experience with robotics frameworks such as ROS/ROS2, Autoware, Apollo, or similar autonomy platforms.
• Exposure to CUDA, GPU acceleration, TensorRT, or high‑performance compute environments.
• Experience supporting on‑vehicle testing, debugging, and deployment activities.
• Passion for autonomous vehicles, robotics, and solving complex real‑world engineering challenges.
• Contributions to open‑source projects related to embedded Linux, robotics, or deployment automation.

Location & Eligibility

Work Location: Open to hiring in our Blacksburg, VA office in a hybrid capacity or remotely within the United States & Canada with semi‑monthly travel to Blacksburg, VA. Some travel to Europe may be required.

This position requires access to information and systems that are restricted under U.S. law. Accordingly, only U.S. citizens are eligible for this role.

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive compensation package that includes a bonus component and stock options.
• 100% paid medical, dental, and vision premiums for full‑time employees.
• 401(k) plan with a 6% employer match.
• Flexibility in schedule and generous paid vacation (available immediately after start date).
• Company‑wide holiday office closures.
• AD&D and life insurance.

EEO and Diversity

At Torc, we’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. We celebrate the uniqueness of our Torc’rs and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, veteran status, or disabilities. Even if you don’t meet 100% of the qualifications listed for this opportunity, we encourage you to apply.

Job ID: R-102807
US Pay Range: $186,200 – $223,400 USD