Director of Actions

Summary

Join Motional as the Director of Software Engineering to lead the global Planning & Controls team, responsible for developing software for Level 4 autonomous vehicles. You will drive the technical strategy and execution for real-time path planning, trajectory generation, and control systems. This role involves leading a team of 30-40 engineers, defining and executing the technical roadmap, collaborating with other teams, and developing key performance indicators. You will cultivate a culture of engineering excellence and mentor team members. The position requires strong expertise in trajectory planning, motion control algorithms, and real-time systems, along with experience managing global engineering teams. Motional offers competitive compensation, equity, and benefits.

Requirements

• 10+ years of software engineering experience with at least 5+ years leading teams in robotics, autonomous vehicles, or a related field
• A track record of shipping production-quality planning and controls software for autonomous systems or highly constrained robotics applications
• Strong expertise in trajectory planning, behavioral decision making, and motion control algorithms
• Deep understanding of real-time systems, vehicle dynamics, and robotic control theory
• Experience managing global, distributed engineering teams in a high-growth, mission-critical environment
• Proficiency in C++, and a strong background in Linux-based development, software architecture, and scalable infrastructure
• Experience collaborating with research teams and translating innovation into deployable, testable, and maintainable codebases
• Excellent communication and leadership skills, with the ability to inspire and align diverse technical contributors
• Master’s or Ph.D. in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field

Responsibilities

• Lead a global software organization (30–40 engineers and managers) across Planning and Controls teams responsible for AV motion planning, trajectory generation, and actuation logic
• Define and execute the technical roadmap aligned with Motional’s product and operational milestones
• Balance cutting-edge research with robust productization to ensure your team’s software performs safely and reliably in dynamic, complex environments
• Work tightly with the Behaviors organization to ensure Planning and Controls tightly integrate with upstream prediction and ML-based trajectory generation
• Develop and track KPIs, performance metrics, and OKRs to continuously evaluate software robustness, operational efficiency, and team output
• Cultivate a culture of engineering excellence, strong code quality, and deep technical ownership
• Mentor, develop, and grow a high-performing engineering team across multiple geographies and disciplines
• Provide strategic input on long-term architectural decisions, technical debt remediation, and investment areas
• Be a key partner to the senior leadership within the company to help solve challenging problems in a collaborative manner

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with machine learning applied to planning or behavior modeling
• Prior contributions to open-source autonomy projects or publications in top robotics conferences (e.g., ICRA, RSS, CVPR)
• Familiarity with simulation-driven development, large-scale testing infrastructure, and AV safety frameworks

Benefits

• Competitive compensation, equity, and benefits
• Medical, dental, vision, 401k with a company match, health saving accounts, life insurance, pet insurance