Principal Engineer Trajectory Generation

Summary

Join Motional's Motion Planning & Control team as a Principal Engineer, a technical leader driving research, design, development, and deployment of cutting-edge algorithms for autonomous vehicles. You will work on trajectory generation, sophisticated control systems, and collision avoidance, expanding the Operational Design Domain (ODD) to ensure safe and intuitive vehicle operation. This role offers the unique opportunity to shape the future of autonomous driving, translating research into production-ready software impacting self-driving fleet safety and performance. The position requires significant experience in robotics and motion planning, along with expertise in C++ software development and optimal control. Motional offers a competitive salary and benefits package.

Requirements

• Masters or PhD in Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field
• 7+ years of research experience in robotics / motion planning, with a proven track record of contributing to state-of-the-art solutions and leading significant projects
• 5+ years of C++ software development, with an emphasis on developing high-performance and reliable systems
• Proven track record of delivering production-quality algorithms for autonomous trajectory generation/control in a leading role
• Expertise in optimal control and numerical optimization
• Theoretical knowledge and engineering experience in motion planning under uncertainty, and interaction with dynamic agents and environment
• Familiarity with robotics algorithms in localization, perception, motion planning, and controls for autonomous systems
• Strong communication, interpersonal, and management skills

Responsibilities

• Develop state-of-the-art trajectory generation and motion control algorithms to ensure safe and comfortable vehicle motion
• Design and build robust and scalable software that enables real on-road impact by evaluating different control techniques and motion planning algorithms
• Push boundaries of existing proven trajectory generation methods to enable data-driven approaches
• Leverage modern development toolchains including testing, simulation, and continuous integration, to enable rapid development cycles
• Provides high-quality code and design reviews based on a deep understanding of the teams’ services and technologies
• Collaborate closely with perception, prediction, planning, and control teams to seamlessly integrate our trajectory generation algorithms and drive the holistic development of our autonomous driving system

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven track record of publications in relevant conferences
• In-depth understanding of common Machine Learning and Deep Learning algorithms
• Python development experience
• Experience with the Bazel build system

Benefits

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• 401k with a company match
• Health saving accounts
• Life insurance
• Pet insurance