Principal Software Engineer - Autonomy Behaviors

Responsibilities

• The Autonomy Behaviors team is responsible for producing our vehicle’s driving trajectory
• As a Principal ML Engineer, you will lead the technical development of machine learning algorithms for our next-generation ML Planner
• Your impact will range from delivering innovations for immediate milestones to pioneering exploratory projects
• You will collaborate closely with teams specializing in Foundation Models, Perception, Simulation, and Safety Validation, in influencing our autonomy stack
• Your role will look at problems in a way that crosses team boundaries to prototype new approaches that influence the long term technical direction of multiple organizations within the company
• Set the technical direction of ML development for the future of our Planner
• Push the frontiers of imitation learning, reinforcement learning, and model scaling to develop new ML models for our onboard Planner
• Identify and drive force‑multipliers for ML development, including metrics, data, and training frameworks
• Develop new methods to leverage Zoox’s Foundation Models into the ML Planner
• Provide technical mentorship to the broader group of ML developers at Zoox
• Collaborate with engineers across Autonomy Software, Simulation, System Design and Mission Assurance, and other departments to solve the overall Autonomous Driving problem in complex urban environments

• Paid parental leave
• Affinity groups and sports clubs
• Work from home opportunities
• Health insurance
• Our crew’s health and happiness is our first priority. We offer comprehensive health and mental health support, a wellbeing program, and unlimited and flexible paid time away
• We invest in our crew—and their families—for the long term. That includes generous family planning support, caregiver support, and strong cash compensation with great equity upside
• We look after our crew when they’re in the office too. Our famous food program is a great example, featuring a daily changing menu of local and sustainable dishes
• There’s a busy calendar of social events at Zoox, with more sports teams than you can count. And, of course, playing with robots is an important part of the job description

Significant experience with training and deploying Deep Learning models to production Fluency in C++ or Fluency in Python with a basic understanding of C++ Proven track record of technical leadership in large-scale AI organizations Extensive experience with programming and algorithm design Strong mathematics skills 10+ years of experience BS, MS, or PhD degree in computer science or related field Prior experience with Prediction and Planning for autonomous vehicles Conference or Journal publications in Machine Learning or Robotics related venues