Principal ML Engineer, Motion Planning and Prediction

Motional is seeking a technical expert for its Planning team to define motion planning and control systems for secure, effective, and comfortable fleet operation in complex environments. This role requires expertise in cutting-edge research, advanced algorithm development, and robust software building to generate safe, comfortable, and intuitive routes and motions. We are looking for a robotics and software development enthusiast eager to contribute to production-ready autonomous vehicles.

If you possess a passion for autonomous driving, thrive on solving real-world challenges, and aspire to make a significant impact in a rapidly evolving field, we encourage your application.

• Lead the ML engineering and research and development of novel algorithms and sub-systems for motion planning and prediction in autonomous driving, thereby expanding the Operational Design Domain. This includes, but is not limited to, advanced search-based and sophisticated geometry-based methods, as well as decision‑making under uncertainty with a strong emphasis on probabilistic approaches
• Lead cross-functional projects to define new or upgrade existing interfaces to solve problems
• Monitor overall system performance to identify areas for improvement and develop technical strategies to address deficiencies
• Guide cross-functional project teams to provide comprehensive solutions and demonstrate the ability to think beyond the confines of the planning system.
• Architect and integrate complex combinations of motion planning and prediction algorithms, driving their evaluation and refinement for real-world deployment.
• Design and build a robust, scalable, and high-performance codebase that facilitates rapid exploration, prototyping, and rigorous evaluation of innovative motion planning approaches and algorithms.
• Drive technical collaboration and interface seamlessly with perception and prediction components upstream and trajectory optimization, tracking and control components downstream, ensuring end-to-end system performance.
• Leverage your deep software development and research expertise to teach others better software practices and principles, fostering a culture of technical excellence.
• Guide and mentor junior and senior team members, cultivating a culture of product‑focused engineering, rigorous research, and advanced development.

• PhD preferred in Machine Learning, Robotics, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field; or a Master's degree with 7+ years of experience in the production machine learning systems, robotics (preferably AV industry).
• 10+ years of research experience in production machine learning models and systems, robotics / motion planning, with a proven track record of contributing to state‑of‑the‑art solutions and leading significant projects.
• 3+ years of C++ software development, with an emphasis on developing high-performance and reliable systems.
• Past experience owning and leading technical development on complex features from problem formulation through research, implementation, and deployment in a production environment, demonstrating significant impact.
• Thirst for knowledge, continuous innovation, and a drive to push the boundaries of autonomous driving technology, acting as a technical thought leader.

• Experience with autoregressive models (e.g., LLMs, MLLM, VLA).
• Experience with Reinforcement learning (RLHF, RLVR) and reward modeling.
• Experience with the Bazel build framework

The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors including but not limited to specific skills, experience and expertise, role location, certifications, licenses, and business needs. The…