Senior Motion Planning Engineer

Senior Motion Planning Engineer at Motional

Join Motional's Motion Planning team and apply your passion in robotics and software development to create production-ready autonomous vehicles. In this pivotal role, you'll perform cutting-edge research, develop advanced algorithms, and build robust software to generate safe, comfortable, and intuitive routes and motions.

Role Responsibilities

• Lead the research and development of novel algorithms for motion planning in autonomous driving, focusing on advanced search-based methods, sophisticated geometry-based methods, and probabilistic decision making under uncertainty.
• 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.
• Drive technical collaboration and seamlessly interface with upstream perception and prediction components, and downstream trajectory optimization, tracking, and control components, ensuring end-to-end system performance.
• Leverage deep software development and research expertise to teach others better software practices and principles, fostering a culture of technical excellence.
• Guide and mentor junior team members, cultivating a culture of product-focused engineering, rigorous research, and advanced development.

What Motional is Looking For

• PhD preferred in Robotics, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field; or a Master's degree with 2+ years of experience in the robotics (preferably AV industry).
• 5+ years of research experience in robotics / motion planning, with a proven track record of contributing to state-of-the-art solutions.
• 3+ years of C++ software development, emphasizing 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.
• A strong desire for continuous innovation and pushing the boundaries of autonomous driving technology.

Skills Appreciated

• Experience with probabilistic models, including Gaussian mixture models, Hidden Markov Models, and Particle Filters.
• Experience with Bayesian modeling and inference techniques for decision making under uncertainty.
• Experience with the Bazel build framework.

Key skills/competency

• Motion Planning
• Autonomous Driving
• Robotics
• C++ Development
• Algorithm Development
• Probabilistic Models
• Bayesian Inference
• Software Architecture
• System Integration
• Technical Leadership