--- title: 'Contract Student Worker Software Engineer (6-month Contract) (20/hrs week) at Zoox' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/contract-student-worker-software-engineer-6-month-contract-20-hrs-week-zoox-ptq088fs7740' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-08' --- # Contract Student Worker Software Engineer (6-month Contract) (20/hrs week) at Zoox - **Company:** Zoox - **Location:** Foster City, CA - **Employment:** contract - **Work type:** hybrid - **Posted:** 2025-10-16 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-08 - **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/zoox/5f10dfaf-5920-4506-8a09-b39b29e6f48b ## Job description Zoox is on an ambitious journey to develop a full-stack autonomous mobility solution for cities — and the System Design and Mission Assurance (SDMA) team plays a foundational role in making it happen. We’re responsible for constructing the safety case and fail-operational design for our autonomous robotaxis before they hit public roads. We’re looking for a part-time Full Stack Software Engineer (approximately 20 hours per week, starting for 6 months) to join the team and gain hands-on, real-world experience building the tools and automation that drive Zoox’s safety metrics. This role is an excellent opportunity for local students who want to apply classroom learning to cutting-edge autonomous vehicle technology. Under the mentorship of a senior engineer, you’ll collaborate with PMs and engineers to design, develop, and enhance applications used in Zoox’s safety evaluation processes. In this role, you will: - Help develop and implement scalable applications to automate the generation of Zoox’s safety metrics. - Collaborate with software engineers and PMs to build and test new features. - Improve existing tools by optimizing latency, CPU/memory usage, and database queries. Qualifications: - Exposure to SQL, Spark, JavaScript/TypeScript, HTML, CSS, or Python. - Experience with a Front-End UI Framework (e.g., Vue, React, Svelte) or a web framework (e.g., Flask, FastAPI). - Comfortable using Google Suite or Microsoft Office; willing to learn tools like JIRA or Confluence. - Strong written and verbal communication skills. - Actively enrolled in a 2-year or 4-year college program pursuing a degree or certificate in Software Engineering, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field. Bonus Qualifications: - Familiarity with a low-level language such as Java, Kotlin, C, C++, or Rust. - Understanding of low-level Linux system protocols, firmware, or ECUs. - Experience or interest in using AI-assisted development tools such as Cursor IDE, GitHub Copilot, or Claude Code. ## Compensation $30 per hour. This is a contract position and employment for this position will be through a vendor contracted with Zoox. The hourly pay range is posted and you will be eligible for a benefits package as offered by the vendor. ## About Zoox ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Zoox is building a fully autonomous, all-electric, purpose-built robotaxi service to give the world a better way to ride. - **Entity Type**: Private (independent subsidiary of Amazon, acquired in 2020) - **Headquarters**: Foster City, California, USA (with offices in Las Vegas, San Francisco, Austin, Miami, Atlanta, Los Angeles) - **Founded**: 2014 - **Founders**: Not specified in provided sources ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Autonomous ride‑hailing / Self‑driving electric vehicles - **Target customers**: B2C – individual riders seeking safe, convenient, and sustainable urban transportation - **Mission**: “Give the world a better way to ride” – providing safer, cleaner, autonomous ride‑hailing for everyone [zoox.com](https://zoox.com/about) ## Products & Services - **Zoox Robotaxi**: A purpose‑built, fully autonomous electric vehicle designed from the ground up for ride‑hailing. Features bidirectional driving, four‑wheel steering, and no steering wheel or pedals. The service handles all charging, maintenance, and fleet management – riders simply get in and enjoy the ride [zoox.com](https://zoox.com). ## Market Standing - **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not disclosed (Zoox is a private subsidiary of Amazon) - **Key Metric**: Not publicly available (revenue and funding details are not reported as a stand‑alone entity) - **Notable Investors / Partners**: Amazon (parent company) - **Growth Signals**: - Received authorization from the Nevada DMV to operate robotaxis on public roads [zoox.com/about](https://zoox.com/about) - Expanded testing and operations to Las Vegas, Seattle, San Francisco, and other cities - Continues to scale its engineering and operations teams (multiple open roles on the careers page as of 2026) ## Competitive Advantages - **Purpose‑built design**: Unlike retrofitted vehicles, Zoox’s robotaxi is designed from scratch for autonomous ride‑hailing (symmetrical, bidirectional, four‑wheel steering, no driver controls) - **Amazon backing**: Deep financial resources, supply chain expertise, and cloud infrastructure (AWS) support rapid development and scaling - **Full‑stack autonomy**: In‑house AI, computer vision, and sensing stack integrated directly into the vehicle design - **Safety‑first approach**: Comprehensive testing, safety‑critical system design, and focus on public road validation ## Strategic Focus - Achieving commercial launch of the Zoox ride‑hailing service in select U.S. cities - Continuing to mature the autonomous driving system through real‑world testing and simulation - Expanding the “Go‑to‑Market” strategy and building out operations teams (see CRM Lead, Go‑to‑Market Manager roles) [jobs.lever.co/zoox](https://jobs.lever.co/zoox) - Scaling manufacturing and prototyping to prepare for fleet deployment ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: Diverse, supportive community with inclusion‑focused strategy. Crew‑led groups for personal and professional development. Emphasis on trust, humility, and openness [zoox.com/careers](https://zoox.com/careers) - **Work environment**: Hybrid? The careers page lists many roles as “On‑site” in Foster City, CA, with other office locations available. In‑office perks include a famous food program with daily changing local and sustainable dishes, plus a busy calendar of events and sports teams. - **Benefits**: Comprehensive health plans (Cigna), mental health support, wellbeing program, flexible time off, generous family planning and caregiver support, and a commitment to work‑life balance. - **Growth opportunities**: Work on cutting‑edge autonomous vehicle technology alongside some of the brightest minds in AI, engineering, computer vision, and more. Offers internships and re‑entry programs (via Path Forward) for career returners. - **Recruitment process**: Uses AI tools to assist in reviewing applications but final decisions are human. No fees are charged at any stage – watch for recruitment scams [zoox.com/journal/landing-a-job-zoox](https://zoox.com/journal/landing-a-job-zoox) ## Sources 1. [Zoox official website](https://zoox.com) 2. [Zoox About page](https://zoox.com/about) 3. [Zoox Careers page](https://zoox.com/careers) 4. [Zoox job openings on Lever](https://jobs.lever.co/zoox) 5. [Zoox hiring and interview process](https://zoox.com/journal/landing-a-job-zoox) ## Other roles at Zoox - [Sensing and Perception System Safety Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/sensing-and-perception-system-safety-engineer-zoox-foster-city-9b41z224ntq6) — Foster City, CA - [Lead Data Platform Engineer - Enterprise, Data & AI](https://feeny.ai/job/lead-data-platform-engineer-enterprise-data-ai-zoox-foster-city-61c1tdms6spr) — Foster City, CA - [Software Engineer - Collision Avoidance System Metrics](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-collision-avoidance-system-metrics-zoox-foster-city-9xfh2gw0nayv) — Foster City, CA - [Contract Student Worker - Autonomy Safety Data Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/contract-student-worker-autonomy-safety-data-engineer-zoox-foster-city-vb29ss0k5hgs) — Foster City, CA - [Software Engineer, Operational Tools](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-operational-tools-zoox-foster-city-mmfc9jxj9vgs) — Foster City, CA - [Diagnostics Serviceability Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/diagnostics-serviceability-engineer-zoox-foster-city-zpp032643x45) — Foster City, CA - [Manager, Fleet Operations Training](https://feeny.ai/job/manager-fleet-operations-training-zoox-foster-city-8vfyx98j41fz) — Foster City, CA - [Embedded Software Engineer - Drive Systems](https://feeny.ai/job/embedded-software-engineer-drive-systems-zoox-foster-city-whvhzqychegb) — Foster City, CA - [Senior Staff / Principal Software Engineer - Freeway Autonomy](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-staff-principal-software-engineer-freeway-autonomy-zoox-foster-city-y93sb485dj53) — Foster City, CA - [Senior Supplier Quality Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-supplier-quality-engineer-zoox-foster-city-d9gmdemvwa6b) — Foster City, CA