---
title: 'Planning & Control Engineer, Early Career at Bot Auto'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/planning-control-engineer-early-career-bot-auto-houston-atqz7nbnhng2'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-16'
---

# Planning & Control Engineer, Early Career at Bot Auto

- **Company:** Bot Auto
- **Location:** Houston, TX
- **Posted:** 2026-10-01
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-16
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/botauto/jobs/5441694008

## Job description

Company Introduction

At Bot Auto, we are revolutionizing the transportation of goods with our cutting-edge autonomous trucks, enhancing the quality of life for communities around the globe. With the agility of a start-up and the wisdom of seasoned experts, Bot Auto boasts a team that has achieved numerous world-firsts and unparalleled innovations. United by a shared vision, we create miracles and propel the future of transportation. Join us and transform your dreams into reality.

## About the Role

We are looking for an early-career Planning & Control Engineer to help develop and improve the driving behavior of our autonomous trucks. This is primarily an algorithm and software development role. Working with experienced engineers, you will investigate driving problems, implement improvements, and evaluate their performance through simulation and vehicle data. You will also collaborate with our Validation team to develop targeted tests and identify regressions. Rigorous experimental habits are central to this role. We value engineers who investigate why an approach works, understand where it fails, and draw conclusions supported by evidence—not just produce successful demonstrations.

This role is intended for recent graduates and engineers with approximately 0–3 years of relevant experience. Prior autonomous-driving industry experience is not required.

## Responsibilities

- Develop planning and control software. Implement and improve algorithms in behavior planning, motion planning, trajectory generation, or vehicle control, with assignments aligned with your technical strengths.
- Investigate real-world driving issues. Use vehicle logs, simulation, and code analysis to understand unexpected behavior, develop testable hypotheses, and investigate root causes with guidance from experienced engineers.
- Design and run meaningful experiments. Establish clear baselines, make deliberate comparisons, and choose scenarios and metrics that test the intended hypothesis. Distinguish genuine improvements from changes caused by unrelated factors.
- Make results reproducible and conclusions transparent. Maintain experiment scripts and records of relevant code, configurations, and datasets. Document what was tested, what was observed, and what remains uncertain.
- Analyze failures and regressions. Investigate counterexamples and performance trade-offs rather than relying only on successful cases or aggregate metrics. Turn findings into algorithm improvements and targeted regression tests.
- Collaborate on implementation and validation. Participate in design and code reviews, integrate changes into the autonomy stack, and work with Simulation and Validation engineers to assess performance.

Required Qualifications

- Demonstrated strong experimental habits: the ability to formulate a clear question, establish a baseline, design a comparison that meaningfully tests a hypothesis, and interpret results critically. You should be comfortable reporting negative results, identifying limitations, and revising your original hypothesis when the evidence does not support it.
- Strong programming fundamentals and hands-on experience in C++ and Python, including implementing, debugging, and testing algorithms.
- A solid foundation in at least one relevant area, such as motion planning, decision-making, optimization, robotics, or feedback control. Depth in one area is more important than familiarity with every area.
- Experience completing a substantive technical project that involved both implementation and evaluation. Research, internships, robotics competitions, and substantial academic or personal projects are welcome.
- Ability to communicate technical reasoning clearly, distinguish observations from assumptions, and explain both the strengths and limitations of a proposed solution.
- A bachelor’s degree or higher in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

## Preferred Qualifications

- Experience with closed-loop simulation, physical robots, or vehicle-based experiments.
- Familiarity with vehicle dynamics, system identification, or interactions between planning and control.
- Experience with decision-making under uncertainty, dynamic environments, or interactions with other road users.

## About Bot Auto

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Bot Auto is a Houston, Texas-based autonomous trucking company developing Level 4 (L4) self-driving technology to operate a fleet of autonomous trucks and offer Transportation as a Service (TaaS) to major shippers and 3PLs.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed Stage)
- **Headquarters**: Houston, Texas, United States
- **Founded**: 2023
- **Founders**: Dr. Xiaodi Hou (CEO)

## Core Business
- **Primary Industry**: Freight and Package Transportation / Autonomous Trucking
- **Target Customers**: B2B — Enterprise shippers and third-party logistics providers (3PLs) seeking dedicated autonomous trucking capacity.
- **Mission Statement**: To make a lasting positive impact on humanity by revolutionizing the transportation industry with autonomous trucks, reducing environmental impact, and improving the quality of life for communities worldwide. [bot.auto](https://bot.auto/about)

## Products & Services
- **Autonomous Trucking Fleet (TaaS)**: Bot Auto operates a fleet of L4 autonomous trucks on Texas roads, providing a "Transportation as a Service" model. They target real shippers who need goods moved immediately, as well as transportation brokers looking for a dedicated carrier partner. [bot.auto](https://bot.auto/)
- **Cost Per Mile (CPM) Framework**: A publicly available benchmarking standard developed in partnership with Boston Consulting Group to measure operational efficiency for autonomous trucking companies, helping stakeholders make data-driven decisions. [bot.auto](https://bot.auto/)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available.
- **Key Metric — Total Funding**: **$20.0M** in a single Seed round closed on September 26, 2024, backed by 9 investors. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/bot-auto)
- **Notable Customers**: J.B. Hunt, Ryan Transportation, Steves & Sons. [bot.auto](https://bot.auto/)
- **Growth Signals**: Employs 68 people with a 39.3% year-over-year headcount increase (+24 people); active job postings are up 60% year-over-year; the company has successfully deployed self-driving vehicles in Texas. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/bot-auto)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Leadership & Talent**: Founded by Dr. Xiaodi Hou, a recognized industry leader in autonomy. The engineering team is heavily staffed from top talent pools, including 23 former employees of TuSimple, along with engineers from NVIDIA, Waymo, Lucid Motors, and Motional. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/bot-auto)
- **Safety-First Foundation**: The company explicitly states "Safety isn't a feature — It's our foundation," positioning safety and operational rigor as the core differentiator. [bot.auto](https://bot.auto/)
- **Operational Focus**: Bot Auto employs a pure TaaS model with real shippers, proving commercial viability today rather than waiting for hypothetical future demand. Their CPM Framework provides transparency into the economics of autonomous trucking.
- **Customer Backing**: Already hauling freight for major names like J.B. Hunt, indicating trust and validation from established industry players.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scaling Commercial Operations**: Expanding fleet operations and autonomous capacity for shippers and 3PLs.
- **Technology Execution**: Continuing to deploy and refine L4 autonomous driving technology, with all development and engineering centered in Houston, Texas.
- **Talent Acquisition**: Aggressively hiring across engineering (software, machine learning, autonomy), operations (fleet maintenance, dispatch), and business functions (internships for MBA/Business roles). [Greenhouse](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/botauto)

## Why Work Here
- **Real Impact**: Bot Auto's autonomous trucks are actively operating on Texas roads today, offering engineers the chance to work on deployed technology that is "actually driving today." [bot.auto](https://bot.auto/career)
- **Culture of Excellence**: The team is described as "the best of the best" — industry leaders who know how to execute AI transformation, with a supportive environment encouraging continuous learning. [bot.auto](https://bot.auto/career)
- **Work Arrangement**: Multiple roles are listed as "Houston, TX preferred, open to remote," offering flexibility. The company is headquartered in Houston (15310 Park Row Blvd) with a presence in the San Francisco Bay Area and Canada. [Greenhouse](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/botauto)
- **Growth Trajectory**: With 39% annual headcount growth, a 60% increase in job postings, and a mission-driven focus on transforming transportation, the company offers significant career development opportunities.
- **Notable Perks**: The team benefits from hands-on work with cutting-edge computing, direct impact on product commercialization, and a mission with concrete economic and societal benefits.

## Sources
1. [bot.auto](https://bot.auto/)
2. [bot.auto/about](https://bot.auto/about)
3. [bot.auto/career](https://bot.auto/career)
4. [Greenhouse - Bot Auto Jobs](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/botauto)
5. [LinkedIn - Bot Auto Company Page](https://www.linkedin.com/company/bot-auto)

## Other roles at Bot Auto

- [Software Engineer, Core Platforms](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-core-platforms-bot-auto-houston-mj7edzhj9krp) — Houston, TX
- [Onboard Infrastructure Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/onboard-infrastructure-engineer-bot-auto-houston-8m2m7q61acgn) — Houston, TX
- [Senior Software Engineer, Security Engineering](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-security-engineering-bot-auto-houston-c9f8fe4dwpq3) — Houston, TX
- [Software Engineer, Security Engineering](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-security-engineering-bot-auto-houston-9pv59m5089fs) — Houston, TX
- [IT Operations Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/it-operations-manager-bot-auto-houston-pw993a7pdm0x) — Houston, TX
- [Intern, IT Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/intern-it-specialist-bot-auto-houston-qx2nt72tay52) — Houston, TX
- [Intern, Software Engineer AI Agents (Fall/Winter 2026)](https://feeny.ai/job/intern-software-engineer-ai-agents-fall-winter-2026-bot-auto-houston-w3k81wxm0pn8) — Houston, TX
- [Senior Software Engineer, Core Platforms](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-core-platforms-bot-auto-houston-7shhm5790wv0) — Houston, TX
- [Senior Software Engineer, Applied AI](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-applied-ai-bot-auto-houston-j1tgznvt7t4s) — Houston, TX / San Francisco Bay Area
- [Senior Functional Safety Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-functional-safety-engineer-bot-auto-houston-c2kr45m4344m) — Houston, TX