Senior Staff / Principal Software Engineer - Freeway Autonomy at Zoox (Foster City, CA)
Zoox· Foster City, CA· $340k–$493k·
Role details
Job description
Zoox is on an ambitious journey to develop a full-stack autonomous robotaxi solution, and freeways are the next frontier. We are looking for a Senior Staff or Principal Software Engineer who has played a significant role in removing the driver from an autonomous vehicle operating on freeways, and who can help Zoox navigate that same journey. You will bring deep technical expertise in a relevant autonomy domain — the specific domain is flexible — along with the hard-won judgment that comes from having taken a freeway driving program from supervised operation to driverless. This is a highly visible role with broad influence across the Autonomy organization.
In this role, you will:
- Guide autonomy-wide initiatives toward driverless freeway operation, including setting the technical vision and strategy, building the roadmap, and driving cross-functional execution
- Identify the highest-risk gaps between our current freeway capabilities and driver-out readiness, and lead the engineering work to close them
- Develop algorithms that enable freeway driving capabilities, spanning architecture, design, implementation, integration, testing, and verification and validation
- Communicate technical trade-offs, risk assessments, and readiness recommendations to diverse stakeholders, including senior and executive leadership
- Mentor engineers across the freeway program and raise the bar for how we design, test, and validate high-speed autonomous driving
Qualifications:
- 10+ years of industry software experience
- Demonstrated technical leadership of removing the human driver from an autonomous vehicle operating on freeways or highways
- Deep technical expertise in at least one autonomy domain, such as behavior/motion planning, perception, prediction, simulation, or systems engineering
- Proven ability to lead large, cross-functional engineering efforts from ambiguity to shipped results
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex technical trade-offs for varied audiences including executives
Bonus Qualifications:
- Experience scaling and operating a driverless service after driver removal
- Experience constructing safety cases or defining driver-out readiness criteria for high-speed autonomous driving
- Proficiency in C++
Why work at Zoox
- 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
- 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