--- title: 'Software Engineer, Core Platforms at Bot Auto' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-core-platforms-bot-auto-houston-mj7edzhj9krp' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-10-16' --- # Software Engineer, Core Platforms at Bot Auto - **Company:** Bot Auto - **Location:** Houston, TX - **Posted:** 2026-10-08 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-16 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/botauto/jobs/5448119008 ## 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. We are seeking a curious and motivated Software Engineer, Core Platforms to help build and run the internal platforms our engineering teams rely on every day. Working alongside senior platform engineers, you will develop platform services, automation, and tooling that make our engineers faster, our systems more reliable, and our infrastructure more cost-efficient. This is a hands-on role built for growth: you will ship production code early, get regular mentorship and code review, and build deep experience in Kubernetes, infrastructure-as-code, and distributed systems while supporting groundbreaking work in autonomous transportation. ## Key Responsibilities - Contribute to the development and operation of our Kubernetes-based platforms, including features for scheduling, autoscaling, and internal platform tooling. - Write and maintain infrastructure-as-code (e.g., Terraform, Ansible) for on-prem, cloud, and Kubernetes environments, following team standards and reviews. - Help build and support workflow platforms that run data pipelines, simulation jobs, ML pipelines, and CI/CD. - Assist in deploying and operating self-hosted LLMs and agentic workflows used for internal automation. - Support the operation of API gateways and messaging/streaming systems (including MQTT), handling configuration, upgrades, and troubleshooting. - Build dashboards, alerts, and logging integrations that improve visibility into platform health. - Help track infrastructure costs and implement optimizations identified with senior engineers. - Participate in on-call rotations, incident response, and post-incident reviews, with support from experienced teammates. - Write clear documentation and runbooks, and help internal users adopt platform services. Required Qualifications - Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience - 0–2 years of experience in software engineering, platform engineering, DevOps, or SRE (internships, co-ops, and substantial personal or open-source projects count) - Solid programming skills in at least one of: Python, Go, Java, JavaScript/TypeScript - Working knowledge of Linux, networking fundamentals, Git, and containers (Docker) - Eagerness to learn, take feedback, and own tasks from start to finish ## Preferred Qualifications - Hands-on exposure to Kubernetes (EKS, GKE, AKS, RKE2/Rancher, or a local setup like kind/minikube) - Experience with AWS, GCP, or Azure, from coursework, projects, or work - Familiarity with an IaC tool such as Terraform, Pulumi, OpenTofu, or Ansible - Exposure to workflow orchestration tools such as Argo Workflows or Airflow - Interest or project experience in running LLMs or building agent-based automation - Familiarity with messaging/streaming systems (NATS JetStream, Kafka, Pulsar, RabbitMQ) or API gateways (Kong, APISIX) - Experience using Prometheus, Grafana, Loki, OpenTelemetry, or similar observability tools - Interest in cost-aware engineering and infrastructure efficiency ## 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 - [Planning & Control Engineer, Early Career](https://feeny.ai/job/planning-control-engineer-early-career-bot-auto-houston-atqz7nbnhng2) — 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