{"id":779007,"url":"https://alion.io/job/helm-software-engineer-autonomous-vehicles-motion-planning","title":"Software Engineer, Autonomous Vehicles (Motion Planning)","company":{"id":24294,"name":"Helm","domain":"helm.ai","url":"https://alion.io/company/helm","size_band":null,"is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Ashby","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":75,"open_postings":6,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":1,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":null,"computed_at":"2026-11-05T05:54:30Z"}},"role":"Robotics","role_family":"Robotics","seniority":null,"employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"remote","remote_scope":"stated_countries","remote_scope_basis":"board_field","remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":[],"countries":[],"hiring_countries":["US"],"hiring_countries_total":1,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":109000,"max_usd":264000,"period":"year","method":"role_country_seniority_unknown","sample_n":590},"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"C++","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"ROS","optional":false},{"name":"ROS2","optional":false},{"name":"CARLA","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-07-23T18:14:52Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-07-23","last_verified_at":"2026-11-05T10:00:19Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":104,"trust":{"level":"stale","repost_count":0,"flags":["stale"],"days_open":104},"description":"We help make autonomous technologies more efficient, safer, and accessible.\nHelm.ai builds AI software for autonomous driving and robotics. Our \"Deep Teaching\" methodology is uniquely data and capital efficient, allowing us to surpass traditional approaches. Our unsupervised learning software can train neural networks for L2/L3 autonomy, which drastically reduces the need for human annotation and is hardware-agnostic. We work with some of the world's largest automotive manufacturers towards mass production and we've raised over $100M from Honda, Mando, and others to help us scale.\nWe are looking for versatile engineers to shape core components of the next generation of the Helm.ai autonomous stack. No prior experience in autonomous vehicles is required-we prioritize deep expertise in backend systems and a proven track record in high-impact software engineering. In this senior role, you will design, implement, and test safe, efficient, and reliable vehicle software/hardware systems, collaborate with sensor and compute vendors, partner with Helm.ai ’s AI teams, and work with customers to advance highway and urban autonomous driving capabilities.\nYou will:\nArchitect core behavior planning: Own the logic and decision frameworks that guide the vehicle through complex maneuvers (like unprotected turns, dynamic merges, and yielding).\n\nOptimize trajectories: Develop robust trajectory generation systems that perfectly balance safety, passenger comfort, and vehicle progress.\n\nEnsure verifiable safety: Translate complex traffic rules and operational design domain (ODD) constraints into interpretable, highly safe planning behaviors.\n\nSolve the long-tail: Tackle exciting, real-world edge cases, from unpredictable pedestrians and occlusions to complex construction zones.\n\nDrive cross-functional integration: Collaborate closely to seamlessly connect your planner with perception, prediction, localization, and control modules.\n\nTest and validate: Prove out your solutions through rigorous scenario-based simulations, closed-course trials, and live on-road testing.\n\nOptimize for real-time: Deliver robust, highly deterministic performance tailored for embedded automotive hardware.\n\nYou have:\nMS/PhD in robotics, Computer science, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent industry experience.\n\nSolid C++ for robust, real-time systems, paired with Python for tooling and data analysis.\n\nDeep familiarity with both planning algorithms (search, sampling and optimization-based) and complex decision architectures (like FSMs and behavior trees).\n\nA solid grasp of vehicle kinematics and dynamics to ensure safe, smooth, and realistic motion profiles.\n\nHands-on experience with ROS/ROS2 or comparable autonomous middleware.\n\nThe following are not required but a plus:\nExperience shipping a planner on public roads and analyzing real-world disengagement data.\n\nHands-on experience with tools like CARLA or custom in-house scenario frameworks.\nWe offer:\n\nCompetitive health insurance options\n\n401K plan management\n\nRemote-friendly and flexible team culture\n\nFree lunch and fully-stocked kitchen in our South Bay office\n\nAdditional perks: monthly wellness stipend, office set up allowance, company retreats, and more to come as we scale\n\nThe opportunity to work on one of the most interesting, impactful problems of the decade\n\nHelm.ai is proud to be an equal opportunity employer building a diverse and inclusive workforce. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.\nAny unsolicited resumes/candidate profiles submitted through our website or to personal email accounts of employees of Helm.ai are considered the property of Helm.ai and are not subject to payment of agency fees.","description_format":"text","description_chars":3825,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"master","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["401k plan","Health insurance"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Smart Mobility","Robotic Software & Control Systems","Autonomous Driving"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-11T23:59:28Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"US","licensed_sponsor":true,"evidence":"H-1B filings in 12 months: 5 · green card filings: 2","filings_12m":5,"filings_prev_12m":2,"green_card_filings_12m":2,"median_offered_wage_usd":189643,"route":null,"cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-10-29T16:27:21+00:00","sources":["US Department of Labor: LCA disclosure data (H-1B, H-1B1, E-3)","US Department of Labor: PERM disclosure data (green cards)"],"filings_for_role_12m":5}],"liveness":{"score":8,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.302,"p_room":0.28,"age_days":104,"expected_fill_days":27,"reasons":["conf:1","win:tail","crowd:"],"computed_at":"2026-11-05T05:54:30Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/helm-software-engineer-autonomous-vehicles-motion-planning","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/helm-software-engineer-autonomous-vehicles-motion-planning.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-11-05T13:22:05Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":17286,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-06T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":24294},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=24294"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fhelm-software-engineer-autonomous-vehicles-motion-planning"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fhelm-software-engineer-autonomous-vehicles-motion-planning"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fhelm-software-engineer-autonomous-vehicles-motion-planning"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/helm-software-engineer-autonomous-vehicles-motion-planning\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fhelm-software-engineer-autonomous-vehicles-motion-planning"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":779007}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"helm.ai","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":779007},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. 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