{"id":181737,"url":"https://alion.io/job/zoox-senior-staff-principal-software-engineer-freeway-autonomy","title":"Senior Staff / Principal Software Engineer - Freeway Autonomy","company":{"id":3626,"name":"Zoox","domain":"zoox.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/zoox","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Lever","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":73,"open_postings":40,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.9,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":89,"computed_at":"2026-11-10T06:52:35Z"}},"role":"Backend","role_family":"Backend","seniority":"lead","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"hybrid","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Foster City, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":340000,"max":493000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":493000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":10,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"C++","optional":false},{"name":"Motion Planning","optional":false},{"name":"Verification & Validation","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-08-31T20:13:10Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-08-31","last_verified_at":"2026-11-10T18:31:49Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":70,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":70},"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.\nIn this role, you will:\nGuide autonomy-wide initiatives toward driverless freeway operation, including setting the technical vision and strategy, building the roadmap, and driving cross-functional execution\n\nIdentify the highest-risk gaps between our current freeway capabilities and driver-out readiness, and lead the engineering work to close them\n\nDevelop algorithms that enable freeway driving capabilities, spanning architecture, design, implementation, integration, testing, and verification and validation\n\nCommunicate technical trade-offs, risk assessments, and readiness recommendations to diverse stakeholders, including senior and executive leadership\n\nMentor engineers across the freeway program and raise the bar for how we design, test, and validate high-speed autonomous driving\n\nQualifications:\n10+ years of industry software experience\n\nDemonstrated technical leadership of removing the human driver from an autonomous vehicle operating on freeways or highways\n\nDeep technical expertise in at least one autonomy domain, such as behavior/motion planning, perception, prediction, simulation, or systems engineering\n\nProven ability to lead large, cross-functional engineering efforts from ambiguity to shipped results\n\nStrong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex technical trade-offs for varied audiences including executives\n\nBonus Qualifications:\nExperience scaling and operating a driverless service after driver removal\n\nExperience constructing safety cases or defining driver-out readiness criteria for high-speed autonomous driving\n\nProficiency in 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