We're Cruise, a self-driving service designed for the cities we love.

We’re building the world’s most advanced self-driving vehicles to safely connect people to the places, things, and experiences they care about. We believe self-driving vehicles will help save lives, reshape cities, give back time in transit, and restore freedom of movement for many.

In our cars, you’re free to be yourself. It’s the same here at Cruise. We’re creating a culture that values the experiences and contributions of all of the unique individuals who collectively make up Cruise, so that every employee can do their best work. 

Cruise is committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment, both in our workplace and in our products. If you are looking to play a part in making a positive impact in the world by advancing the revolutionary work of self-driving cars, come join us. Even if you might not meet every requirement, we strongly encourage you to apply. You might just be the right candidate for us.

The Motion Planning team works across different layers of the planning and controls stack to enable the AV to plan and execute smooth, accurate, and safe motion in all environments. We focus on generating optimal trajectories considering vehicle capabilities, uncertain environments and disturbances, and real time computational constraints. Our work is critical for the safety and comfort of our passengers, as well as for scaling our AV capabilities to handle complex urban environments around the world in all weather conditions.
 

As a Senior Software Engineer on the Motion Planning team you will lead projects and implement features at the intersection of Motion Planning, Behavior Planning, and Controls. You will be a key contributor on a team that has significant impact to the AI organization and is on the critical path of Cruise business goals.
 

You will analyze and diagnose problem areas, scope out solutions, collaborate on design and implementation, and lead execution, testing and validation efforts for features.   
 

What you'll be doing:

• Build new autonomous capabilities that enable the AV to navigate complex scenes and expand Cruise’s operational domain as we scale our business.

• Develop new features in Motion Planning and with partner teams.

• Work with teams across Cruise to foster a collaborative culture of testing, safety, and documentation

• Embody Cruise behaviors: Stay Safe, Own It, Stay Focused, Seek Truth, Work Together, Be Humble, Be A Customer

What you must have:

• 2+ years of experience as a SW engineer delivering new features and algorithms in a fast-paced engineering organization.

• Demonstrated ability to lead projects independently and work effectively in a team environment. 

• Experience with cross-team collaboration with engineering, testing, product, operations, and safety teams. 

• Strong architectural mindset, ability to balance long-term design directions with short-term priorities. 

• Deep understanding of model predictive control and trajectory optimization algorithms, including practical experience with tuning and testing.

• Good understanding of dynamics fundamentals and geometric algorithms.

• Strong experience writing C++ in a production environment 

• Modern software development (version control, code review, unit testing, CI, etc)

• Ph.D., M.S. in controls, optimization, path planning, or equivalent field. 

Bonus Points!

• Track record of impact in the AV industry.

• Experience with machine learning, especially in safety critical real-time systems.

• Experience with runtime performance of optimization algorithms in real world applications and on different compute platforms.

• Experience in code optimization or high-performance computing.

• Experience solving complex problems in simulation, metrics, and testing.

The salary range for this position is $163,200 - 240,000. Compensation will vary depending on location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. You may also be offered a bonus, restricted stock units, and benefits. These ranges are subject to change.

Why Cruise?

• Our benefits are here to support the whole you:

• Competitive salary and benefits 
• 401(k) Cruise matching program 
• Medical / dental / vision, AD+D and Life
• One Medical membership
• Subsidized mental health benefits
• Flexible vacation and company paid holidays
• Healthy meals and snacks provided for non-remote employees
• Paid parental, jury duty, bereavement, family care, and medical leave
• Fertility Be