Software Engineer - Motion Planning (Fallback Stack)

About the role

As a Motion Planning Engineer on the Fallback Stack team, you will design and ship deterministic, safety-critical planning systems that ensure autonomous vehicles behave safely when autonomy degrades or operates under uncertainty. This role emphasizes classical motion planning, predictable behavior, and large-scale evaluation, rather than deep learning–driven planning.

In addition to your engineering contributions, by working in our dynamic and customer-focused team culture, you will contribute to and learn from best practices in the nascent autonomy industry. We move fast and we focus on excellence, for our products and for our business. If you are hands-on and looking for a place to have a multiplying effect on making autonomous systems a reality, Applied is the place for you!

At Applied Intuition, you will:

Design and implement classical or ML motion planners for fallback and minimal-risk maneuvers

Build planners that operate reliably under degraded perception, partial observability, and system faults
Define and execute safe, deterministic vehicle motions such as controlled slow-downs, pull-overs, and safe stops

Use large-scale simulation and real-world data to evaluate planner behavior and guide parameter tuning
Develop metrics, analysis tools, and dashboards to understand planner performance at scale

Collaborate closely with behavior prediction, perception, controls, safety, and remote assistance teams

Contribute to a reusable fallback platform used across trucking and other autonomy programs

We're looking for someone who has:

4+ years of experience in motion planning for autonomous vehicles or robotics

Strong foundation in robotic motion planning algorithms and trajectory generation (optimization-, search-, or rule-based)

Experience building deterministic, safety-critical planning systems

A data-driven mindset for large-scale evaluation, debugging, and tuning of planning behavior

Proficiency in C++ and experience working in real-time systems

Strong systems thinking and cross-functional collaboration skills

Bachelors degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field

Nice to have:

Experience designing minimal-risk maneuvers (MRM) or emergency handling behaviors

Familiarity with AV safety concepts, ODD constraints, or safety-case-driven development

Experience using ML techniques for parameter tuning, calibration, or offline optimization

Experience working with degraded sensors, uncertainty, or human-in-the-loop systemsBackground in simulation frameworks or large-scale log analysis

Compensation at Applied Intuition for eligible roles includes base salary, equity, and benefits. Base salary is a single component of the total compensation package, which may also include equity in the form of options and/or restricted stock units, comprehensive health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance coverage, 401k retirement benefits with employer match, learning and wellness stipends, and paid time off. Note that benefits are subject to change and may vary based on jurisdiction of employment.

Applied Intuition pay ranges reflect the minimum and maximum intended target base salary for new hire salaries for the position. The actual base salary offered to a successful candidate will additionally be influenced by a variety of factors including experience, credentials & certifications, educational attainment, skill level requirements, interview performance, and the level and scope of the position.

Don’t meet every single requirement? If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Applied Intuition is an equal opportunity employer and federal contractor or subcontractor. Consequently, the parties agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-1.4(a), 41 CFR 60-300.5(a) and 41 CFR 60-741.5(a) and that these laws are incorporated herein by reference. These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities, and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin. These regulations require that covered prime contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status or disability. The parties also agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of Executive Order 13496 (29 CFR Part 471, Appendix A to Subpart A), relating to the notice of employee rights under federal labor laws.

FOR US-BASED ROLES: Applied Intuition is committed to providing an accessible and inclusive application and interview experience to applicants who are disabled veterans and other applicants with disabilities or medical conditions. Reasonable accommodations are available, requesting an accommodation will not affect your candidacy in any way, and you are not required to disclose the nature of your disability or medical condition in order to make a request. If you require an accommodation please contact careers@applied.co. We will work with you!