Staff/Senior Staff Software Engineer – Collision Avoidance System

Zoox

. Serve as the technical lead and architect for CAS perception, defining how lidar, radar, and camera data become reliable obstacle detection, tracking, and collision-risk estimates under tight latency and compute budgets .

Posted 11/4/2026full-timeFoster City • California • United StatesSenior💰 $291,000 - $409,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates expertise in designing and implementing perception algorithms for autonomous vehicles, with a strong focus on safety-critical systems and real-time deployment. Proficient in C++ and machine learning techniques, including sensor fusion and 3D perception from lidar, radar, and camera data.

Highest-signal resume keywords

C++ ProgrammingMachine Learning3D PerceptionSafety-Critical SystemsTechnical Leadership

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Perception AlgorithmsSensor FusionState EstimationTrackingDetectionSegmentationPoint-Cloud GeometryGround EstimationReal-Time Software DevelopmentCollision Avoidance

Soft Skills

MentoringCross-Team Collaboration

Tools & Technologies

GPU/CUDATensorRTISO 26262SOTIF

Industry Keywords

RoboticsAutonomous VehiclesFunctional SafetyReal-Time SystemsTechnical Roadmap

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

CloudPythonC++

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Serve as the technical lead and architect for CAS perception, defining how lidar, radar, and camera data become reliable obstacle detection, tracking, and collision-risk estimates under tight latency and compute budgets
Design, implement, and ship machine learning and classical perception algorithms, including point-cloud geometry, ground estimation, clustering, state estimation and tracking, learned detection and segmentation, and sensor fusion, in production-quality safety-critical C++
Own the end-to-end CAS algorithm architecture and multi-release technical roadmap
Make trade-offs between safety, performance, latency, compute, and ML versus non-ML approaches
Partner across CAS perception, behavior and planning, and validation to define interfaces, requirements, metrics, and evaluation strategies
Work with sensor, system performance, safety strategy, and main autonomy teams to drive cross-team technical decisions
Mentor engineers and raise the technical bar across CAS
Shape CAS perception capabilities from idea to safe, real-time deployment on Zoox's robotaxi fleet

Requirements

What you’ll need

BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or a related field, or equivalent experience
At least 10 years of experience developing perception or related algorithms for robotics, autonomous vehicles, or other real-time systems
Deep expertise in 3D perception from lidar, radar, and/or camera
Hands-on experience in machine learning, including detection, segmentation, and fusion
Hands-on experience in classical methods, including geometry, state estimation, and tracking
Strong C++ or Python skills
Track record of shipping efficient, reliable real-time software to production
Experience leading the architecture and technical roadmap of a complex production system across multiple teams
Conference or journal publications in machine learning or robotics-related venues
Experience with safety-critical systems or functional safety practices, such as ISO 26262 and SOTIF
Experience with collision avoidance, emergency braking, prediction, or planning systems for autonomous vehicles
Experience optimizing and deploying models or algorithms on onboard compute, such as GPU/CUDA and TensorRT

Benefits

Comp & perks

Paid time off, including sick leave, vacation, and bereavement
Unpaid time off
Zoox Stock Appreciation Rights
Amazon Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)
Health insurance
Long-term care insurance
Long-term and short-term disability insurance
Life insurance
Potential sign-on bonus