# Senior Staff / Principal Software Engineer - Freeway Autonomy

**Company:** [Zoox](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/zoox)
**Location:** Foster City, CA
**Role:** ML Engineering
**Salary:** $340k – $493k/yr
**Experience:** 10+ years
**Skills:** C++, Autonomous Vehicles, Freeway Driving, Motion Planning, Perception, Prediction, Simulation, Systems Engineering, Algorithm Development, Safety Cases, Verification And Validation, Cross-Functional Leadership
**Posted:** 2026-08-31

> Leads the technical strategy and engineering execution required to achieve driverless freeway operation for autonomous vehicles. Requires 10+ years of software experience, demonstrated freeway autonomy leadership, deep expertise in an autonomy domain, and strong executive communication skills.

## Job Description

## Responsibilities
- Guide autonomy-wide initiatives toward driverless freeway operation by setting technical vision and strategy, building roadmaps, and driving cross-functional execution.
- Identify high-risk gaps between current freeway capabilities and driver-out readiness, and lead engineering work to close them.
- Develop algorithms for freeway-driving capabilities across architecture, design, implementation, integration, testing, verification, and validation.
- Communicate technical trade-offs, risk assessments, and readiness recommendations to stakeholders, including senior and executive leadership.
- Mentor engineers across the freeway program and improve design, testing, and validation practices for high-speed autonomous driving.

## Requirements
- 10+ years of industry software experience.
- Demonstrated technical leadership in removing the human driver from an autonomous vehicle operating on freeways or highways.
- Deep expertise in at least one autonomy domain, such as behavior and motion planning, perception, prediction, simulation, or systems engineering.
- Ability to lead large, cross-functional engineering efforts from ambiguity through shipped results.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex technical trade-offs to varied audiences and executives.

## Nice-to-haves
- Experience scaling and operating a driverless service after driver removal.
- Experience constructing safety cases or defining driver-out readiness criteria for high-speed autonomous driving.
- Proficiency in C++.

## Compensation
- Annual salary range: $340,000–$493,000.

## Similar jobs

- [Principal AI Engineer - Personalization and Recommendation](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/7dec48ae-2777-4130-b6d6-4ea4c9904349) - Rula - Remote - $282k – $371k/yr
- [Principal Engineer, Core - Pinner Journeys](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/4688642c-9e61-4442-9177-3123cd04f306) - Pinterest - Remote - $243k – $450k/yr
- [Principal ML System Engineer](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/570db2b2-b866-44fd-a289-9badf3bebfb3) - PointClickCare - Remote - $195k – $217k/yr
- [Principal Machine Learning Engineer](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/dbd47f9b-8a93-4755-a58a-e50cd6ba23cf) - Fetch - Remote
- [Staff+ Software Engineer, ML Inference Path](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/90cf7427-87de-41e1-af88-0d4e1187b94b) - Anthropic - San Francisco, CA - $320k – $485k/yr

**Apply:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/e9f1b85d-c59f-44ba-a7ed-80a5d6ea03b2
**Canonical:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/e9f1b85d-c59f-44ba-a7ed-80a5d6ea03b2