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.
The Staff Motion Planning Engineer will lead and shape projects 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 lead projects and initiatives, mentor engineers and support career development, work with other Engineering Managers and Technical Leads on design decisions and code review, and communicate team status and objectives with senior management across Cruise.
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 roadmaps and lead critical projects in Motion Planning and with partner teams.
Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineers on the team.
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 in technical leadership in a fast-paced engineering organization.
Demonstrated ability to drive complex projects and initiatives from start to completion, including conception, problem definition, experimentation, iteration, and productionisation.
Experience with cross-team collaboration, able to build strong partnerships with engineering, testing, product, operations, and safety teams.
Strong architectural mindset, ability to develop long-term roadmaps and balance 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.
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 $193,900 - 285,000. 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?
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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
- Subsidized mental health benefits
- Flexible vacation and company paid holidays
- Healthy meals and snacks available for non-remote employees
- Paid parental, jury duty, bereavement, family care, and medical leave
- Fertility Benefits
- Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
- Flexible Spending Account
- Pre-tax Commuter Benefit Plan for non-remote employees
- CruiseFlex, a working policy for US-Based Cruisers, lets you and your manager find the working style that’s best for you, whether it’s primarily in-person, primarily at home, or a combination of home and in-office time. - learn more about CruiseFlex here
- GM, Honda, Microsoft, T. Rowe Price, and Walmart have invested billions in Cruise. Their backing for our technology demonstrates their confidence in our progress, team, and vision and makes us one of the leading autonomous vehicle organizations in the industry. Our deep resources greatly accelerate our operating speed.
- We have our own governance, board of directors, equity, and investors. Our independence allows us to not just work on the edge of technology, but also define it.
- You won’t just own your work here, you’ll have the potential to own equity in Cruise, too. We are competing in a market that is projected to grow exponentially, which gives our company valuation room to grow. We offer a new kind of equity program called Recurring Liquidity Opportunity (RLO), which combines IPO-like liquidity with the stability of remaining private - learn more about RLO here
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We’re Safety Conscious
- We integrate #staysafe, our top priority at Cruise, into our everyday work. Through our Safety Management System, every Cruiser is asked to do their part by reporting any potential issues or hazards they observe and making continuous improvements. You’ll be able to contribute to safety at Cruise, no matter your job function or title.
Cruise LLC is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create a supportive and inclusive workplace where contributions are valued and celebrated, and our employees thrive by being themselves and are inspired to do the best work of their lives. We seek applicants of all backgrounds and identities, across race, color, caste, ethnicity, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or parental status, or disability. Applicants will not be discriminated against based on these or other protected categories or social identities. Cruise will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, in accordance with applicable laws.
Cruise is committed to the full inclusion of all applicants. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process please let our recruiting team know or email [email protected].
We proactively work to design hiring processes that promote equity and inclusion while mitigating bias. To help us track the effectiveness and inclusivity of our recruiting efforts, please consider answering the following demographic questions. Answering these questions is entirely voluntary. Your answers to these questions will not be shared with the hiring decision makers and will not impact the hiring decision in any way. Instead, Cruise will use this information not only to comply with any government reporting obligations but also to track our progress toward meeting our diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging objectives.
Candidates applying for roles that operate and remotely operate the AV: Licensed to drive a motor vehicle in the U.S. for the three years immediately preceding your application, currently holding an active in-state regular driver’s license or equivalent, and no more than one point on driving record. A successful completion of a background check, drug screen and DMV Motor Vehicle Record check is also required.
Note to Recruitment Agencies: Cruise does not accept unsolicited agency resumes. Furthermore, Cruise does not pay placement fees for candidates submitted by any agency other than its approved partners.
