# Senior Staff / Principal Software Engineer - Freeway Autonomy at Zoox

Senior Staff / Principal Software Engineer - Freeway Autonomy at Zoox in Foster City, CA. Hybrid, full-time, paying $340k–$493k. Posted August 31, 2026.

- Company: Zoox
- Location: Foster City, CA
- Workplace: Hybrid
- Job type: Full-time
- Pay: $340k–$493k
- Experience: 10+ years
- Posted: 2026-08-31
- Apply: https://jobs.lever.co/zoox/bea6c1d0-09dc-47db-9fff-ed2f33151763/apply
- Source: https://jobmagic.ai/jobs/senior-staff-principal-software-engineer-freeway-autonomy-zoox-zgyfgd

## Requirements

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

## Description

Zoox is on an ambitious journey to develop a full-stack autonomous robotaxi solution, and freeways are the next frontier. We are looking for a Senior Staff or Principal Software Engineer who has played a significant role in removing the driver from an autonomous vehicle operating on freeways, and who can help Zoox navigate that same journey. You will bring deep technical expertise in a relevant autonomy domain — the specific domain is flexible — along with the hard-won judgment that comes from having taken a freeway driving program from supervised operation to driverless. This is a highly visible role with broad influence across the Autonomy organization.

### In this role, you will:

- Guide autonomy-wide initiatives toward driverless freeway operation, including setting the technical vision and strategy, building the roadmap, and driving cross-functional execution

- Identify the highest-risk gaps between our current freeway capabilities and driver-out readiness, and lead the engineering work to close them

- Develop algorithms that enable freeway driving capabilities, spanning architecture, design, implementation, integration, testing, and verification and validation

- Communicate technical trade-offs, risk assessments, and readiness recommendations to diverse stakeholders, including senior and executive leadership

- Mentor engineers across the freeway program and raise the bar for how we design, test, and validate high-speed autonomous driving

### Qualifications:

- 10+ years of industry software experience

- Demonstrated technical leadership of removing the human driver from an autonomous vehicle operating on freeways or highways

- Deep technical expertise in at least one autonomy domain, such as behavior/motion planning, perception, prediction, simulation, or systems engineering

- Proven ability to lead large, cross-functional engineering efforts from ambiguity to shipped results

- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex technical trade-offs for varied audiences including executives

### Bonus Qualifications:

- 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++