Software Engineer, Motion Planning and Trajectory Optimization
South San Francisco, CA
Autonomy Software /
Full Time /
Hybrid
About Us
At Agtonomy, we’re not just building tech—we’re transforming how vital industries get work done. Our Physical AI and fleet services turn heavy machinery into intelligent, autonomous systems that tackle the toughest challenges in agriculture, turf, and beyond. Partnering with industry-leading equipment manufacturers, we’re creating a future where labor shortages, environmental strain, and inefficiencies are relics of the past. Our team is a tight-knit group of bold thinkers—engineers, innovators, and industry experts—who thrive on turning audacious ideas into reality. If you want to shape the future of industries that matter, this is your shot.
About the Role
As an engineer on the Autonomy Team, you will develop algorithms that enable our vehicles to plan safe trajectories around dynamic and static obstacles while meeting task objectives. You will work on creative solutions for the generation of local motion plans and optimal trajectories through semi-structured farms and other properties. You will work closely with perception, localization, and controls engineers on the team to design and evolve the upstream and downstream interfaces of the planning system. This role is perfect for someone who loves combining math and software, and is excited about applying their experience to make robots drive in intelligent ways in rugged environments.
What you’ll be doing
- Design and implement motion planning features for safe navigation in complex settings.
- Use sampling-based methods, graph search, or numerical optimization to create efficient trajectories.
- Develop scalable software and tools for onboard/offboard autonomy systems.
- Develop portable, scalable, and fast geometry and optimization libraries.
- Write high-performance C++ code for embedded systems and ensure quality through code reviews.
- Test your algorithms on real robots in rugged field environments—see your code come to life!
What you’ll bring
- Experience with motion planning techniques (e.g., sampling, graph search, optimization).
- Experience effectively implementing math (geometry, linear algebra, etc.) in software in order to solve problems related to geometric reasoning, optimization costs/jacobians, and vehicle motion modeling.
- Proficiency in modern C++ for resource-constrained systems.
- Ability to thrive in a collaborative, fast-paced team with high ownership.
- Strong communication and problem-solving skills for cross-team work.
- An eagerness to get your hands dirty by testing your code on real robots in real fields.
What makes you a strong fit
- Experience designing motion planning or routing systems from first principles.
- Excitement to implement computational geometry algorithms.
- 5+ years in robotics, autonomy, or related fields (e.g., automotive, drones, agtech).
- Passion for sustainable agriculture or environmental tech.
$160,000 - $220,000 a year
The US base salary range for this full-time position is $160,000 to $220,000 + equity + benefits + unlimited PTO
The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location, internal equity, and additional factors, including, but not limited to, job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or specialty training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range during the hiring process.
Benefits
• 100% covered medical, dental, and vision for the employee (partner, children, or family is additional)
• Commuter Benefits
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Life Insurance
• Short- and Long-Term Disability
• 401k Plan
• Stock Options
• Collaborative work environment working alongside passionate mission-driven team!
Our interview process is generally conducted in five (5) phases:
1. Phone Screen with Hiring Manager (30 minutes)
2. Technical Evaluation in Domain (1 hour)
3. Software Engineering Evaluation (1 hour)
4. Panel Interview (Video interviews scheduled with key stakeholders, each interview will be 30 to 60 minutes)
