Senior Staff / Principal Machine Learning Engineer - Autonomy Behaviors
Company websitezoox.com (Zoox, opens in new tab)
Base salary $340K to $492K
Employer-published annual base salary, USD. Advertised base range in Foster City, CA
You apply on the employer's own site. Six Figure Work does not handle applications.
- LocationFoster City, CA
- WorkplaceHybrid
- Status at last checkSource accepting applications when checked
- Last checked (23 min ago) · observed since
About this job
The Autonomy Behaviors team is responsible for producing our vehicle’s driving trajectory. As a Principal ML Engineer, you will lead the technical development of machine learning algorithms for our next-generation ML Planner. Your impact will range from delivering innovations for immediate milestones to pioneering exploratory projects. You will collaborate closely with teams specializing in Foundation Models, Perception, Simulation, and Safety Validation, in influencing our autonomy stack. Your role will look at problems in a way that crosses team boundaries to prototype new approaches that influence the long term technical direction of multiple organizations within the company.
In this role, you will:
- Set the technical direction of ML development for the future of our Planner
- Push the frontiers of imitation learning, reinforcement learning, and model scaling to develop new ML models for our onboard Planner
- Identify and drive force-multipliers for ML development, including metrics, data, and training frameworks
- Develop new methods to leverage Zoox’s Foundation Models into the ML Planner
- Provide technical mentorship to the broader group of ML developers at Zoox
- Collaborate with engineers across Autonomy Software, Simulation, System Design and Mission Assurance, and other departments to solve the overall Autonomous Driving problem in complex urban environments
Qualifications
- BS, MS, or PhD degree in computer science or related field
- Proven track record of technical leadership in large-scale AI organizations
- Significant experience with training and deploying Deep Learning models to production
- Fluency in C++ or Fluency in Python with a basic understanding of C++
- Extensive experience with programming and algorithm design-Strong mathematics skills, 10+ years of experience
Bonus Qualifications
- Conference or Journal publications in Machine Learning or Robotics related venues
- Prior experience with Prediction and Planning for autonomous vehicles
About Zoox
Zoox is developing the first ground-up, fully autonomous vehicle fleet and the supporting ecosystem required to bring this technology to market. Sitting at the intersection of robotics, machine learning, and design, Zoox aims to provide the next generation of mobility-as-a-service in urban environments. We’re looking for top talent that shares our passion and wants to be part of a fast-moving and highly execution-oriented team.
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Accommodations
If you need an accommodation to participate in the application or interview process please reach out to [email protected] or your assigned recruiter.
A Final Note:
You do not need to match every listed expectation to apply for this position. Here at Zoox, we know that diverse perspectives foster the innovation we need to be successful, and we are committed to building a team that encompasses a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and skills.
Source: Zoox on Lever · View original posting (opens in new tab)
This listingSenior Staff / Principal Machine Learning Engineer - Autonomy Behaviors$340K to $492K
Senior Manager, Perception$340K to $408K
Senior Staff / Principal Software Engineer - Freeway Autonomy$340K to $493K
Senior Manager, Perception Data$339K to $375K
Director, Product Management$335K to $403K
Principal Systems Engineer, Safety$349K to $419K
Senior Director of Engineering, Product Software$354K to $470K
Chart as a table
| Role | Published base |
|---|---|
| Senior Staff / Principal Machine Learning Engineer - Autonomy Behaviors (this listing) | $340K - $492K |
| Senior Manager, Perception | $340K - $408K |
| Senior Staff / Principal Software Engineer - Freeway Autonomy | $340K - $493K |
| Senior Manager, Perception Data | $339K - $375K |
| Director, Product Management | $335K - $403K |
| Principal Systems Engineer, Safety | $349K - $419K |
| Senior Director of Engineering, Product Software | $354K - $470K |
Observed changes
- Began meeting the published-salary criteria
- First observed on the employer's board
- Observed since
- Employer-stated posting date
- 2025-11-04
Where this pay comes from
Location as the employer wrote it: Foster City, CA
USD 340,000 – 492,000 · per-year-salary · salaryRange
- Method
- Structured pay field published by the employer
- Checked
- Rule set
- us-base-v2
The employer's job board publishes this pay as a dedicated data field. We read the field directly; no interpretation was needed.
What we verified
- The pay figures come from the employer's own listing, quoted exactly above.
- The pay is an annual base salary in US dollars with a minimum of at least $100,000.
- The role was publicly listed on the employer's job board when last checked.
We do not verify what the employer will actually offer, whether the employer is still recruiting for the role, or anything beyond what the employer published. Full methodology.
