Six Figure Work

Staff Motion Planning Engineer

Motional

Company websitemotional.com (Motional, opens in new tab)

Base salary $168K  to $225K

Employer-published annual base salary, USD. Advertised base range in Boston, MA

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  • LocationBoston, MA
  • WorkplaceWorkplace not stated
  • Status at last checkSource accepting applications when checked
  • Last checked (1 h ago) · observed since

About this job

On our Motion Planning team, you'll apply your passion in robotics and software development for production-ready autonomous vehicles. In this role you'll perform research, develop algorithms, and build software to generate safe, comfortable, and intuitive routes and motions.

Role responsibilities:

  • Develop a variety of algorithms on planning for autonomous driving, including but not limited to search-based methods, sampling-based methods, optimization-based methods, linear-temporal logic, and decision making under uncertainty.
  • Integrate and evaluate combinations of motion planning and prediction algorithms
  • Design and build robust and scalable codebase that enables rapid exploration and evaluation of different motion planning approaches and algorithms. 
  • Interface with perception and prediction components upstream and trajectory optimization and tracking & control components downstream
  • Participate in code reviews and mentoring sessions with senior team members
  • Develop a culture of product focused engineering, research, and development

What we're looking for:

  • Bachelor's required, Masters or PhD degree preferred in Robotics, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field
  • Proven impact and expertise in the robotics / autonomous vehicle field.
  • 5-7+ years of research experience in robotics / motion planning
  • 2+ years of C++ software development
  • Past experience taking projects from problem formulation through implementation and deployment
  • Thirst for knowledge and continuous innovation

The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors including but not limited to specific skills, experience and expertise, role location, certifications, licenses, and business needs. The estimated compensation range listed in this job posting reflects base salary only. This role may include additional forms of compensation such as a bonus or company equity. The recruiter assigned to this role can share more information about the specific compensation and benefit details associated with this role during the hiring process. 

Candidates for certain positions are eligible to participate in Motional’s benefits program. Motional’s benefits include but are not limited to medical, dental, vision, 401k with a company match, health saving accounts, life insurance, pet insurance, and more.

Salary Range

$168,000—$225,000 USD

Motional is a driverless technology company making autonomous vehicles a safe, reliable, and accessible reality. We’re driven by something more.

Our journey is always people first.

We aren't just developing driverless cars; we're creating safer roadways, more equitable transportation options, and making our communities better places to live, work, and connect. Our team is made up of engineers, researchers, innovators, dreamers and doers, who are creating a technology with the potential to transform the way we move.

Higher purpose, greater impact.

We’re creating first-of-its-kind technology that will transform transportation. To do so successfully, we must design for everyone in our cities and on our roads. We believe in building a great place to work through a progressive, global culture that is diverse, inclusive, and ensures people feel valued at every level of the organization. Diversity helps us to see the world differently; it’s not only good for our business, it’s the right thing to do.  

Scale up, not starting up.

Our team is behind some of the industry's largest leaps forward, including the first fully-autonomous cross-country drive in the U.S, the launch of the world's first robotaxi pilot, and operation of the world's longest-standing public robotaxi fleet. We’re driven to scale; we’re moving towards commercialization of our technology, and we need team members who are ready to embrace change and challenges.

Formed as a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv, Motional is fundamentally changing how people move through their lives. Headquartered in Boston, Motional has operations in the U.S and Asia. For more information, visit  www.Motional.com and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

Motional AD Inc. is an EOE. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. To comply with Federal Law, we participate in E-Verify. All newly-hired employees are queried through this electronic system established by the DHS and the SSA to verify their identity and employment eligibility.

Source: Motional on Greenhouse · View original posting (opens in new tab)

How this pay compares

Base floor $168,000, above 65% of the 529 Software Engineering roles in Massachusetts on this site. The employer's range is $57,000 wide, 34% of the floor. Observed open for 2 days so far (since Nov 6, 2026).

Pay in context

Among 529 Software Engineering roles in Massachusetts listed on this site, the median base floor is $149,000 and the middle half runs from $130,000 to $172,000. This role's floor ($168,000) is above 65% of them; 1 other lists the same floor.

Base floors of 529 Software Engineering roles in Massachusetts

Base floors of 529 Software Engineering roles in Massachusetts$100K to $125K: 20.6% (109); $125K to $150K: 30.1% (159); $150K to $175K: 26.1% (138); $175K to $200K: 14.7% (78); $200K to $225K: 6.6% (35); $225K to $250K: 1.5% (8); $250K to $275K: 0.2% (1); $275K and up: 0.2% (1)0%10%20%30%40%21%10030%12526%15015%1757%2002%225<1%250<1%275This job $168K
Each bar counts postings on this site by published base floor, in $K. The marker is this job's floor.
Table
Base floors of 529 Software Engineering roles in Massachusetts
Floor bandSharePostings
$100K to $125K20.6%109
$125K to $150K30.1%159
$150K to $175K26.1%138
$175K to $200K14.7%78
$200K to $225K6.6%35
$225K to $250K1.5%8
$250K to $275K0.2%1
$275K and up0.2%1
How this is calculated
Statistic
Base floor distribution of the cohort
Formula
count of cohort postings in each $25K band of published base floor / postings in the cohort
Denominator
529 open postings with this job family in Massachusetts
Sample size
529
Hidden when
needs at least 30 postings in the cohort
Calculation version
jobpage-analysis-v1
Data as of
2026-11-08
Employer set
Open jobs on this site that publish a base salary of $100,000 or more

Only jobs on this site count, and each one publishes a base salary of $100,000 or more, so this compares six-figure jobs with each other, not with the whole market. Computed Nov 8, 2026.

State against nationwide

Median base floor in Massachusetts vs nationwide

Median published base floor of the same job family, in this state and across all states, next to this job's floor.
Table
Median base floor in Massachusetts vs nationwide
Valuepostings
Software Engineering, Massachusetts$149K529
Software Engineering, all states$160K12,914
This job's base floor (marked)$168K
How this is calculated
Statistic
Median floor, state vs nationwide
Formula
median published base floor of each cohort
Denominator
open postings of this job family
Sample size
529 in Massachusetts; 12914 nationwide
Hidden when
needs at least 30 postings in both cohorts
Calculation version
jobpage-analysis-v1
Data as of
2026-11-08
Employer set
Open jobs on this site that publish a base salary of $100,000 or more

How Motional pays

26 of Motional's 58 live roles on this site list a higher base floor and 30 list a lower one. Across them the median floor is $157,000; the middle half runs from $144,000 to $186,500.

Base floors of Motional's 58 live roles

Base floors of Motional's 58 live roles$100K to $125K: 5.2% (3); $125K to $150K: 44.8% (26); $150K to $175K: 20.7% (12); $175K to $200K: 5.2% (3); $200K to $225K: 15.5% (9); $225K to $250K: 6.9% (4); $250K to $275K: 0.0% (0); $275K and up: 1.7% (1)0%15%30%45%5%10045%12521%1505%17516%2007%2250%2502%275This job $168K
Each bar counts this employer's live roles by published base floor, in $K. The marker is this job's floor.
Table
Base floors of Motional's 58 live roles
Floor bandShareRoles
$100K to $125K5.2%3
$125K to $150K44.8%26
$150K to $175K20.7%12
$175K to $200K5.2%3
$200K to $225K15.5%9
$225K to $250K6.9%4
$250K to $275K0.0%0
$275K and up1.7%1
How this is calculated
Statistic
Employer base floor distribution
Formula
count of the employer's open roles in each $25K band of published base floor / its open roles
Denominator
58 open public roles at this employer
Sample size
58
Hidden when
needs at least 5 roles
Calculation version
jobpage-analysis-v1
Data as of
current
Employer set
Open jobs on this site that publish a base salary of $100,000 or more

Similar pay elsewhere

Other employers' Software Engineering roles in Massachusetts with the nearest published base floor to $168,000, one per employer.

This range next to 6 other live Motional roles with the nearest advertised base floor
Chart as a table
This range next to 6 other live Motional roles with the nearest advertised base floor
RolePublished base
Staff Motion Planning Engineer (this listing)$168K - $225K
Senior Engineer$168,121 - $214,200
Software Engineering Manager -Data Platform$172K - $229K
Senior Software Engineer, Autonomy Actions Sustaining$172K - $229K
Senior Motion Planning Engineer - Trajectory Generation$172K - $229K
Senior Motion Planning Engineer$172K - $229K
Senior Motion Planning Engineer - Safety-Layer$172K - $229K

Same $100K to $400K scale as every card. All Motional roles · How to read the bar

Observed changes

No changes to the pay or listing since we first observed this role on Nov 6, 2026 (2 days ago).

  1. First observed on the employer's board, already publishing a qualifying base salary
Observed since
Employer-stated posting date
2026-03-25
Where this pay comes from

Location as the employer wrote it: Boston, Massachusetts, United States; Remote U.S.

$168,000—$225,000 USD

Method
Employer text, read with fixed rules and re-verified
Checked
Rule set
us-base-v2

The pay passage appears in the employer's own job text. Fixed, deterministic rules located it, and the passage below was checked against the stored copy of the posting.

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.

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