Zoox, Incorporated

Senior Staff / Principal Software Engineer - Freeway Autonomy

Zoox, Incorporated · Foster City, CA
Foster City, CA $340K–$493K Posted 2026-08-31
Salary
$340K–$493K
Type
Full-time
Experience
10+ yr

•

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
•

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
•

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++
Base Salary Range

There are three major components to compensation for this position: salary, Amazon Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), and Zoox Stock Appreciation Rights. A sign-on bonus may be offered as part of the compensation package. The listed range applies only to the base salary. Compensation will vary based on geographic location and level. Leveling, as well as positioning within a level, is determined by a range of factors, including, but not limited to, a candidate's relevant years of experience, domain knowledge, and interview performance. The salary range listed in this posting is representative of the range of levels Zoox is considering for this position.

Zoox also offers a comprehensive package of benefits, including paid time off (e.g. sick leave, vacation, bereavement), unpaid time off, Zoox Stock Appreciation Rights, Amazon RSUs, health insurance, long-term care insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance, and life insurance.

C++
$110K — 10th pctl $270K — 90th pctl
This role’s midpoint $416K vs. market median $180K for Engineering roles
+130%
above median
Based on 10,000+ Engineering roles with disclosed salary ranges tracked on NewJob.
Zoox

Zoox

Autonomous Vehicles · Public · Foster City, USA

Stage & Valuation
Public · $1.3B
Key Investors
Amazon, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Alium Capital
Open roles on NewJob
Most hiring in
Engineering (86) · Data & ML (29) · BizOps (26)
Zoox is an autonomous vehicle company developing purpose-built robotaxis designed for urban mobility.
Autonomous Vehicles Ride-hailing Robotics AI
E
Engineering Manager, Robot Data Visualization
Foster City, CA Hybrid
Engineering
$250K–$309K
E
Hardware Engineer - Test Development
Foster City, CA
Engineering
$151K–$182K
D
Senior / Staff Machine Learning Engineer - 3D Sensor Simulation
Foster City, CA Hybrid
Data & ML
$242K–$348K
See all 50+ roles at Zoox, Incorporated →
A
Staff Robotics Software Engineer - Mission Autonomy
Anduril Industries Costa Mesa, California, United States
Engineering
$253K–$336K
L
Senior Software Systems Engineer - Autonomy Behavior and Metrics
Latitude AI Palo Alto, CA
Engineering
$179K–$268K
P
Senior Robotics Software Engineer - Autonomy
Persona AI Houston, TX
Engineering
S
Senior Systems Engineer - Autonomy & Software
Shield AI London, UK Hybrid
Engineering
See all Engineering roles →

Interested in this role?

Apply directly on the company site — no recruiter middleman, no account required.

Apply now →
Apply on company site