Torc Robotics
Staff, Software Engineer - Motion Planning (Unstructured Environments)
$186K–$223K
Blacksburg, VA, Remote - US +1 · Remote · Staff · Full-time · Posted Jul 15, 2026
- Location
- Blacksburg, VA, Remote - US
Blacksburg, Virginia, United States - Experience
- 10+ years of industry experience; alternatively, 7+ years with a master’s degree or 5+ years with a PhD.
- Education
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical field; master’s and PhD alternatives are stated.
- Visa sponsorship
- Only U.S. citizens are eligible; the role requires access to information and systems restricted under U.S. law.
About the job
Leads technical direction and develops, validates, and deploys motion-planning systems for autonomous trucks operating in unstructured environments.
What you'll do
- Set architecture and provide technical leadership across teams, including mentoring engineers and guiding major initiatives.
- Design and optimize planning algorithms and production-quality C++ software for trajectory generation, behavior planning, and autonomous-truck decision-making.
- Develop validation strategies, troubleshoot vehicle behavior in simulation and on-vehicle, and support integration and deployment.
What they ask for
- Bachelor’s degree in a relevant technical field plus 10+ years of industry experience, or a master’s plus 7+ years, or a PhD plus 5+ years.
- Experience as a Staff, Principal, or multi-team technical leader, including leading cross-functional initiatives.
- Deep expertise in robotics, autonomous vehicle, ADAS, or other complex real-time systems, and modern C++ in Linux environments.
- Experience developing motion-planning or related systems; strong understanding of vehicle dynamics, kinematics, optimization, and robotics algorithms.
Nice to have
- Experience with MPPI, MPC, optimization-based planning, or machine learning for autonomous systems.
- Experience with simulation platforms, robotics frameworks, GPU acceleration, or on-vehicle testing and deployment.
Pay
$186,200 — $223,400 USD (base salary)
Tools
C++, Linux, Git, pytest, Robot Framework, gtest, ROS/ROS2, Autoware
AI focus
May apply machine learning techniques such as imitation learning or reinforcement learning, integrate models into production systems, and develop hybrid planning architectures.
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