About the job
Mission Summary:
Join us at Motional as a Principal Engineer Team Lead, where you will spearhead a talented team focused on developing and optimizing advanced trajectory planning algorithms for autonomous vehicles. This pivotal role places you at the heart of our innovation, enabling our fleet to navigate complex environments with safety, efficiency, and comfort. As a vital leader, you will oversee the continuous enhancement of state-of-the-art trajectory generation algorithms, collaborating closely with cross-functional teams in Planning, Perception, Prediction, Localization, Machine Learning Products, and Systems Engineering. You will also mentor a group of highly skilled engineers to deliver cutting-edge solutions in the realm of autonomous driving.
If you are enthusiastic about autonomous vehicle technology and are eager to contribute to our commercial launch this year, we would love to connect with you!
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead and expand a high-impact trajectory planning team, defining its technical vision, execution strategy, and long-term role within the Motion organization.
- Drive readiness for our commercial launch by improving on-road driving behavior—prioritizing safety, comfort, and assertiveness across the fleet—through innovative feature expansion and performance enhancements.
- Utilize a robust, metrics-driven approach to quantify and improve on-road performance, ensuring scalable and production-ready delivery.
- Manage the efficiency and real-time performance of trajectory generation algorithms to meet latency requirements.
- Lead rapid triage and root-cause analysis of critical fleet incidents, transforming real-world scenarios into immediate algorithmic refinements.
- Oversee successful execution of complex, multi-team initiatives, ensuring technical alignment from design to deployment while upholding high testing and validation standards essential for our commercial launch.
- Collaborate with peer leads to provide technical leadership, making strategic decisions regarding architectural direction, investments, tactical execution, and technical debt management. Drive technical excellence through meticulous design and code reviews while fostering team professional growth and mentorship.

