Applied Intuition, Inc. is powering the future of physical AI. Founded in 2017 and now valued at $15 billion, the Silicon Valley company is creating the digital infrastructure needed to bring intelligence to every moving machine on the planet. Applied Intuition services the automotive, defense, trucking, construction, mining and agriculture industries in three core areas: tools and infrastructure, operating systems, and autonomy. Eighteen of the top 20 global automakers, as well as the United States military and its allies, trust the company’s solutions to deliver physical intelligence. Applied Intuition is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with offices in Washington, D.C.; San Diego; Ft. Walton Beach, Florida; Ann Arbor, Michigan; London; Stuttgart; Munich; Stockholm; Bangalore; Seoul; and Tokyo. Learn more at applied.co.

We are an in-office company, and our expectation is that full-time employees primarily work from their Applied Intuition office 5 days a week. However, we also recognize the importance of flexibility and trust our employees to manage their schedules responsibly. This may include occasional remote work, starting the day with morning meetings from home before heading to the office, or leaving earlier when needed to accommodate family commitments. This in-office expectation does not apply to contractor positions

Hear from an Engineer

About the role

As a Technical Lead for Motion Planning, you will guide the development of sophisticated motion planning modules for autonomous vehicles. You will lead efforts to design, implement, and deploy high-performance, kinematically-feasible planning algorithms that operate under strict timing constraints in diverse operational environments.

In this role, you will mentor engineers, set technical direction, ensure software quality, and partner with customers to understand requirements and deliver impactful solutions. You will collaborate cross-functionally and drive best practices to accelerate autonomy technology at scale.

At Applied Intuition, you will

Lead and mentor a team of software engineers focused on onroad behavior software and motion planning for autonomous navigation

Develop state-of-the-art onroad behavior software and leverage ML components to achieve highway and city driving

Leverage lightweight map data (SD maps) and the outputs of a perception system to determine driving costs to use for planning

Architect and oversee the implementation of planning modules that integrate perception outputs, predictions, and lightweight map data for dynamic path planning

Ensure deployment readiness by establishing testing protocols and validation on production hardware and real-world road conditions, partnering with evaluation and vehicle teams

Collaborate directly with customer engineering teams, managing technical relationships to align deliverables with their autonomy goals

Drive continuous improvement in software practices, performance optimization, and innovation within the planning domain

Contribute technical leadership to internal project planning, prioritization, and roadmap development

We're looking for someone who has

BS in in Computer Science, Robotics, Applied Mathematics, or related engineering field with focus on planning

5+ years of experience building and leading production software teams, specifically in planning algorithms for autonomous vehicles

Proven ability to lead technical projects end-to-end and mentor junior engineers

Fluency in modern C++ and experience with performance-critical software

Strong problem-solving skills and ability to deliver practical, scalable solutions in fast-paced environments

Excellent communication skills for both technical leadership and customer-facing interactions

Nice to have

Advanced degree (MSc or PhD) in Computer Science, Robotics, Applied Mathematics, or related engineering field with focus on planning

Experience with safety-critical software development and automotive industry standards

Hands-on experience testing planning systems on autonomous vehicles