Job Description

About Applied Intuition

Applied Intuition is the vehicle intelligence company that accelerates the global adoption of safe, AI-driven machines. Founded in 2017, Applied Intuition delivers the toolchain, Vehicle OS, and autonomy stacks to help customers build intelligent vehicles and shorten time to market. Eighteen of the top 20 global automakers and major programs across the Department of Defense trust Applied Intuition's solutions to deliver vehicle intelligence. Applied Intuition services the automotive, defense, trucking, construction, mining, and agriculture industries and is headquartered in Mountain View, CA, with offices in Washington, D.C., San Diego, CA, Ft. Walton Beach, FL, Ann Arbor, MI, London, Stuttgart, Munich, Stockholm, Seoul, and Tokyo. Learn more at appliedintuition.com .

We are an in-office company, and our expectation is that 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. (Note: For EpiSci job openings, fully remote work will be considered by exception.)

About the role

We are looking for a Motion Planning Engineer with a specialized focus on designing and implementing cost and reward functions for our autonomous driving system. This role requires a strong background in classical motion planning and a keen interest in how behavioral objectives can be codified into quantifiable metrics for both traditional and machine learning-based control systems. You will be the bridge between our core planning team and our RL research experts, directly influencing the vehicle's behavior.

We operate in a dynamic and customer-focused culture that moves fast and prioritizes excellence in our products and our business. This is a place for hands-on engineers who want to tackle the complex, real-world challenges of making autonomous systems a reality. You will have a direct and multiplying effect on the performance of our autonomous vehicles while contributing to and learning from the best practices of a nascent industry. If this sounds like the impact you want to make, Applied Intuition is the place for you!

At Applied Intuition, you will:

• Design, implement, and validate novel reward and cost functions that guide the autonomous vehicle's behavior, balancing safety, comfort, and efficiency


• Work with our behavior team to integrate and optimize cost functions, ensuring optimal trajectory generation and comfortable, safe driving


• Partner with our Reinforcement Learning (RL) research team to translate high-level behavioral goals into effective RL reward signals for training our learning-based agents


• Analyze planning system performance against real-world and simulated data to iteratively refine and improve cost and reward mechanisms


• Take ownership of the full life cycle of reward engineering solutions, from concept and prototyping to deployment and maintenance

We're looking for someone who has:

• 3-5 years of professional experience in autonomous vehicle motion planning, robotics, or a related field


• Strong programming skills in C++ and/or Python


• Solid understanding of core motion planning concepts, including state-space search, sampling-based methods, and trajectory optimization


• Demonstrated ability to analyze complex system behavior and distill it into clear, quantitative metrics


• Enthusiasm about applying their skills to solve challenging problems in a fast-paced environment

Nice to have:

• Prior exposure to machine learning concepts, particularly reinforcement learning


• Experience with robotics middleware (e.g., ROS)


• Experience with a simulation environment

Compensation at Applied Intuition for eligible roles includes base salary, equity, and benefits. Base salary is a single component of the total compensation package, which may also include equity in the form of options and/or restricted stock units, comprehensive health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance coverage, 401k retirement benefits with employer match, learning and wellness stipends, and paid time off. Note that benefits are subject to change and may vary based on jurisdiction of employment.

Applied Intuition pay ranges reflect the minimum and maximum intended target base salary for new hire salaries for the position. The actual base salary offered to a successful candidate will additionally be influenced by a variety of factors including experience, credentials & certifications, educational attainment, skill level requirements, interview performance, and the level and scope of the position.

Please reference the job posting’s subtitle for where this position will be located. For pay transparency purposes, the base salary range for this full-time position in the location listed is: $125,000 - $222,000 USD annually. 

Don’t meet every single requirement? If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Applied Intuition is an equal opportunity employer and federal contractor or subcontractor. Consequently, the parties agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-1.4(a), 41 CFR 60-300.5(a) and 41 CFR 60-741.5(a) and that these laws are incorporated herein by reference. These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities, and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin. These regulations require that covered prime contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status or disability. The parties also agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of Executive Order 13496 (29 CFR Part 471, Appendix A to Subpart A), relating to the notice of employee rights under federal labor laws.

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