Zoox · 2 months ago
Motion Planning Intern
Foster City, CA
Internship
Hybrid
Intern
$5,500/mo - $9,500/mo
Start in 2026 SpringZoox is developing the first ground-up, fully autonomous vehicle fleet and the supporting ecosystem required to bring this technology to market. As a Motion Planning Intern, you will work on various teams focusing on core autonomy software, collision avoidance systems, and improving motion planning capabilities, all while collaborating with experts in the field.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)Autonomous VehiclesMachine LearningRoboticsTransportation
Responsibilities
Build and optimize core autonomy software including planning algorithms, collision avoidance systems, trajectory generation and validation, or real-time decision-making systems
Implement efficient data structures for tree search, develop cost evaluation functions, or work on CAS components like trajectory validators, collision checkers, and safety perception systems
Write high-performance C++ code that runs on our vehicles
Explore ways for Planner to continue operating effectively, even in the presence of degraded capabilities or limited failures
Develop behavioral and motion planning capabilities in degraded state to improve trip progress metrics and customer experience
Develop algorithms to implement new behaviors or improve upon the performance of existing ones for specific failure modes
Collaborate with a diverse group of experts including Planner, Perception, Prediction, and Hardware
Explore ways to improve our planner’s strategic decision making capabilities
Model long horizon concerns so that our planner can make informed decisions such as when best to lane change when following a route
Develop algorithms to improve the fidelity of our long horizon motion planning models
Collaborate with other teams, simulation-based and real world validation, and create new introspection tools
Qualification
Required
Currently working towards a B.S., M.S., Ph.D., or advanced degree in a relevant engineering program
Must be returning to school to continue your education upon completing this internship
Good academic standing
Able to commit to a 12-week internship beginning in May or June of 2026
At least one previous industry internship, co-op, or project completed in a relevant area
Ability to relocate to the Bay Area, California for the duration of the internship
Interns at Zoox may not use any proprietary information they are working on as part of their thesis, any published work with their university, or to be distributed to anyone outside of Zoox
Preferred
Experience with robotics, motion planning, or control systems
Knowledge of optimization algorithms and numerical methods
Familiarity with real-time systems and performance optimization
Understanding of autonomous driving concepts (POMDP, tree search, trajectory optimization)
Experience with ROS, Bazel, or similar robotics frameworks
Coursework or projects in robotics, planning, or autonomous systems
Knowledge of safety-critical software development
Benefits
Medical insurance
A housing stipend
Relocation assistance will be offered based on eligibility
Company
Zoox
Zoox is an AI robotics company that provides mobility-as-a-service and self-driving car services. It is a sub-organization of Amazon.
Founded in 2014
1001-5000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Zoox has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (293)
2024 (297)
2023 (209)
2022 (204)
2021 (131)
2020 (83)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$955MKey Investors
Grok Ventures
2020-06-26Acquired
2019-10-21Convertible Note· $200M
2018-07-08Series B· $465M
Leadership Team
Nelson Pedreiro
Sr. Vice President, Hardware
Z
Zheng Gao
Director of Hardware Engineering
Recent News
Channel NewsAsia
2025-12-24
Clean Technica
2025-12-13
Company data provided by crunchbase