Zoox

Embedded Software Engineer - Drive Systems

Foster City, CAFull timeSoftware Platforms and Product

$137K – $207Kposted range

Range as posted by the employer.

Posted 1 week ago · listed on Lever

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Should you apply?

Open: 8 days; Still in the active review window.
Open roles at this company: 247; Hiring in volume. Recruiters are busy, so a tailored resume that matches the posting's words gets through the screen.
Salary: Posted; The employer put pay in writing. Anchor on it in the first conversation.

Days open comes from the posting date. Fill time and reposting rate come from this company's recent public postings.

The job, broken down

You'd write embedded firmware that turns AI-generated driving trajectories into actual motor, brake, and steering commands for Zoox's autonomous vehicles. This is safety-critical, production-level code on the direct path between the AI stack and the vehicle physically moving.

What you'd actually do

Translate trajectory data into drive control actuator commands (motor torque, brake torque, steering angle)
Build arbitration logic between control sources: nominal AI stack, remote controller, drive-by-wire, trajectory spoofing test sources
Monitor and validate the safety of trajectory execution and drive control ECUs
Work directly with vehicle hardware across contexts: in-service rides, depot staging, test tracks, and fresh-off-the-line vehicles

Must-haves

Experience with embedded software development
Comfort writing production-quality, safety-critical code
Experience or strong interest in working with hardware and complex dynamic systems

Read before you apply

No mention of required years of experience, languages, or tools (C/C++, RTOS, etc. not specified)
No salary or compensation range given
No detail on team size, reporting structure, or on-call/safety-incident expectations for a safety-critical role

Written from the posting text only. Check the full description below before you decide.

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Steps to get this job

1Lead your resume/cover letter with any direct experience in motor control, braking systems, steering systems, or ECU-level firmware, since those are the exact actuator domains named in the posting
2Highlight any work on arbitration logic or multi-source control systems (e.g., failover between control inputs), since that's called out as a core responsibility
3If you have safety-critical or automotive-grade code experience (ISO 26262, functional safety, ASIL levels), state it explicitly since the posting stresses 'safety-critical code'
4Mirror the phrase 'production-quality, safety-critical code for complex dynamic systems' in your application materials since it's lifted directly from their own description of the ideal candidate

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What it's like to work at Zoox

Premium

Zoox is an Amazon-owned autonomous vehicle company building purpose-built robotaxis (no steering wheel or pedals), headquartered in Foster City, CA, with testing also happening in San Francisco and Las Vegas. It was acquired by Amazon in 2020 for $1.3 billion and had roughly 1,000 employees as of a 2024 layoff report, likely more now as it approaches paid commercial robotaxi service.

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About the role

Zoox is looking for an embedded software engineer to join our Firmware Drive Systems team. Drive Systems owns the critical path from autonomous trajectory to vehicle motion — taking a trajectory from our AI stack and translating it into drive control actuator commands (motor torques, brake torques, steering angles, and more), arbitrating between control sources (our nominal AI stack, in-house remote controller, and test sources like drive-by-wire and trajectory spoofing), and continuously monitoring the safety of trajectory execution and drive control ECUs. We are looking for people who are passionate about working with hardware and developing production-quality, safety-critical code for complex dynamic systems.

Drive Systems engineers literally make the robot move. Whether a Zoox robot is in service carrying riders, staging at a depot, undergoing critical testing on test tracks, or freshly off the assembly line, this team ensures it drives safely and reliably.

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