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$19.5K

$67.1K

$98.5K

How much do motion planning jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 23, 2026, the average yearly pay for motion planning in the United States is $67,056.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $52,500.00 and $80,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are some common daily responsibilities for a Motion Planning engineer?

As a Motion Planning engineer, your daily responsibilities typically include designing and implementing algorithms for path planning and obstacle avoidance, running simulations to test and validate new strategies, and collaborating closely with perception, controls, and hardware teams. You may also spend time troubleshooting issues from field trials, optimizing existing motion strategies for speed and safety, and keeping documentation up to date. The work environment is often collaborative, combining both independent coding tasks and frequent team meetings to align on project goals and integration points. This blend of research, development, and real-world testing makes the role dynamic and impactful for autonomous systems projects.

What is a Motion Planning job?

A Motion Planning job involves developing algorithms that enable autonomous systems, such as robots or self-driving vehicles, to navigate safely and efficiently in their environments. Engineers in this role work on path planning, obstacle avoidance, and real-time decision-making to optimize movement. They use techniques from robotics, optimization, and artificial intelligence to ensure smooth and collision-free operation.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the Motion Planning position, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Motion Planning professional, a solid background in robotics, algorithms, computer science, and applied mathematics is essential, often supported by an advanced degree in a related field. Proficiency with simulation tools like ROS, Python or C++ programming, and familiarity with motion planning libraries such as OMPL or MoveIt are typically required. Strong problem-solving abilities, collaboration, and effective communication help you excel in cross-functional engineering teams. These skills enable you to develop and optimize safe, reliable motion strategies for autonomous systems in dynamic real-world environments.

More about Motion Planning jobs
What cities are hiring for Motion Planning jobs? Cities with the most Motion Planning job openings:
What are the most commonly searched types of Motion Planning jobs? The most popular types of Motion Planning jobs are:
What states have the most Motion Planning jobs? States with the most job openings for Motion Planning jobs include:
What job categories do people searching Motion Planning jobs look for? The top searched job categories for Motion Planning jobs are:
Motion Planning jobs near you
Infographic showing various Motion Planning job openings in the United States as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 79% Full Time, 19% Part Time, and 1% Contract. Highlights an 91% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 8% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $67,056 per year, or $32.2 per hour.
Staff Motion Planning Engineer - Trajectory Generation

Staff Motion Planning Engineer - Trajectory Generation

Motional

Las Vegas, NV • On-site, Remote

Other

Posted 9 days ago

Job description

Mission Summary:

On our Motion team, you will serve as a technical leader, leveraging your deep expertise in motion planning, robotics, and software development to architect and advance the capabilities of production-ready autonomous vehicles. In this role, you will drive innovative research, own systemic design processes, and spearhead the implementation of performance-critical algorithms that enable safe, comfortable, and intuitive autonomous vehicle behaviors across Motional's fleet of robotaxis.

If you are passionate about autonomous driving, thrive on solving challenging motion planning problems, and are eager to make a significant impact in a rapidly evolving field, we want to hear from you.

Technical Scope:

  • Architect State-of-the-Art Solutions: Drive the long-term technical strategy and framework for motion planning and trajectory optimization algorithms to guarantee safe, smooth, and comfortable vehicle motion.
  • Scalable Core Software Architecture: Own the structural design of robust and scalable software that enables real on-road impact by evaluating, benchmarking, and integrating diverse optimal control techniques and motion planning algorithms. 
  • Systemic Code Quality & Governance: Establish code quality benchmarks and lead high-impact architectural code and design reviews (C++) based on an exhaustive understanding of the cross-functional teams' services and technologies. 
  • Advanced Engineering Infrastructure: Champion and define modern development toolchains, including next-generation testing frameworks, high-fidelity simulation, and continuous integration, to enable rapid development cycles across the organization. 

Role responsibilities:

  • Strategic Technical Leadership: Define, justify, and navigate complex system trade-offs and highly technical concepts to engineering peers and executive leadership to drive critical platform-level decisions. 
  • Cross-Functional Orchestration: Lead architectural co-design and alignment with adjacent teams working on decision/behavior planning, prediction, and vehicle control to build comprehensive, integrated, and safety-critical solutions. 
  • Subsystem Roadmapping: Author high-impact project proposals that anchor long-term technical roadmaps and span multiple safety-critical vehicle subsystems.
  • Engineering Mentorship: Cultivate the technical growth of senior and junior team members alike, fostering an organizational culture of product-focused engineering, rigorous research, and cutting-edge development. 

What we're looking for:

  • Extensive Production Experience: 5+ years (or equivalent expert level) of production-grade C++ software development, with a proven track record in real-time, low-latency, or safety-critical applications.
  • Educational Background: Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD degree preferred in Robotics, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
  • Proven Technical Ownership: A distinct track record of defining, scaling, and leading large-scale technical development initiatives from initial problem formulation through algorithm design, validation, and on-vehicle production implementation.
  • Motion Planning & Control: Deep, domain-expert experience with Model Predictive Control (MPC), motion planning architectures, planning under uncertainty, vehicle dynamics/control, and closed-loop simulation environments.
  • Theoretical Excellence: Thorough, first-principles mathematical understanding of non-linear and numerical optimization algorithms (including interior point methods, sequential quadratic programming, and convex/non-convex optimization formulations).
  • Solver Optimization Expertise: Extensive experience deploying, customizing, and scaling numerical optimization solvers (e.g., IPOPT, Gurobi, OSQP, CasADi) within real-time embedded environments.
  • Strong knowledge of Python for simulation, data analysis, or rapid prototyping is considered a bonus


We encourage a hybrid schedule with in-office time at one of our locations in Boston, Pittsburgh, or Las Vegas to support collaboration, or this role can be fully remote.

Apply