Senior Software Engineer, C++ Vehicle Experience
- Salary
- USD 235,000 - 285,000 / per-year-salary
- Level
- Senior
- Work type
- Hybrid · Foster City
Not stated in the posting: visa.
Open. First seen 29 October 2026.
About the role
Zoox is building the future of transportation. To do that, we’re also building an incredible crew—united by our mission, energized by our values, and driven by our purpose. We are looking for an experienced Software Engineer to join our Vehicle Experience team.
Zoox isn’t an updated car–it’s a whole new form of transportation–designed for AI to drive, and humans to enjoy. In this role, you will design, develop and optimize the software that powers a unique and premium vehicle experience to delight our riders.
The Vehicle Experience team is primarily responsible for the software that manages the ride state and orchestrates the rider experience–audio, lighting, vehicle controls and even the infotainment tablets. The on-vehicle software is authored in C++ and sits at the nexus of all the systems a rider sees and touches and as such, runs on the vehicle under resource constraints. This team delivers select features end-to-end, including writing backend cloud services.
The person in this role will be working on impactful projects like improving the vehicle mission handling as we add new autonomous capabilities, personalizing the vehicle experience to the rider’s preferences and providing situational awareness so the rider feels safe and informed, while consistently working to raise the performance, reliability and quality bar. In short, this position will be implementing and orchestrating some of the most highly visible features in-vehicle.
In this role, you will:
Design and implement real-time software systems in C++ to manage autonomous vehicle ride states, passenger interactions and vehicle control interfaces while ensuring optimal performance on embedded Linux systems.
Architect and integrate mission-critical software components that process data from multiple vehicle sensors and systems, implementing robust error handling and failsafe mechanisms while adhering to automotive-grade safety standards.
Analyze system performance metrics and telemetry data to optimize software efficiency, troubleshoot issues, and make data-driven decisions for improving ride management systems.
Partner cross-functionally with vehicle software teams, cloud engineers, Product Management, Technical Program Management, UX Design, Quality Assurance and Feature Integration teams to deliver integrated solutions that advance our autonomous vehicle technology.
Qualifications
MS/BS in Computer Science, Engineering or related field with 8+ years of software development experience
Strong expertise in modern C++ development on Linux systems
Experience with modern software development practices (Git, CI/CD, code review), automated testing and validation methodologies and cross-team collaboration in large, complex software projects
Experience leading 2-3 engineers in feature delivery
Track record of building user-centric product software, collaborating with Product Management and UX designers and ability to translate UX requirements into technical implementations
Bonus Qualifications
Knowledge of robotics, automotive or embedded systems software development, including real-time constraints and hardware interfaces
Hands-on experience with Data Distribution Service (DDS) middleware in production environments, including performance optimization and fault tolerance
Proficiency with distributed systems in Java, Kotlin or Python
About Zoox
Zoox is developing the first ground-up, fully autonomous vehicle fleet and the supporting ecosystem required to bring this technology to market. Sitting at the intersection of robotics, machine learning, and design, Zoox aims to provide the next generation of mobility-as-a-service in urban environments. We’re looking for top talent that shares our passion and wants to be part of a fast-moving and highly execution-oriented team.
Follow us on LinkedIn
Zoox's standard text
Accommodations
If you need an accommodation to participate in the application or interview process please reach out to accommodations@zoox.com or your assigned recruiter.
A Final Note:
You do not need to match every listed expectation to apply for this position. Here at Zoox, we know that diverse perspectives foster the innovation we need to be successful, and we are committed to building a team that encompasses a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and skills.
What this role asks for
Standard for software engineering roles
Python
Common in software engineering postings at any company.
In most of Zoox's ads
Machine Learning
Named in most of its open postings, whatever the role.
88% of this description is written for the role. The rest is Zoox's standard text, folded away below.
Compared with Zoox's other open jobs.
The team: Software Platforms and Product HIRES STEADILY
This role is one of 27 open in Software Platforms and Product. 6 were posted in the last 30 days and the oldest in September: a team that hires all year rather than one being built.
WHAT THE TEAM WORKS WITH, ACROSS ITS POSTINGS
Machine Learning (20 of 27), Python (16 of 27), Embedded Systems (12 of 27), C++ (10 of 27), Linux (8 of 27), Git (7 of 27), C (6 of 27)
OTHER ROLES ON THIS TEAM
- Contract Student Worker - Software Engineer (40 hrs/wk) posted Oct 28
- System Test Engineer, System Behavioral Analysis posted Oct 23
- Senior Software Development Engineer in Test posted Oct 14
- Software Development Engineer in Test posted Oct 13
- System Test Engineer posted Oct 6
- Technical Program Manager - System Behavior Analysis posted Sep 25
- Systems Test Engineer, System Behavior Analysis posted Sep 18
- Embedded Software Engineer - Drive Systems posted Aug 31
- Wireless Firmware Validation Engineer posted Aug 26
- Embedded Software Engineer, Wireless Technologies posted Aug 26
- Embedded Software Engineer - Body Systems posted Aug 6
- Embedded Software Engineer - Battery Management Systems posted Aug 6
- Senior Manager, Software Tools Development posted Jul 27
- Embedded Software Engineer - Power Systems posted Jul 14
- Embedded Software Engineer posted Jun 10
- Contract Student Worker Automation & Behavioral Science Engineer posted Jun 4
- Senior/Staff Software Engineer - SRE, GitHub & CI/CD Infrastructure posted Jun 3
- Technical Program Manager - Product Software posted May 20
- Software Engineer - Ride and Fleet Services posted May 12
- Senior/Staff Software Engineer - ML/AI Applications posted May 5
- Contract Student Worker – Firmware Engineer (FW Thermal/Body) posted Apr 15
- Senior/Staff Software Engineer - Ride and Fleet Services posted Jan 12
- System Test Engineer posted Jan 5
- Firmware Validation Engineer posted Aug 12
- Software Engineering Manager - Service Platform posted Jul 8
- Senior Director of Engineering, Product Software posted Sep 19
From the team and dates on Zoox's own job board.
See Software Engineer salaries in the United States →
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