Machine Learning Engineer - Scene Understanding

The Perception Scene Understanding team at Zoox builds the high-performance reasoning engines that allow our autonomous vehicles to navigate complex urban environments. We translate sensor data and detected objects into deep semantic understanding, ensuring our robots make human-level decisions in real-time.

We are seeking engineers passionate about the intersection of robotics and cutting-edge AI. In this role, you will develop next-generation algorithms and deploy production-grade software directly to our fleet. You will tackle the inherent unpredictability of urban driving—including road closures, occlusions, dynamic traffic controls, and abnormal traffic patterns—ensuring our vehicles remain resilient in the face of unexpected hazards.

As an engineer on the Scene Understanding team, you will develop and deploy advanced machine learning models that interpret the robot’s surroundings to identify hazards and enforce driving restrictions. Your work will be pivotal in resolving unstructured scenarios, ensuring safe navigation through complex or restricted zones. You will optimize models for real-time inference on our vehicle hardware and collaborate closely with teams—including Localization, Perception, Prediction, and Planning—to deliver a seamless, safe, and reliable experience for our riders.

In this role, you will...

• Develop machine learning algorithms for Bird’s Eye View scene analysis and real-time hazard detection.
• Design and implement scene understanding solutions specifically for Zoox's unique bidirectional vehicle.
• Lead the end-to-end data strategy—including mining, auto-labeling, and dataset construction—to keep our ML models improving.
• Implement on-vehicle software for model inference and result post-processing that runs reliably in real-time.
• Use our large-scale data pipelines and infra to research, prototype, and deploy changes that directly improve how the vehicle handles complex road scenarios.
• Team up with Perception, Prediction, and Planning. teams to integrate your signals into the final driving solution.

Qualifications

• BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, or a related field with 2+ years of industry experience training and deploying ML models.
• Experience with BEV (Bird’s Eye View) models, segmentation, or 3D representations.
• Hands-on experience with the full lifecycle: dataset construction, training frameworks, and building metrics pipelines to evaluate performance.
• A strong mathematical foundation in linear algebra, calculus, and probability.
• Fluency in C++ and Python. Experience with PyTorch, TensorFlow, JAX.

Bonus Qualifications

• Track record of designing novel neural network architectures or working with probabilistic outputs.
• Experience working on autonomous systems or integrating ML models into a robotics stack.
• Publications in top-tier conferences like CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, RSS, or ICRA.

$179,000 - $245,000 a year

Base Salary Range

There are three major components to compensation for this position: salary, Amazon Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), and Zoox Stock Appreciation Rights. A sign-on bonus may be offered as part of the compensation package. The listed range applies only to the base salary. Compensation will vary based on geographic location and level. Leveling, as well as positioning within a level, is determined by a range of factors, including, but not limited to, a candidate's relevant years of experience, domain knowledge, and interview performance. The salary range listed in this posting is representative of the range of levels Zoox is considering for this position.

Zoox also offers a comprehensive package of benefits, including paid time off (e.g. sick leave, vacation, bereavement), unpaid time off, Zoox Stock Appreciation Rights, Amazon RSUs, health insurance, long-term care insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance, and life insurance.

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.

Accommodations

If you need an accommodation to participate in the application or interview process please reach out to [email protected] 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.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.