Senior Software Engineer - Motion Planning

Job Description

Job DescriptionAbout ZiplineDo you want to change the world? Zipline is on a mission to transform the way goods move. Our aim is to solve the world's most urgent and complex access challenges by building, manufacturing and operating the first instant delivery and logistics system that serves all humans equally, wherever they are. From powering Rwanda's national blood delivery network and Ghana's COVID-19 vaccine distribution, to providing on-demand home delivery for Walmart, to enabling healthcare providers to bring care directly to U.S. homes, we are transforming the way things move for businesses, governments and consumers.The technology is complex but the idea is simple: a teleportation service that delivers what you need, when you need it. Through our technology that includes robotics and autonomy, we are decarbonizing delivery, decreasing road congestion, and reducing fossil fuel consumption and air pollution, while providing equitable access to billions of people and building a more resilient global supply chain.Join Zipline and help us to make good on our promise to build an equitable and more resilient global supply chain for billions of people.Senior Motion Planning Engineer — Autonomy at ScaleAbout the Role

Zipline is building the world's largest autonomous delivery system, already flying life-saving missions today and scaling to serve millions of people around the world. As a Senior Motion Planning Engineer, you'll be a key technical owner of the planning and decision-making software that enables our fleet to fly safely, efficiently, and reliably at global scale.

This is a rare IC role where your algorithms will directly control thousands of autonomous aircraft — pushing the limits of what's possible in safety-critical autonomy.

What You'll Do

• Develop onboard motion planning and decision-making software for Zipline's delivery drones.

• Design and refine collision avoidance and deconfliction algorithms that scale to 10,000+ flights per day across multiple metros.

• Enable fleet-wide coordination for dense and dynamic airspace operations.

• Architect and extend components of the autonomy stack to support next-generation platforms and products.

• Build and use simulation tools to evaluate new features before deployment.

• Analyze real-world flight data from thousands of missions to validate performance, safety, and reliability.

• Collaborate closely with perception and controls engineers to define subsystem requirements and ensure tight integration.

• Continuously optimize algorithms for energy efficiency, flight time, and robustness in real-world environments.

• Validate system safety through large-scale simulations, SIL/HIL testing, and real flight logs.

What You'll Bring:

• At least 5+ years of experience developing software for hardware products in a safety-critical domain (aerospace, robotics, autonomous vehicles, medical devices).

• Expertise in safety-critical programming (Rust, C++, or C).

• Strong background in planning and search algorithms, with hands-on industry experience in robotics or autonomy.

• Proven track record of delivering production-grade algorithms for real-world systems.

• Experience with simulation frameworks and data analysis tools for evaluating autonomy system performance.

• Hands-on experience with real-world robotics deployments, handling long-tail corner cases to ensure high uptime.

• Strong problem-solving mindset and the ability to work across teams in a fast-moving, safety-critical environment.

Why Join Now?

• Impact at scale: Your algorithms won't sit in a lab — they'll power thousands of daily flights delivering essential goods.

• Technical frontier: Tackle autonomy problems no one has solved at this scale, in environments that push beyond the state of the art.

• Upside: Drone delivery is entering its trillion-dollar moment, and Zipline is leading the category.

• Challenge + ownership: This is an IC role with outsized influence — the kind where your code shapes the future of flight autonomy.

What Else You Need to Know The starting cash range for this role is $180,000 - $230,000. Please note that this is a target, starting cash range for a candidate who meets the minimum qualifications for this role. The final cash pay for this role will depend on a variety of factors, including a specific candidate's experience, qualifications, skills, working location, and projected impact. The total compensation package for this role may also include: equity compensation; discretionary annual or performance bonuses; sales incentives; benefits such as medical, dental and vision insurance; paid time off; and more. Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, or other characteristics protected by state, federal or local law or our other policies.We value diversity at Zipline and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech. If you like the sound of this position but are not sure if you are the perfect fit, please apply!