Software Engineer - Planning (Sampling / Search)

About Applied Intuition Applied Intuition, Inc. is powering the future of physical AI. Founded in 2017 and now valued at $15 billion, the Silicon Valley company is creating the digital infrastructure needed to bring intelligence to every moving machine on the planet. Applied Intuition services the automotive, defense, trucking, construction, mining and agriculture industries in three core areas: tools and infrastructure, operating systems, and autonomy. Eighteen of the top 20 global automakers, as well as the United States military and its allies, trust the company’s solutions to deliver physical intelligence. Applied Intuition is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with offices in Washington, D.C.; San Diego; Ft. Walton Beach, Florida; Ann Arbor, Michigan; London; Stuttgart; Munich; Stockholm; Bangalore; Seoul; and Tokyo. Learn more at applied.co . We are an in-office company, and our expectation is that employees primarily work from their Applied Intuition office 5 days a week. However, we also recognize the importance of flexibility and trust our employees to manage their schedules responsibly. This may include occasional remote work, starting the day with morning meetings from home before heading to the office, or leaving earlier when needed to accommodate family commitments. About the role As a Path Planning engineer at Applied, your role is pivotal. Your work will involve developing, integrating, and testing core path planning capabilities that span all classes of aerial platforms (Group 1-5). You'll work closely with teams across the entire company to integrate core GNC algorithms into their software and product stacks, supporting applications in both commercial and defense spaces. The challenge is profound, and the rewards are immeasurable, as you build superior systems that empower our military with unrivaled capabilities. At Applied, you will: Write software that operates real autonomous aircraft systems including fighter aircraft, maritime surface vessels, group 1-5 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), as well as simulated models to accomplish tactical military missions Build, leverage, and improve aerial autonomy software architectures that are ultimately tested and deployed on real systems to accomplish military missions Collaborate with DoD warfighter domain experts and 3rd party UAS vehicle vendors to develop and integrate aerial autonomy software onto OEM hardware We're looking for someone who has: 3-5 years of professional experience in autonomous vehicle motion planning, robotics, or a related field. Experience in 3D+ path planning using sampling based methods such as RRT* or similar. Experience in 2/2.5D grid based planning methods such as A* or similar. Experience developing autonomy algorithms in either C++ or Python Experience developing or implementing outer-loop control systems Strong functional, procedural, data-oriented, and object-oriented programming experience Experience using git, Visual Studio Code, GitLab Travel Requirements: Must be willing to travel as projects requires; estimated average travel is once every other month for between 2 days up to 1 week (~20%) Security Requirements: Must be a U.S. Citizen Must hold or be eligible for a U.S. Secret security clearance For more information about U.S. security clearances: click here . Nice to have: Experience with UAS GNC/navigation systems such as PX4 and Ardupilot Ability to use data visualization and debugging tools to support autonomy control development Experience developing in Docker and containerized development environments, using Linux-based operating systems (e.g., RHEL, Ubuntu), source control systems, and artifact registries Compensation at Applied Intuition for eligible roles includes base salary, equity, and benefits. Base salary is a single component of the total compensation package, which may also include equity in the form of options and/or restricted stock units, comprehensive health, dental, vision, ... (truncated, view full listing at source)