Staff Software Engineer - Behaviors

About the Company

At Torc, we have always believed that autonomous vehicle technology will transform how we travel, move freight, and do business.

A leader in autonomous driving since 2007, Torc has spent over a decade commercializing our solutions with experienced partners. Now a part of the Daimler family, we are focused solely on developing software for automated trucks to transform how the world moves freight.

Join us and catapult your career with the company that helped pioneer autonomous technology, and the first AV software company with the vision to partner directly with a truck manufacturer.

Meet the Team

Join Torc's Behaviors Team, where we develop the planning, prediction, and decision-making systems that determine how our autonomous trucks navigate the world safely, efficiently, and predictably. Our team operates at the intersection of robotics, machine learning, optimization, simulation, and safety, building the core autonomy capabilities that translate perception into action.

We are seeking a Staff Software Engineer who thrives in a hands-on technical leadership role and is passionate about solving some of the most challenging problems in autonomous driving. This position combines deep technical ownership with cross-functional influence, requiring expertise in motion planning, behavior prediction, autonomy architecture, and production software development. You will help shape the future direction of Torc's planning systems while mentoring engineers and driving execution across critical autonomy initiatives.

What You'll Do

• Design, develop, and maintain core planning and prediction systems, including trajectory generation, behavior prediction, decision-making, and motion planning algorithms for autonomous trucks.
• Advance and evaluate multiple planning approaches, including optimization-based, learning-based, and hybrid architectures, making data-driven decisions on where each methodology delivers the greatest value.
• Own technical solutions across the full software lifecycle, including architecture design, implementation, testing, simulation validation, vehicle integration, deployment, and long-term maintenance.
• Develop production-quality software using modern C++ within a Linux environment while adhering to quality, safety, testing, and deployment best practices.
• Drive simulation-based validation efforts across Software-in-the-Loop (SiL), Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL), and Vehicle-in-the-Loop (ViL) environments to ensure robust performance and prevent regressions.
• Partner closely with Safety, Controls, Perception, Validation, and Simulation teams to develop safe and reliable autonomous driving behaviors, including fallback strategies and minimum-risk maneuvers.
• Lead root-cause investigations by reproducing field issues in simulation, debugging vehicle behavior, and translating findings into actionable software improvements.
• Influence technical strategy, roadmap planning, and long-term architectural direction across the Behaviors organization.
• Act as a technical lead on complex, cross-functional initiatives, driving alignment and execution across teams and stakeholders.
• Mentor engineers, raise technical standards, and help develop the next generation of autonomy leaders within the organization.

What You'll Need to Succeed

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• Extensive experience in C++ and Python for production-level software development.
• Strong background in motion planning, trajectory optimization, or behavior prediction in robotics or autonomous systems.
• Experience with simulation, validation, and testing frameworks (SiL, HiL, ViL).
• Proven ability to lead technical projects and mentor engineers.
• Excellent cross-functional collaboration and communication skills.