Senior/Staff Behavior Planning Engineer

About the role We’re seeking Senior or Staff Engineers to help build the core behavior planning system for autonomous vehicles, enabling safe and intelligent decision‑making. The role involves designing behavior tree architectures, developing robust C++ infrastructure, collaborating across autonomy teams, evaluating planner performance, and providing technical leadership within the team. This role is onsite 5 days a week at our Mountain View, CA office! What you’ll do Design, implement, and maintain the core behavior planning system for autonomous vehicles, enabling intelligent, interpretable, and safe decision‑making in complex real‑world scenarios. Develop and extend behavior tree architectures for hierarchical decision logic, including support for mission planning, tactical maneuvers, and contingency handling. Collaborate closely with the motion planning, prediction, and control teams to ensure seamless transitions from high‑level decisions to executable trajectories. Build and optimize C++‑based software infrastructure for behavior planning, including tools for simulation, debugging, visualization, and closed‑loop testing. Evaluate planner performance in diverse real‑world and simulated environments; identify failure modes and develop strategies to improve robustness and generalization. Participate in design reviews and system integration across the full autonomy stack. Provide technical leadership, mentorship, and architectural guidance for junior team members. What we’re looking for Ph.D. with 3+ years or Master’s with 5+ years of industry experience in robotics, autonomous systems, or behavior planning. Proven experience in behavior planning, including use of behavior trees, finite state machines, or rule‑based planners in autonomous driving or robotics applications. Strong proficiency in C++ with a deep understanding of performance, memory management, and software architecture in production systems. Solid understanding of motion planning and prediction interfaces, with experience building real‑time, safety‑critical systems. Knowledge of diffusion models and/or Vision‑Language‑Action (VLA) models is a strong plus. Strong debugging, system thinking, and collaborative communication skills. Salary Range - $180,000- $260,000 We at Gatik strive to create a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone feels they have opportunities to succeed and grow because we know that together we can do great things. We are committed to an inclusive and diverse team. We do not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, marital status or any legally protected status. #J-18808-Ljbffr Booster