Principal Software Engineer (Planning & Controls)

General Motors • Mountain View, CA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

At General Motors, our product teams are redefining mobility. Through a human-centered design process, we create vehicles and experiences that are designed not just to be seen, but to be felt. We’re turning today’s impossible into tomorrow’s standard —from breakthrough hardware and battery systems to intuitive design, intelligent software, and next-generation safety and entertainment features. Every day, our products move millions of people as we aim to make driving safer, smarter, and more connected, shaping the future of transportation on a global scale. Role Overview: As a Principal Engineer you will be a technical leader in the Local Planner Controller team within Embodied AI. We formulate and solve optimization problems online, considering kinematic feasibility, collision avoidance and ride comfort. In this role, you will provide cross-functional technical leadership for vehicle dynamics, estimation and controls systems used in GMs Super Cruise system. You will define the long-term technical vision and multi-year roadmap for vehicle dynamics and controls software. What you’ll be doing: Shape the technical vision by owning long-term roadmap designs for vehicle dynamics and controls software. Architect and implement system designs and interface contracts with perception, prediction and planning systems, ensuring deliverables meet performance targets and safety constraints. Lead technical reviews and drive software engineering best practices across the team and the larger organization. Contribute to Active Safety, Driver Assistance, and Super Cruise. Guide other developers through system design and implementation focusing on safety, comfort, and compute efficiency. Establish verification and validation strategies for the vehicle dynamics and controls software, including simulation and on-road testing validation gates. Own cross-organizational leadership across partner teams like Safety, Systems Engineering, and Product to generate requirements for onboard systems. Lead root-cause investigations for complex integration issues, using data-driven techniques and principled experimentation, proactively creating test plans for new features and defining useful metrics for analyzing performance Mentor Staff and Senior engineers across teams, raising the bar on technical judgment, design quality, and execution discipline without direct people management responsibilities. Improve and deliver reliable software through continuous integration, automated testing, and code reviews. Develop and oversee top-tier software engineers within a dynamic, fast-paced, and inclusive setting. Help define, build, and embody GM engineering culture and principles.

Requirements

• Ph.D., M.S. in controls, optimization, path planning, or related. B.S. with strong work experience in the field may be considered
• 8+ years of experience in motion planning or related field
• Deep understanding of optimal controls and trajectory optimization algorithms
• Solid understanding of vehicle dynamics
• A demonstrated track record of building high quality autonomous software systems
• Deep expertise in Planning and Controls system design
• Experience with C++/Python in a large, distributed development environment
• Strong organizational and communication skills
• Passion for self-driving technology and its potential impact on the world

Nice To Haves

• A background in robotics, ROS, or the AV/ADAS industry
• Experience in numerical optimization algorithms
• Experience designing software applications for safety critical systems

Responsibilities

• Shape the technical vision by owning long-term roadmap designs for vehicle dynamics and controls software.
• Architect and implement system designs and interface contracts with perception, prediction and planning systems, ensuring deliverables meet performance targets and safety constraints.
• Lead technical reviews and drive software engineering best practices across the team and the larger organization.
• Contribute to Active Safety, Driver Assistance, and Super Cruise.
• Guide other developers through system design and implementation focusing on safety, comfort, and compute efficiency.
• Establish verification and validation strategies for the vehicle dynamics and controls software, including simulation and on-road testing validation gates.
• Own cross-organizational leadership across partner teams like Safety, Systems Engineering, and Product to generate requirements for onboard systems.
• Lead root-cause investigations for complex integration issues, using data-driven techniques and principled experimentation, proactively creating test plans for new features and defining useful metrics for analyzing performance
• Mentor Staff and Senior engineers across teams, raising the bar on technical judgment, design quality, and execution discipline without direct people management responsibilities.
• Improve and deliver reliable software through continuous integration, automated testing, and code reviews.
• Develop and oversee top-tier software engineers within a dynamic, fast-paced, and inclusive setting.
• Help define, build, and embody GM engineering culture and principles.

Benefits

• GM offers a variety of health and wellbeing benefit programs.
• Benefit options include medical, dental, vision, Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Accounts, retirement savings plan, sickness and accident benefits, life insurance, paid vacation & holidays, tuition assistance programs, employee assistance program, GM vehicle discounts and more.
• This job may be eligible for relocation benefits.
• Upon successful completion of a motor vehicle report review, you will be eligible to participate in a company vehicle evaluation program, through which you will be assigned a General Motors vehicle to drive and evaluate.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree