Senior Software Engineer (Decision Making) Oxford, United Kingdom

Who are we? Based in Oxford and with offices in Canada and the US, Oxa is an international startup founded in 2014 and scaling up rapidly (300+ Oxbots and growing).
As the global leader in our industry, we’re fuelled by a bold purpose: to make the Earth move better. From passenger shuttles to industrial vehicles, our operating system for Universal Autonomy™ is transforming the way people and goods are transported by enabling any vehicle, in any environment, to operate autonomously — safely, securely and efficiently.
Our technology is capturing investors’ imagination. To date we’ve raised $140 million in our Series C investment round. Accommodating growing demand from new and current shareholders, this funding is driving our expansion in North America and EMEA, and accelerating the deployment of our technology in domains where there is both urgent need and potential to scale.
Your TeamYou will join our Planning Team, where we design, implement, test and deploy the Engine that drives the behaviour of Oxa’s Autonomous Vehicles (AVs), based on our understanding of our environment. Your RoleAs a Senior Software Engineer in Decision Making, you will be responsible for designing, implementing, testing, and deploying algorithms that realise the desired behaviours that the AV needs to exhibit in any particular scenario. Specifically, this role will focus on Behaviour/ Manoeuvre Planning and Selection in the presence of other actors with uncertain future actions. You will work closely with Prediction and Trajectory Planning to scalably elicit predictable, explainable behaviours in the AV. In this role, you will: Provide technical leadership in the development, integration, and deployment of algorithms that enable AVs to navigate complex on-road environments. You will be a key contributor working closely with your Team Lead and shaping the development of the Oxa Driver. Develop the Engine that reasons over discrete actions and interactions with other actors, based on multi-hypothesis predictions Collaborate with the Routing team to incorporate longer-term and higher-level mission objectives Collaborate with the Trajectory Planning team to realise the actions and select the particular discrete action to be executed Create appropriate metrics and tools to measure and benchmark the performance of planning algorithms deployed in various environments. Contribute significantly to the engineering lifecycle, including scoping, design, implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance of your team's work. Document and train others on your team's work, focus on improving features, and understand the business and customer value of your team's work. Contribute to hiring and onboarding at scale by defining role responsibilities and requirements, leading interviews, engaging in recruiting outreach for your team, and mentoring and developing new team members. What you need to succeed:
PhD in related field (Mech Eng, Aerospace, Comp Science, Robotics, Mechatronics) with additional professional experience is desired
MS in related field (Mech Eng, Aerospace, Comp Science, Robotics, Mechatronics) with extensive professional experience is acceptable
Practical experience with Behaviour Planning, Decision Making and Trajectory Planning, preferably in Self Driving A deep understanding of Robotics Fundamentals, including: Robotics architectures 2D/3D Geometry & transformations Mechanics, kinematics, and dynamics Probability handling and uncertainty representation
Exposure to automated decision making (e.g., voting schemes, lexicographical ordering, etc). A proven track record of independent development and delivery Modern C++ algorithm development and deployment in a production environment (including STL and common testing frameworks) Understanding of trajectory optimisation techniques
Extra kudos:
Technical leadership and people leadership / management experience Experience with Machine Learning Understanding of POMDPs (algorithm/ formulation) Exposure to Game Theory Experience with formal logic (e.g. temporal logic) Exposure to safety certification standards and processes Proven agility in fast-changing environments. As a scale-up, we’re constantly evolving so our people need to evolve too for us to succeed together. A customer-centric outlook. Chances are you won’t be directly customer facing, but we value people who anticipate and prioritise the needs of our customers. We call it ‘inventing on their behalf.’ The Candidate Journey:
Multi-Step and Two-WayNo-one wants to feel like a square peg in a round hole, so this process is designed to give you every chance to get the measure of us, and us of you. The various stages give you every opportunity to show your unique strengths and qualities, and enables each of us to establish if we’re a good fit for the other.
If the fit is good and you’re selected, you’re then in a position to do great work and thrive, which is what everyone wants. We provide:
Competitive salary, benchmarked against the market and reviewed annually Company share programme Hybrid and/or flexible work arrangements An outstanding £3,000 flexible benefits including private medical insurance, critical illness coverage, life assurance, EAP, group income protection Funded relocation support
Fully funded Visa sponsorship if required A salary exchange pension plan 25 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays A pet-friendly office environment Safe assigned spaces for team members with individual and diverse needs
Our CultureWe believe that diversity of thought and experience is a key driver of innovation. It also makes life, and work, more interesting. So ours is a culture that celebrates humanity in all its diversity and richness, and uses difference as fuel to grow and succeed together. Everyone is welcome, everyone has a voice, everyone is valued. And our work and people are all the better for it.
Learn more about our culture here.Why become an Oxbot?
Our team of experts in computer science, AI, robotics and machine learning is world-class, and together they’re solving the most exciting and important technological challenges of our times. But as well as smarts, Oxbots have heart. Our diverse, multi-cultural crew is guided by a shared vision to bring the myriad benefits of autonomy to our customers and partners. And in a company that celebrates uniqueness as much as skill and experience, they do it with energy, conviction and a healthy dose of excitement, too.
If you are bold, creative and hyper skilled, come and create the future of autonomy with us at Oxa.
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