Software Engineer, ML Inference Optimization
On-site Foster City Full-time Mid-level Software Engineering
At a glance
Mid-level Software Engineering role at Zoox. Foster City · full-time · $177,000–$270,000 base.
SalaryStated by Zoox
$177,000 – $270,000
Base salary for this role, in USD per year, as published in the posting.
This role, from ZooxOur estimate for the market: $190,000–$215,000Median $190,500
The range includes the market median of $190,500 for mid-level software engineering roles in Foster City.
Worked out from 5 postings that stated pay, median $190,500. Last updated Oct 13, 2026.
RoleSoftware Engineering
SeniorityMid-level
LocationFoster City
WorkplaceOn-site
EmploymentFull-time
Base pay$177,000–$270,000
PostedMay 28, 2026 · 4mo ago
Role brief
techroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Speed up training or inference for VLMs, VLAs and foundation models, then support their deployment in robotaxis
- Work with researchers and engineering teams to set requirements and make architecture decisions
- Build and run optimization methods for the ML systems used by applied research teams
What you bring
- At least four years of overall work experience, including two years on large-scale model training or inference platforms
- Hands-on experience using PyTorch and GPUs for distributed model training
- Experience with TensorRT or comparable tools for GPU-based inference
- You can code in Python or C++
Who this fits
This mid-level role suits a software engineer focused on ML training or inference performance, working with ML researchers and engineering teams. The position is onsite in Foster City.
From the employer
Zoox is on a mission to reimagine transportation and ground-up build autonomous robotaxis that are safe, reliable, clean, and enjoyable for everyone. We are still in the early stages of deploying our robotaxis on public roads, and it is a great time to join Zoox and have a significant impact in executing this mission. The ML Platform team at Zoox plays a crucial role in enabling innovations in large-scale Foundation models, VLMs, and VLAs to make autonomous driving as seamless as possible.
The Opportunity
Are you excited to drive our ML Inference Optimization initiatives and make our ML models that enable autonomous driving as fast and efficient as possible? You will get to work with SOTA accelerators, cutting-edge techniques in distributed training, quantization, distillation, and pruning, among other things, working closely with all the Autonomy teams within Zoox - Perception, Prediction, Planner, Simulation, Collision Avoidance, and have the opportunity to significantly push the boundaries of how ML is practiced within Zoox.
We build and operate the base layer of ML tools, model development, and serving systems that our applied research teams use for in- and off-vehicle ML use cases. You will work alongside a team of strong software engineers and act as a force multiplier for our internal customers. This team has many growth opportunities as we expand our robotaxi deployments and venture into new ML domains. If you want to learn more about our stack behind autonomous driving, please look here. If you want to learn more about our ML Infrastructure, here is one of our past talks at re:Invent.
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AccommodationsIf you need an accommodation to participate in the application or interview process please reach out to accommodations@zoox.com or your assigned recruiter.
A Final Note:You do not need to match every listed expectation to apply for this position. Here at Zoox, we know that diverse perspectives foster the innovation we need to be successful, and we are committed to building a team that encompasses a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and skills.
In this role, you will:
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Design, implement, and operate cutting-edge ML Training OR Inference performance optimization techniques to scale our VLM, VLA, and Foundational models and deploy them efficiently in our robotaxi.
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Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including ML researchers, software engineers, data engineers, and hardware engineers, to define requirements and align on architectural decisions.
Qualifications
- Note: You do not have to meet all the requirements below to be considered for this position:
- 4+ years of total experience, including 2+ years of working on large-scale model training or inference platforms.
- Experience with training frameworks like PyTorch, leveraging GPUs efficiently for distributed model training.
- Experience with GPU-accelerated inference using TensorRT or similar frameworks.
- Experience using profiling tools like NVIDIA's Nsight or PyTorch's Profiler for identifying model training and serving bottlenecks.
- Proficient in Python or C++.
Follow us on LinkedIn
AccommodationsIf you need an accommodation to participate in the application or interview process please reach out to accommodations@zoox.com or your assigned recruiter.
A Final Note:You do not need to match every listed expectation to apply for this position. Here at Zoox, we know that diverse perspectives foster the innovation we need to be successful, and we are committed to building a team that encompasses a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and skills.