Director of Software Engineering - Behaviors and Planning

Job description

Role Summary Overland AI builds autonomous ground vehicles for defense and national security missions. Our Behaviors & Planning team owns the final layer of single-vehicle autonomy: using terrain understanding to generated planned paths and execute behaviors. This is the core autonomy loop that makes our vehicles move safely and reliably across operational domains ranging from secondary roads to complex off-road terrain. We are looking for a Director to lead this team. You will manage 7-10 engineers working across motion planning, on-vehicle behaviors, geospatial planning, and offline verification. You will set technical direction for how our vehicles navigate the world autonomously, partner closely with our ML & Perception team to drive tighter integration between learned terrain models and classical planning, and own the verification systems that prove our autonomy works before it reaches the field. This is a hands-on leadership role. You will shape the technical roadmap, make architecture decisions, mentor engineers, and represent your team's capabilities and needs across the organization. The work matters: soldiers depend on our vehicles to operate reliably in contested, communication-degraded, and GPS-denied environments. What You'll Do Lead the team. Manage, mentor, and grow a team of 7-10 engineers spanning planning, behaviors, and verification. Run sprint planning and set technical priorities. Build a team culture that values engineering rigor and field-validated results. Own the autonomy loop. Drive the technical direction for single-vehicle autonomous movement: local and mid-range planning (MPPI, costmap-based approaches), global/geospatial planning, behavior management (teleop, autonomous modes, trail-keeping, convoy following), and task interfaces. Ensure the system is safe, performant, and reliable across our full operational design domain. Close the loop with perception. Your primary technical partnership is with our ML & Perception team. Perception provides terrain understanding products (ground surface prediction, costmap prediction, dynamic object prediction); your team consumes these to plan and execute. You will co-own the contract between these teams and drive tighter integration as we move toward end-to-end learned planning approaches. Build the verification story. Own offline verification of autonomy requirements through simulation, log playback, and automated regression testing. The team that writes behaviors also proves they work. You will invest in tooling and infrastructure that lets your team catch regressions before they reach vehicles. Push the frontier. Explore and integrate emerging capabilities such as VLM-based reasoning for behavioral guardrails, scene understanding, and contextual decision-making. This is the per-vehicle intelligence that enables effective multi-robot orchestration at the mission level. Represent autonomy in the field. Support field deployments and customer demonstrations. Understand soldier workflows and operational needs firsthand. Translate field observations into engineering priorities. Minimum Qualifications PhD in robotics, computer science, controls, or a closely related field , with a research focus in motion planning, autonomous navigation, or robot decision-making 5+ years of professional experience beyond the PhD, shipping autonomy software in industry -- not just publishing about it 2+ years leading an engineering team , including setting technical direction, managing individual contributors, and delivering complex systems on a timeline Deep technical expertise in at least two of: sampling-based or optimization-based motion planning (e.g., MPPI, RRT, trajectory optimization), costmap-based navigation, behavior architecture and state machines, vehicle control systems, or simulation/verification frameworks Experience shipping autonomy to hardware -- you have put your planning and behaviors stack on a real robot and seen it operate in unstructured environments, not just in simulation Strong partnership instincts -- you know how to work effectively across team boundaries, particularly at the perception-planning interface where two teams must co-own system performance Clear communication -- you can explain complex technical tradeoffs to engineers, executives, and customers. You write well and think clearly under pressure Comfort with ambiguity and operational tempo -- defense programs move fast, requirements shift, and field events don't wait. You thrive in this environment Desired Experience & Qualifications Experience with off-road or unstructured terrain navigation (not just highway/urban AV) Familiarity with ROS2 or similar robotics middleware Background in machine learning for planning or perception-planning integration (learned cost functions, end-to-end planning, foundation models for robotics) Experience with geospatial planning, satellite imagery-based route planning, or GIS data for autonomy Prior work in defense, government contracting, or DoD customer engagement Experience building simulation and log-replay verification systems for autonomous vehicles Security Clearance Must be a U.S. Person, as defined under ITAR, and eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance. Active Secret clearance is preferred but not required at the time of hire. Location: The preferred location for this position is Seattle, WA Compensation And Benefits Pay Range: $200,000 - $300,000 annually Actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience. Overland AI believes in creating a work environment that you look forward to embracing every day. Benefits include: Equity compensation 401(k) with company match Best-in-class healthcare, dental, and vision plans Flexible PTO Parental leave Monthly wellness stipend One-time workplace & productivity reimbursement Overland AI is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, marital status, disability, genetic information, protected veteran or military status, or any other status protected by applicable law. This position may involve access to export-controlled technology. Employment is contingent on the ability to comply with U.S. export control laws. Overland AI provides reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans during the application process. Please contact [peopleops@overland.ai ] to request an accommodation. About Overland AI Founded in 2022 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Overland AI is transforming land operations for modern defense. The company leverages over a decade of advanced research in robotics and machine learning, as well as a field-test forward ethos, to deliver combined capabilities for unit commanders. Our OverDrive autonomy stack enables ground vehicles to navigate and operate off-road in any terrain without GPS or direct operator control. Our intuitive OverWatch C2 interface provides commanders with precise coordination capabilities essential for mission success. Overland AI has secured funding from prominent defense tech investors including 8VC and Point 72, and built trusted partnerships with DARPA, the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, and Special Operations Command. Backed by eight-figure contracts across the Department of Defense, we are strengthening national security by iterating closely with end users engaged in tactical operations.