Akash Arora
Robotic Behavior Planning Engineer at Zoox
- Role
- Staff Software Engineer Tech Lead Manager - Behavior Planning at Zoox
- Location
- Redwood City, CA, US
- LinkedIn followers
- 500 followers
About Akash Arora
I’m a robotics engineer specializing in behavior and motion planning under uncertainty…
Experience
Staff Software Engineer Tech Lead Manager - Behavior Planning
May 2019 — Present · San Francisco, CA, US
2019–2020Primary engineer for highway driving autonomy, improving internal driving quality metrics by 3× in 7 months through advancements in lane changes, merges, and cut-ins, in close collaboration with mapping, perception, and prediction teams.2020–PresentTechnical lead for junction autonomy, directing a large cross-functional team across Perception, Planning, Prediction, QA, Metrics, and Simulation. Junctions are among the most complex driving environments, demanding both broad knowledge of the autonomy stack and deep expertise in how components integrate near intersections. Key Achievements- Built multi-year technical roadmaps that significantly improved safety and driving quality metrics, culminating in the successful public deployment of the company’s first robotaxis in highly complex environments with external customers- Integrated various machine learning technologies with traditional planning approaches to deliver robust solutions that work well in the real world- Designed processes that sped up root cause analysis and solution delivery for critical milestone issues- Led high-impact projects including cost-based gap selection, right-of-way management, dynamic rerouting, and handling complex vehicle interactions in unprotected junctions- Mentored engineers to bridge the gap between theoretical rigor and real-world performance while upholding high code quality standards- Recognized in the top 5% of performers and selected for a leadership acceleration program with executive coaching.Hybrid IC/manager role with direct report management responsibilities.
Education
University of Sydney
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Robotics
2014 — 2018
University of Auckland
Bachelor of Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering
Skills
- Matlab
- C++
- C
- Labview
- Teamwork
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Excel
- Robotics
- Embedded Systems
- Cad
- Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
- Problem Solving
- Mechatronics
- Computer Vision
- Microcontrollers
- Programming
- Simulations
- Microsoft Office
- Public Speaking
- Research
- Python
- Motion Planning
- Algorithms
- Artificial Intelligence
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