Part Time Student Worker – Performance Optimization & Agentic Systems

Zoox · Foster City, CA / San Diego, CA / Seattle, WA

About Zoox

Zoox is transforming mobility with fully autonomous, electric vehicles designed from the ground up for a driverless future. Our mission is to make transportation safer, more sustainable, and accessible to everyone. At Zoox, innovation, collaboration, and a bold vision for the future drive everything we do.

About Our Part Time Student Worker Program

Zoox’s program offers hands-on experience with cutting-edge technology, mentorship from some of the industry’s brightest minds, and the opportunity to make meaningful contributions to real projects. We seek part time student workers  who demonstrate strong academic performance, engagement beyond the classroom, intellectual curiosity, and a genuine interest in Zoox’s mission. 

Project Overview

Zoox is seeking a highly detail-oriented and methodical student contractor to join our platform architecture team. The primary focus of this role is to design and execute rigorous performance optimization experiments for software processes running on high-performance CPU/GPU platforms (NVIDIA). 

In this role, you will:

  • Ensure that experiments are reproducible, profiling data is meticulously captured, and edge cases are thoroughly investigated
  • Thrive on precision
  • You will work at the intersection of traditional hardware-aware optimization and cutting-edge agentic systems, using tools like Claude to develop LLM-based agents that can assist in the optimization lifecycle

    • Qualifications:

  • Strong Mathematical Foundation: Demonstrated proficiency in Linear Algebra, Control Theory, or Stochastic Optimization to model autonomy and performance bottlenecks
  • Proficient in C++ or Python development
  • Hardware-Aware Optimization: A deep academic or project-based understanding of computer architecture (NVIDIA platforms) to optimize for memory bandwidth and high-throughput TFLOPS
    Agentic Systems & Analysis: Experience experimenting with LLM-based agents and a disciplined approach to systems profiling and software engineering
  • Operational Style: You must be exceptionally detail-oriented and careful in your execution, prioritizing accuracy and deep-dive analysis over speed

    • Program Requirements:

  • Currently pursuing a B.S. or M.S., in a relevant engineering field
  • Available for a 6 month project
  • Able to commit to at least 20 hours per week
  • Ability to commute on-site to one of our offices
  • Student Worker may not use proprietary Zoox information in university theses, publications, or share it outside
    • Apply →