As an Engineering Manager at Zoox, your day-to-day responsibilities span technical leadership, people management, and operational execution. You will lead a team of highly specialized software, algorithm, or operations development engineers to deliver robust solutions for the Zoox autonomous vehicle platform.

Your primary responsibilities include:

• People Leadership & Talent Development: You will recruit, mentor, and retain world-class engineering talent. You are responsible for setting clear performance expectations, conducting regular career development discussions, and building a highly collaborative, inclusive team culture.
• Technical Direction & Execution: While you may not write code daily, you will actively participate in architectural reviews, guide technical strategy, and ensure your team writes high-quality, maintainable, and safe software. You will help unblock technical hurdles and make final decisions on complex engineering trade-offs.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: You will partner closely with product managers, hardware engineers, systems safety experts, and operational teams to align roadmaps, manage dependencies, and ensure seamless system integration.
• Project & Roadmap Management: You will drive the execution of your team’s deliverables, translate high-level company goals into structured engineering roadmaps, and manage resources efficiently to meet critical safety and deployment milestones.

To be competitive for the Engineering Manager position at Zoox, you must possess a strong foundation in both technical engineering and people leadership. The ideal candidate has experience navigating complex, safety-critical engineering domains.

Must-Have Qualifications

• Engineering Leadership Experience: Typically 5+ years of experience directly managing engineering teams, with a proven track record of delivering complex technical projects.
• Strong Technical & Analytical Background: Solid foundational knowledge in computer science, robotics, mathematics, or a closely related engineering discipline. You must be comfortable engaging in deep technical discussions and solving analytical problems.
• Experience in Complex Systems: Prior experience working on complex, distributed systems, hardware-software integration, or safety-critical software environments.
• Exceptional Communication Skills: The ability to clearly articulate technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, write structured documentation, and present effectively to executive leadership.

Nice-to-Have Qualifications

• Domain Expertise: Prior experience in autonomous vehicles, robotics, aerospace, automotive, or high-scale logistics systems.
• Advanced Degrees: A Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, or Mathematics.
• Patents or Publications: Published research papers or patents in fields related to path planning, computer vision, machine learning, or control systems.

Q: How technical is the Engineering Manager interview at Zoox? A: It is highly technical. Unlike companies that focus solely on behavioral questions for management roles, Zoox requires managers to clear a dedicated analytical and mathematical problem-solving module, which involves solving equations on a whiteboard.

Q: What is the work culture like for Engineering Managers? A: The work culture is highly mission-driven, fast-paced, and intellectually rigorous. Because Zoox is developing a physical robotaxi, the environment can be high-pressure with tight integration schedules, requiring strong emotional resilience and clear prioritization.

Q: Where is the role located, and what are the hybrid work expectations? A: Most Engineering Manager roles are based at their headquarters in Foster City, CA or offices in San Jose, CA. Given the close integration required with physical vehicles and testing hardware, these roles typically require a consistent on-site presence.

Q: How can I best prepare for the project retrospective module? A: Choose a project where you had end-to-end ownership and faced significant technical and organizational challenges. Be prepared to explain the architecture in detail, defend your technical decisions, and discuss the exact organizational impact and retrospective lessons learned.

Brush up on textbook fundamentals. Do not focus solely on system design patterns. Re-familiarize yourself with core mathematical concepts, coordinate geometry, basic linear algebra, and classic algorithmic optimization techniques, as these are heavily tested during the whiteboard sessions.

Ensure your career goals align with the company's roadmap. During the interview, demonstrate that your ambition and growth plans are aligned with the immediate, practical needs of Zoox. Candidates who appear more focused on rapid personal scale than solving the immediate, complex challenges of autonomous vehicle deployment may be viewed as misaligned.

Practice presenting to hybrid audiences. Since your interview panel may consist of both in-person and remote participants, practice delivering your technical presentation in a way that keeps both audiences engaged. Speak clearly, look at the camera if presenting virtually, and verify that remote participants can follow your whiteboard work.

The Engineering Manager position at Zoox is an exceptional opportunity to lead talented teams at the absolute cutting edge of robotics and autonomous systems. It is a role that demands a rare combination of deep mathematical and analytical capability, structured execution, and resilient, empathetic leadership. By successfully navigating this interview process, you demonstrate that you possess the technical depth and leadership maturity required to build the future of urban mobility.

As you prepare for your upcoming interviews, focus your energy on mastering your past project retrospectives, sharpening your whiteboard math and analytical problem-solving skills, and aligning your management style with the fast-paced, safety-critical mission of Zoox.

The salary range shown above represents the base compensation for this role in Foster City, CA. When preparing your overall career strategy, remember that total compensation at Zoox also includes comprehensive benefits and equity components reflecting their position as an Amazon subsidiary. For more detailed insights, community interview reviews, and preparation resources, explore the comprehensive tools available on Dataford to give yourself a competitive edge. Set a structured preparation schedule, approach each module with confidence, and take the next step toward leading a pioneering team at Zoox.