Principal Engineer, Autonomy Systems Engineering, ODD Definition & Risk

Motional is a leading autonomous driving company on a mission to make driverless vehicles a safe, reliable, and accessible reality. Backed by Hyundai Motor Group, Motional is at the forefront of the physical AI revolution. Motional isn't just building first-of-its-kind technology; we are transforming transportation to create safer streets and more sustainable mobility options.

The Systems Readiness and Performance team is the crucial bridge between software development and real-world deployment. We are responsible for driving system design, for verifying and validating the autonomy stack, and for defining, measuring, and validating system performance targets. We work closely with stakeholders in autonomy, vehicle platform, safety, infrastructure, and operations to build the safety case for our fully driverless IONIQ 5 robotaxis in Las Vegas and to shape the vehicle platform that comes next.

Mission Summary:

We are seeking a Principal Engineer to lead driverless readiness evaluations. In this role, you will analyze test results from commercial-grade software builds to identify, evaluate, and prioritize operational risks, collaborating closely with the safety team to define and implement necessary mitigations.

What You'll Be Doing:

• Oversee the testing: We evolve the system testing process with each iteration. So it is important to ensure any improvements or customizations are appropriately integrated during testing. This role works with those that execute the tests to ensure the assessment meets the intended scope.
• Analyze the results: While many of the tests are automatically executed and analyzed, the correctness of the results need to be ensured. Differing results may occur between different test modalities. Any differences need to be investigated and reconciled so the appropriate outcome is reported. This role ensures consistent and correct outcomes are reported.
• Identify the risks: This role organizes and identifies the risks resulting from the test analysis. These risks are further analyzed with the safety group for assessment and mitigation The risks are communicated to the different stakeholders including company leadership.
• Collaborate cross-functionally: We don’t work in a silo. As we find issues, we immediately collaborate with the developers to better understand the root cause. As appropriate, these issues are immediately communicated to the stakeholders, depending on the severity.
• Autonomy Roadmapping: This work places us in a great position to understand what features and improvements are needed from the autonomy stack. We work closely with the TPM and Commercial teams to support maintaining the appropriate autonomy development roadmap. Motional has the challenge of improving performance within the existing ODD while also expanding and scaling in new ones.
• Create and maintain tooling: We work with large data sets. Tooling is established for us to analyze this data. However, it needs to be maintained and evolved as we improve our processes. This role is responsible for the tooling to do the job.
  
  

What We're Looking For:

• Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering, Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Robotics, or a related field; a Master's degree is preferred.
• 7+ years of engineering experience; experience with an ADAS or automated driving system is preferred.
• Strong understanding of modern software development principles and production best practices.
• Experience with database querying and visualization such as SQL, Looker.
• Experience with agentic based software development and data analysis
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, particularly in the context of complex system performance evaluation and data analysis.
• Proficient with Git and standard version control workflows.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to effectively communicate technical concepts and results to diverse audiences (engineers, product managers, leadership).
• Proven ability to work both independently and effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Strong attention to detail and a commitment to data quality, accuracy, and rigorous testing.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, agile, continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) environment.
  
  

Physical Demands:

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit, talk, or hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand and at times for long periods; walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and move up to 50 pounds.

Travel Requirements (up to 20%):

Expected to travel for 1-2 weeks each quarter visiting all of our testing sites - mostly to LV, but also domestically as needed for the business.

Working Environment:

#LI-RR1

The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors including but not limited to specific skills, experience and expertise, role location, certifications, licenses, and business needs. The estimated compensation range listed in this job posting reflects base salary only. This role may include additional forms of compensation such as a bonus or company equity. The recruiter assigned to this role can share more information about the specific compensation and benefit details associated with this role during the hiring process.

Candidates for certain positions are eligible to participate in Motional’s benefits program. Motional’s benefits include but are not limited to medical, dental, vision, 401k with a company match, health saving accounts, life insurance, pet insurance, and more.

Salary Range $200,000 — $275,000 USD

Motional is a driverless technology company making autonomous vehicles a safe, reliable, and accessible reality. We’re driven by something more.

Our journey is always people first.

We aren't just developing driverless cars; we're creating safer roadways, more equitable transportation options, and making our communities better places to live, work, and connect. Our team is made up of engineers, researchers, innovators, dreamers and doers, who are creating a technology with the potential to transform the way we move.

Higher purpose, greater impact.