Staff Software Engineer, Autonomous Vehicle Performance Metrics

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, infrastructure, and operations to build the definitive safety case for the commercial launch of our fully driverless IONIQ 5 robotaxis in Las Vegas later this year.

Mission Summary:

We are seeking a highly skilled Software Engineer to play a critical role in evaluating and improving the performance of our autonomous vehicle (AV) technology. This engineer will be responsible for developing and implementing metrics and software tools, primarily using Python, to effectively measure, analyze, and report on the performance of our AV systems. Their work will directly contribute to accelerating the development of safe and reliable autonomous technologies by transforming complex AV data into actionable insights for the organization.

What You'll Be Doing:

Drive Technical Strategy & Roadmap: Define a long-term, high-impact technical roadmap for the team, working closely with leadership and product managers to optimize Engineering traction and prioritize deliverables that de-risk the deployment of our AV systems.

Design AV Performance Analysis Pipelines: Define, design, and implement key pipelines to extract on-road and simulated events and evaluate autonomous vehicle performance (e.g., lane change capability, oscillation/braking metrics, VRU emergence from occlusion).

Develop Metrics Software and AI-Powered Tools: Leverage strong Python skills to develop frameworks, AI-powered tools, and systems for calculating, aggregating, and visualizing AV performance metrics from large datasets.

Collaborate & Influence Cross-Functionally: Proactively partner across systems, software, AI, controls, simulation, and validation teams to break down silos, gain cross-functional alignment, and drive improvements in critical systems like Perception, Prediction, and Planning.

Ensure Exceptional Data Quality & Reliability: Hold yourself and the team accountable to a high bar for quality and reliability. Identify major areas of the codebase that need attention, anticipate impacts to system reliability, and lead solutions to ensure the accuracy and integrity of data used for performance evaluation.

Document and Share Knowledge: Create clear documentation for metrics and analysis tools, and share best practices with the engineering team.

Advance Technical Expertise: Proactively evaluate and integrate new technologies and methodologies relevant to autonomous vehicles and software engineering.

Provide Technical Thought Leadership & Mentorship: Act as a role model and mentor to Senior Engineers and team members. Create comprehensive documentation, lead design and architectural reviews, and share knowledge through internal tech talks to elevate Motional's engineering culture.

What We're Looking For:

5+ years of software engineering experience and a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field; a Master's degree is a plus.

Expert-level proficiency in Python and a strong understanding of modern software development principles and best practices.

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.

Bonus Points (not required):

Experience working in software development of autonomous vehicles, or robotics

Experience in perception, prediction, planning, or controls

Experience with Python data analysis & visualization tools (e.g., Pandas, matplotlib, seaborn Jupyter notebooks. )for early data analysis & validation

Knowledge of statistical analysis and machine learning techniques relevant to performance evaluation.

Success Metrics:

Drive quarterly and multi-quarter success for team goals.

Successful design and implementation of key autonomous vehicle performance metrics.

Improvement in the efficiency and effectiveness of AV performance evaluation processes.

Timely and accurate delivery of data and insights to AV development teams.

Contribution to the overall advancement and safety of our autonomous vehicle technology.

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 (greater than 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:

The work environment characteristics described here represent those a team member encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The team member is regularly exposed to mechanical and computer parts. The team member is occasionally exposed to fumes and/or airborne particlesThe noise level in the environment is low to moderate.

Motional AD LLC is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and we welcome all qualified applicants. All applicants will receive impartial consideration without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic data, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation or other legally protected status. Motional AD LLC is a Drug-free workplace.

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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

$172,000 — $229,000 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, dream