Director, Engineering - Autonomy

Engineering

San Francisco, California |

Sunnyvale, California

Full Time

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About the Role

As the Director of Engineering - Autonomy, you will provide the strategic leadership and executive vision for the teams responsible for major components of the core autonomy system and its safety architectures. You will build and scale a world-class organization dedicated to advancing Physical AI, focusing on edge-deployed machine learning, deterministic safety fallbacks, and real-time execution. Rather than building a traditional closed ecosystem, your teams will develop the robust onboard intelligence and safety guards required to safely evaluate next-generation models, benchmark autonomous capabilities, and collect high-value, long-tail data in complex real-world environments. Operating at the intersection of advanced research and rigorous systems engineering, you will hold ultimate accountability for ensuring that these core system components maneuver safely, predictably, and intelligently on physical hardware.

What You’ll Do

• Executive Leadership & Strategy: Define the technical vision and organizational roadmap for major components of the core autonomy system. You will align complex technical goals with Uber’s overarching mission to accelerate the broader autonomous ecosystem
• Core AI & Safety Architecture: Direct the development of robust edge software, guiding the integration of advanced ML models with deterministic, rule-based safety fallbacks. Ensure the system exhibits strictly compliant, collision-free operations while adhering to rigorous real-time compute and kinematic constraints on the vehicle
• Research & Evaluation Focus: Champion the transition of cutting-edge AI into production-ready software designed specifically to safely orchestrate vehicle operations for advanced research, ecosystem benchmarking, and scaled data collection mission
• Organizational Growth: Build, manage, and mentor a high-performing organization of engineering managers, principal engineers, and technical leaders, fostering a culture of rigorous execution and safety-first engineering
• Cross-Functional Execution: Partner directly with other AV departments to ensure a seamless transition from virtual testing to physical fleet deployment. You are the definitive owner of your core system components' real-world safety metrics and deployment readiness

What You’ll Need

• 12+ years of professional experience in Software Engineering, Machine Learning, or Autonomous Systems
• 5+ years of leadership experience managing and scaling engineering organizations, including experience managing other managers and senior technical leaders (Principals/Staff)
• Proven track record of successfully deploying complex, real-time software systems to physical hardware (edge compute, robotics, or autonomous vehicles)
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field

Bonus Points If

• Advanced degree (MS/PhD) in Computer Science, Robotics, or a related technical field.
• Deep understanding of high-performance system optimization for edge devices (C++, CUDA, Linux, RTOS)
• Extensive experience architecting autonomous safety systems, fallback logic, and real-time control constraints
• Familiarity with modern AI/ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch) and the challenges of running deep learning models on constrained in-vehicle compute
• Strong background working with ecosystem partners, third-party technology evaluation, or reference architectures

About the Team

Uber is launching AV Labs to accelerate the autonomous technology ecosystem. We're building out a high-velocity team of multi-disciplinary experts to turn real-world operations into high-quality data for our autonomous partners. This team is focused on the hardest problem in AV today: unlocking real-world, long-tail driving data. Autonomy is now a data race—and Uber has an edge: We collect rare, real-world driving data at a scale and capital efficiency no one else can match.

For San Francisco, CA-based roles: The base salary range for this role is USD$302,000 per year - USD$336,000 per year.

For Sunnyvale, CA-based roles: The base salary range for this role is USD$302,000 per year - USD$336,000 per year.

For all US locations, you will be eligible to participate in Uber's bonus program, and may be offered an equity award & other types of comp. All full-time employees are eligible to participate in a 401(k) plan. You will also be eligible for various benefits. More details can be found at the following link https://jobs.uber.com/en/benefits.

Uber's mission is to reimagine the way the world moves for the better. Here, bold ideas create real-world impact, challenges drive growth, and speed fuels progress. What moves us, moves the world - let's move it forward, together.

Uber is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know by completing this form.

Offices continue to be central to collaboration and Uber’s cultural identity. Unless formally approved to work fully remotely, Uber expects employees to spend at least half of their work time in their assigned office. For certain roles, such as those based at green-light hubs, employees are expected to be in-office for 100% of their time. Please speak with your recruiter to better understand in-office expectations for this role.

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