Principal Engineer, Verification & Validation Lead

Mission Summary: We are seeking a Verification and Validation (V&V) Lead to spearhead efforts for the Perception subsystem of our autonomy stack. Reporting directly to the Head of Perception, this critical role is responsible for the full spectrum of efforts required to close the safety case for the perception subsystem, enabling our driverless commercial launch and subsequent product expansions. This hybrid role demands broad experience in the self-driving field, with specific competencies in: test engineering, systems and safety, data analytics and reporting, simulation technology, and leveraging AI for workload automation and insight generation. Success in this highly collaborative role also requires exceptional written and verbal communication, leadership, cross-team influence, and a consistent ability to prioritize work and deliver results. Key Responsibilities: Requirements Driven Development / Test Driven Development Influence requirements from the perspective of problem understanding, covariate coverage, and testing capabilities/challenges. Educate perception engineers and be a champion for V&V best practices. Problem Definition and Performance Analysis Collaborate with autonomy and systems engineers to establish problem taxonomies and identify critical performance covariates. Identify or define appropriate metrics. Create dashboards and automate reporting. Perception V&V Strategy Establish coverage targets and identify data/testing gaps. Validate the test strategy and provide early feedback to developers. Create actionable test plans involving a spectrum of test modalities. Create critical tests as-needed, work cross-team to scale test creation to achieve coverage targets. Test Technologies Understand the limitations of existing tools and simulation technologies and how they impact our coverage plans. Advocate for engineering work to address testing and automation limitations. Find creative ways to get the desired signals when a straightforward approach is deemed infeasible. System/Subsystem Performance Boundaries Be a bridge between Perception and the “Systems Readiness and Performance” organization. Act as the primary point of contact between the organizations. Advocate for, and adopt, common processes, technology, and terminology to ensure subsystem and system level evaluations work seamlessly together. Ensure that we understand the system-level impact of a perception failure mode and communicate this effectively across the entire organization. Required Qualifications: Education and Experience Bachelor's degree in a STEM field (preferred). Experience leading Verification and Validation (V&V) for a safety-critical product. V&V experience specifically with a self-driving vehicle (strongly preferred). Domain Expertise General knowledge of the self-driving vehicle software stack. Understanding the different types of simulation technologies used in autonomy development. Expertise in creating and executing V&V test strategies. Expertise in test set creation, test organization (tagging, requirements and deficiency linking), and structured reporting. Strong understanding of how performance analysis informs risk assessment, and acts as the cornerstone for “go/no-go” decisions. Understanding of basic descriptive statistics. Programming & Tools Proficiency in Python for light scripting, database queries, and automation. Familiarity with common dashboarding software. Familiarity with AI/Agentic coding tools to accelerate workloads. Experience using common software tools such as version control (Git) and build automation (Buildkite, Jenkins). Soft Skills Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Demonstrated ability in collaboration, leadership, innovation, and creativity. A track record of reliability, trustworthiness, and delivering impact. Ability to frame safety discussions within a grounded risk assessment framework. Preferred Qualifications: Entrepreneurial experience or other evidence of being self-driven, adaptable, and results-oriented. Patents or other evidence of innovation and creativity. We encourage a hybrid schedule with in-office time at one of our locations in Boston, Pittsburgh, or Las Vegas to support collaboration, or this role can be fully remote. 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. We’re creating first-of-its-kind technology that will transform transportation. To do so successfully, we must design for everyone in our cities and on our roads. We believe in building a great place to work through a progressive, global culture that is diverse, inclusive, and ensures people feel valued at every level of the organization. Diversity helps us to see the world differently; it’s not only good for our business, it’s the right thing to do. Scale up, not starting up. Our team is behind some of the industry's largest leaps forward, including the first fully-autonomous cross-country drive in the U.S, the launch of the world's first robotaxi pilot, and operation of the world's longest-standing public robotaxi fleet. We’re driven to scale; we’re moving towards commercialization of our technology, and we need team members who are ready to embrace change and challenges. Formed as a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv, Motional is fundamentally changing how people move through their lives. Headquartered in Boston, Motional has operations in the U.S and Asia. For more information, visit www.Motional.com and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. Motional AD Inc. is an EOE. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. To comply with Federal Law, we participate in E-Verify. All newly-hired employees are queried through this electronic system established by the DHS and the SSA to verify their identity and employment eligibility.