Autonomy System & Safety Engineer (PhD, Intern)

DiDi Labs • San Jose, CA

17h

About The Position

About the Company DiDi's autonomous driving unit was established in 2016 with the mission of developing Level 4 autonomous driving (AD) technology to make transportation safer and more efficient. In August 2019, the unit became an independent company, DiDi Autonomous Driving, dedicated to advanced AD R&D, product application, and business expansion. We believe integrating AD technology into a shared-mobility fleet will generate immense social value. By leveraging DiDi's specialized technology, operational expertise, and integrated ecosystem, we are positioned to build and operate a highly efficient, user-oriented autonomous fleet. About the Role We are seeking an Autonomy System & Safety Engineer (PhD Intern) to join our team. This role is designed for PhD candidates who excel at applying academic rigor to solve real-world engineering challenges. You will help build the critical frameworks that test, validate, and ensure the safety of our autonomous driving system through data analysis, simulation, and systematic problem-solving.

Requirements

• Current Ph.D. candidate in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace, or a closely related field.
• Hands-on project or internship experience (1-3 years) in areas such as autonomous systems, systems engineering, data analysis, or software development for complex systems.
• Proven technical skills demonstrated through project work, including strong proficiency in Python, SQL, or C++ for data analysis and scripting with large datasets.
• Relevant graduate-level coursework in subjects like autonomous systems, robotics, computer vision, machine learning, control systems, simulation, or verification & validation.
• A solid grasp of software development, testing methodologies, and engineering fundamentals.

Nice To Haves

• Direct project or internship experience within the autonomous vehicle industry or with other safety-critical robotics/aviation systems.
• Coursework or project work involving simulation tools (e.g., CARLA, SVL), scenario generation, or developing metrics for autonomous agent/NPC behavior.
• Project-based experience modeling human or agent behavior in dynamic environments (traffic simulation, game AI, multi-agent systems).
• A track record of completing substantial, complex technical projects, either independently or as part of a team, that demonstrate practical engineering ability.

Responsibilities

• Apply systematic engineering principles to develop and improve processes for evaluating autonomy system safety and performance.
• Analyze real-world driving data to identify system issues and work with engineering teams to create automated tools for continuous evaluation.
• Partner with infrastructure and simulation teams to design, implement, and manage simulation tests, developing robust safety metrics and validation protocols.
• Contribute to the development of a scalable safety evaluation framework to support the expansion of our autonomous vehicle operations.

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Intern
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree