Senior Principal Data Annotation Team Lead

Motional - Las Vegas, NV

- Senior

Las Vegas, NV

Transportation Equipment Manufacturing

About the position

As the Senior Principal Data Annotation Team Lead at Motional, you will play a critical role in ensuring high-quality data annotation processes that directly support the development and validation of Motional's autonomous vehicle systems. Reporting to the VP of Operations, you will lead your internal team and external vendors to streamline annotation workflows, optimize data throughput, and ensure the highest standards of labeled data accuracy. You'll also foster collaboration across teams, enabling efficient integration of data into our autonomous vehicle testing and development pipeline.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain a high-performing team by expertly coaching and mentoring your employees and/or people managers to succeed in their role and proactively supporting them in their development goals.
• Cultivating a high performing team culture by fostering collaboration, accountability, and a shared commitment to achieving organizational goals.
• Manage large offshore vendors.
• Providing technical vision and thought leadership to drive performance.
• Managing talent strategy initiatives such as identifying/planning for top talent, retaining critical knowledge, talent gaps, and potential backup resources with some guidance from your manager.
• Oversee all annotation pipeline processes, ensuring timely, accurate, and consistent data labeling across projects.
• Accurately predict and manage data annotation requirements, adjusting resources and timelines to meet the fluctuating demands of large-scale data annotation projects.
• Implement robust quality control measures to ensure annotation accuracy and relevance.
• Develop and maintain clear metrics for annotation quality and continuously improve standards through regular audits and updates to workflows.
• Work closely with external vendors, setting and enforcing clear performance expectations to ensure their output aligns with Motional's quality standards.
• Identify areas where new tools and technologies can improve data annotation efficiency and quality.
• Serve as the primary liaison for data annotation, ensuring alignment with autonomy leads and testing partners.

Requirements

• BA/BS in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or a related technical field; or equivalent practical experience.
• 6+ years in a data-focused role, with experience in data annotation or data labeling pipelines preferred.
• Demonstrated success in fostering a positive team dynamic while leading high-performing teams and managing large external offshore consulting partnerships.
• Proficiency in managing and executing data-centric projects with an understanding of annotation tools and labeling frameworks.
• Proven experience working with outsourced workforces, including setting up metrics to monitor vendor performance.
• Attested ability to work in ambiguous, fast-paced environments, with a proactive approach to identifying operational challenges.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present complex technical requirements in a clear, actionable manner.
• Advanced skills in Excel, Google Sheets, or data management platforms for tracking and reporting project performance.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with data management software or data labeling tools (e.g., Supervisely, Labelbox) is advantageous.