Staff Robotics Engineer, Localization

Wayve • Sunnyvale, CA

1d • $276,100 - $293,750 • Hybrid

About The Position

Wayve’s Robotics team bridges its driving model to vehicle platforms, providing high-quality data for driving decisions while abstracting platform-specific details. The team combines theoretical robotics expertise with practical engineering across research and production.

As Staff Robotics Engineer, Localization, you will lead the technical development of Wayve’s onboard localisation capability. You will shape its architecture and roadmap and design, implement, validate, and deploy state-estimation systems that combine GNSS, IMU, and wheel odometry to provide reliable vehicle motion and pose estimates across different vehicles, environments, and operating conditions. There is scope to incorporate camera-, RADAR-, and LiDAR-based measurements.

This is a senior individual-contributor position involving hands-on algorithm development and production implementation for real-time vehicle platforms. You will develop validation and benchmarking capabilities, address fault handling and degraded-mode behaviour, and work across robotics, calibration, controls, sensor, vehicle-platform, and embedded-software teams. You will also provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineers working on localisation and the broader state-estimation stack.

Requirements

• Deep practical expertise in localisation, state estimation, or sensor fusion, including experience combining GNSS, IMU, and wheel-odometry measurements.
• Strong understanding of filtering-based estimation methods, including Kalman-family filters such as EKF or UKF, and nonlinear optimisation approaches such as factor graphs.
• Experience developing and operating localisation or state-estimation systems in production robotics, autonomous vehicles, or comparable real-time systems.
• Strong modern C++ software-engineering skills and proficiency in Python for prototyping, analysis, validation, and test tooling.
• Experience designing rigorous localisation validation and benchmarking, including accuracy metrics, uncertainty evaluation, ground-truth comparison, regression testing, and failure analysis.
• Hands-on technical leadership experience, including defining architecture, influencing technical roadmaps, mentoring engineers, and collaborating across multiple teams.

Nice To Haves

• Experience incorporating camera-, LiDAR-, or RADAR-based measurements into localisation and sensor-fusion systems, including visual, LiDAR, or RADAR odometry.
• Hands-on experience with nonlinear optimisation and robotics libraries such as GTSAM, Ceres, or g2o.
• Familiarity with automotive software-development practices and coding standards, including MISRA C++.
• Experience deploying state-estimation software on embedded or resource-constrained platforms with real-time compute, memory, and latency requirements.
• Experience developing high-quality ground truth, benchmarks, and validation evidence for localisation or other state-estimation systems.
• Familiarity with robotics tooling and libraries such as ROS, Eigen, OpenCV, PCL, or CUDA.
• MS or PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve the technical architecture and roadmap for onboard localisation, aligned with vehicle programmes and product requirements.
• Lead development of state-estimation systems that fuse GNSS, IMU, and wheel-odometry signals, with scope to incorporate camera-, RADAR-, and LiDAR-based measurements.
• Take localisation solutions from algorithm design and prototyping through production implementation and deployment on real-time vehicle platforms.
• Develop robust fault handling and degraded-mode behaviour for localisation systems.
• Develop validation and benchmarking capabilities, including representative datasets, ground-truth comparisons, performance metrics, and regression testing across vehicles, environments, and operating conditions.
• Provide hands-on technical leadership and mentorship.
• Collaborate across robotics, calibration, controls, sensors, vehicle-platform, and embedded-software teams to drive integration and resolve system-level issues.

Benefits

• Salaries benchmarked against the market annually.
• Meaningful equity.
• Relocation support and visa sponsorship where applicable.
• Hybrid working, core hours, and access to vehicle workshops and labs.
• Learning and development budgets, with support for training, conferences, and growth.
• Comprehensive benefits including health insurance, dental coverage, enhanced maternity and paternity leave, retirement or pension where applicable, access to therapists, wellbeing partnerships, and team socials.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed