Staff Validation Systems Engineer, AI Validation

Wayve • Sunnyvale, CA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

Wayve’s AI Validation team develops strategies, evidence, metrics, and test systems to build confidence in the Wayve AI Driver. This individual-contributor role focuses on validating L2+ driving features and new AI Driver capabilities, including feature-level driving behaviours and interactions between the automated-driving system and the human driver. The role translates product, systems, and safety requirements into validation plans, scenarios, metrics, coverage requirements, acceptance criteria, and evidence for release decisions.

The engineer works hands-on with Python, evaluation pipelines, test implementation, simulation, and data analysis. They analyse results and communicate findings, risks, and evidence to Product, Safety, Release, and Autonomy Engineering stakeholders, while coordinating data, simulation, and evaluation dependencies so validation can run reliably and at scale. The role provides technical direction across teams while remaining an individual contributor.

The position is based in Sunnyvale and follows a hybrid working model, combining in-person collaboration with remote focused work. Wayve describes its environment as one where processes are still being developed and employees have substantial ownership in shaping how the company works.

Requirements

• Experience validating autonomous-driving, robotics, or closely related intelligent products, particularly learned or adaptive behaviours.
• Hands-on experience building scenarios, metrics, test suites, evaluation pipelines, or data-analysis workflows.
• Professional proficiency in Python.
• Comfort with SQL or similar large-scale analysis tools.
• Experience validating complex systems in simulation, the real world, or both.
• Clear communication and effective documentation of decisions.
• Ability to own ambiguous problems from concept through evidence and recommendation.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in machine learning, computer vision, motion planning, SOTIF, safety validation, or modern AI tooling.
• Direct automotive OEM experience.

Responsibilities

• Translate product, systems, and safety requirements into validation strategies, test scenarios, metrics, coverage requirements, and acceptance criteria.
• Work hands-on with Python, evaluation pipelines, test implementation, simulation, and data analysis.
• Analyse validation results and communicate findings, risks, and evidence to Product, Safety, Release, and Autonomy Engineering stakeholders.
• Coordinate data, simulation, and evaluation dependencies so validation can run reliably and at scale.
• Validate L2+ feature-level driving behaviours and new AI Driver capabilities.
• Evaluate interactions between the automated-driving system and the human driver.
• Define general-purpose metrics for on-road and simulated driving behaviour.
• Provide hands-on technical direction across teams while remaining an individual contributor.

Benefits

• Meaningful equity.
• Relocation support and visa sponsorship where applicable.
• Hybrid working and hands-on access to workshops and labs.
• Learning and development support.
• Comprehensive location-dependent health, family, retirement, and wellbeing benefits.
• Salaries benchmarked against the market annually.

What This Job Offers

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