{"id":3023001,"url":"https://alion.io/job/wayve-principal-validation-tech-lead-manager-l4-driverless-autonomy","title":"Principal Validation Tech Lead / Manager, L4 Driverless Autonomy","company":{"id":55,"name":"Wayve","domain":"wayve.ai","url":"https://alion.io/company/wayve","size_band":"501-1000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Ashby","truth_index":null},"role":"Leadership","role_family":"Leadership","seniority":"lead","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"hybrid","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Sunnyvale, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":276100,"max":311400,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":311400},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":null,"visa_sponsorship":true,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"AI Agents","optional":false},{"name":"Computer Vision","optional":false},{"name":"Embodied AI","optional":false},{"name":"Motion Planning","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"SQL","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-21T16:35:32Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-21","last_verified_at":"2026-10-30T18:29:11Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":9,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":9},"description":"Before the detail, here's the challenge you'd help us solve.\nWe build the embodied intelligence that moves real vehicles safely, and the ecosystem a billion machines will run on in the future. Very few people in AI can say this. Every role here, whatever the team, plugs into that.\nHere’s what this particular role covers.\nAbout our Engineering Teams\nWayve’s engineering teams are building the AI, robotics, simulation, data, and systems foundations needed to deploy a generalisable AI Driver safely and at scale.\nAbout AI Validation\nThe AI Validation team builds trust in the Wayve AI Driver. We create the strategies, metrics, test suites, and evidence used to assess learned driving behaviour across simulation and real-world testing, supporting product releases and customer programmes.\nYour day-to-day\nLead validation strategy for advanced driver-assistance and autonomous-driving functions across multiple test modalities.\n\nTranslate product and safety requirements into measurable coverage, acceptance criteria, and validation plans.\n\nWork hands-on with Python-based evaluation tools, metrics, simulation results, and large datasets.\n\nAnalyse validation outcomes and communicate clear evidence to Product, Safety, Release, and Autonomy Engineering stakeholders.\n\nCoordinate dependencies across data, simulation, evaluation, and engineering teams so validation can run reliably at scale.\n\nProvide technical leadership and raise the quality bar for systems validation in ambiguous, fast-moving programmes.\n\nWhat you’ll be working on\nComprehensive verification strategies for ADAS and autonomy functions within the Wayve AI Driver.\n\nTest suites spanning simulated scenarios and physical vehicle testing.\n\nBehaviour metrics and evidence that connect system requirements to real driving performance.\n\nScalable, automated validation workflows that support multiple products and customer deployments.\n\nValidation approaches for learned and adaptive behaviours as end-to-end AI systems evolve.\n\nYou should apply if\nYou have significant experience validating complex automotive, autonomous-driving, robotics, aerospace, or similarly safety-relevant systems.\n\nYou have led validation concepts from initial ambiguity through implementation, execution, and reporting.\n\nYou can use Python to implement metrics and work within evaluation codebases; SQL experience is valuable.\n\nYou understand simulated and physical testing and can make evidence-based decisions from imperfect data.\n\nYou communicate crisply, document decisions well, and can align technical stakeholders across disciplines.\n\nExperience with ML, computer vision, motion planning, data science, SOTIF, safety validation, or agentic AI workflows is beneficial.\n\nNot ticking every box? That’s totally okay! If you’re passionate about autonomy and keen to learn, we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every requirement.\nMore about Wayve\nWayve is building the leading AI platform for autonomous driving. We are pioneering an end-to-end AI approach that enables vehicles to learn directly from real-world experience, developing the ability to adapt, generalise and improve at scale. Instead of relying on hand-coded rules or pre-mapped environments, our AI Driver learns to drive by understanding the world around it. The result is technology that navigates complex urban environments with intelligence, precision and natural flow, unlocking meaningful advances in both safety and efficiency.\nOur ambition is to make autonomy universal. Wayve’s mapless and hardware-agnostic AI platform integrates with global OEM partners, enabling continuous software evolution and unlocking advanced levels of automation from L2+ through to L4 as our core AI model scales.\nHow we work - Locations & Flexible Working\nOur main hubs are in London, Sunnyvale, Yokohama, Herzliya, Vancouver and Leonberg. We operate a hybrid working model that combines in-person collaboration in our dedicated office spaces with focused time working remotely.\nThe Interview Process\nOur process is clear and respectful of your time:\nInitial call / recruiter screen - 30 minutes\n\nCompetency interviews, including programming and hiring-manager discussion - approximately 2 hours total\n\nDeep-dive technical interviews covering systems and domain expertise - approximately 3 hours total\n\nFinal interview focused on mission and values alignment - 1 hour\n\nWe’ll always explain the format and work around your availability.\nWhat’s in it for you (location dependent)\nSalaries benchmarked against the market annually\n\nMeaningful equity, sharing in Wayve’s long-term success\n\nRelocation support and visa sponsorship where applicable\n\nHybrid working, core hours, and opportunities to work hands-on in vehicle workshops and labs\n\nLearning and development support for training, conferences, and growth\n\nComprehensive location-dependent benefits, including health coverage, family leave, retirement or pension support, wellbeing resources, and team socials\n\nA quick, honest note before you apply.\nWayve is not a mature, fully-structured place with the playbook already written. Much of how we work is still being written, and if you join, you’ll help write it. That suits people who want real ownership more than people who need a settled structure from day one.\nIf that sounds like the kind of problem you want to spend your time on, we’d really like to hear from you.\nAt Wayve we're committed to creating a diverse, fair and respectful culture that is inclusive of everyone based on their unique skills and perspectives, and regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, citizenship, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding) or any other basis as protected by applicable law.\nFor more information visit Careers at Wayve. To learn more about what drives us, visit Values at Wayve\nDISCLAIMER: We will not ask about marriage or pregnancy, care responsibilities or disabilities in any of our job adverts or interviews. However, we do look to capture information about care responsibilities, and disabilities among other diversity information as part of an optional DEI Monitoring form to help us identify areas of improvement in our hiring process and ensure that the process is inclusive and non-discriminatory.","description_format":"text","description_chars":6384,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":null,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Equity","Flexible schedule","Hybrid work","Parental leave"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":true,"industries":["Machine Learning","Autonomous Driving"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-21T18:18:47Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":90,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.903,"p_room":1,"age_days":8,"expected_fill_days":52,"reasons":["conf:0","velocity","win:early","comp:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-10-30T05:48:23Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":311400,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/wayve-principal-validation-tech-lead-manager-l4-driverless-autonomy","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/wayve-principal-validation-tech-lead-manager-l4-driverless-autonomy.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-30T22:21:54Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":13099,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-31T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":55},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=55"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fwayve-principal-validation-tech-lead-manager-l4-driverless-autonomy"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fwayve-principal-validation-tech-lead-manager-l4-driverless-autonomy"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fwayve-principal-validation-tech-lead-manager-l4-driverless-autonomy"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/wayve-principal-validation-tech-lead-manager-l4-driverless-autonomy\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fwayve-principal-validation-tech-lead-manager-l4-driverless-autonomy"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":3023001}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"wayve.ai","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":3023001},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. Docs: https://alion.io/developers"}}