Staff Robotics Engineer, Localization

Before the detail, here's the challenge you'd help us solve.

We 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.

Here’s what this particular role covers.

About our Robotics Team

The Robotics team is responsible for bridging the gap from our model to our vehicle platforms, in order to let the model focus on making driving decisions. We aim to provide high quality data to the model for making such decisions, whilst abstracting away platform-specific aspects. We combine specialisms across the robotics domain, blending strong theoretical foundations with solid engineering practice to span the spectrum from research to production.

Your day-to-day

• Define and evolve the technical architecture and roadmap for Wayve’s onboard localisation capability, aligned with vehicle programmes and product requirements.

• Lead the development of robust 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, including robust fault handling and degraded-mode behaviour.

• Develop rigorous validation and benchmarking capabilities, including representative datasets, ground-truth comparisons, performance metrics and regression testing across diverse vehicles, environments and operating conditions.

• Provide hands-on technical leadership and mentorship, working across robotics, calibration, controls, sensors and vehicle-platform teams to drive integration and resolve complex system-level issues.

What you’ll be working on:

Leading the technical development of our onboard localisation capability. You will design and productionise state-estimation systems that combine GNSS, IMU and wheel odometry to provide accurate, reliable vehicle motion and pose estimates across diverse vehicles, environments and operating conditions.

This is a senior individual-contributor role with responsibility for shaping the localisation architecture and technical roadmap, while remaining deeply involved in algorithm development, implementation, validation and onboard deployment. You will work across robotics, calibration, controls, sensor, vehicle-platform and embedded-software teams to ensure localisation is robust, observable and suitable for real-time production use. You will also provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineers working across localisation and the broader state-estimation stack.

You should apply if you have:

Essential

• Deep practical expertise in localisation, state estimation or sensor fusion, with experience combining GNSS, IMU and wheel-odometry measurements.

• Strong understanding of filtering-based estimation methods, including Kalman-family filters such as the 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.

• Evidence of hands-on technical leadership, including defining architecture, influencing technical roadmaps, mentoring engineers and collaborating effectively across multiple teams.

Desirable

• 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 relevant 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.

Not 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.

More about Wayve:

Wayve 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. We believe autonomy represents a once in a generation transformation in how people and goods move, comparable to the shift from horses to cars, and from human driven vehicles to intelligent machines.

Our 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 plus through to L4 as our core AI model scales. In a race increasingly defined by intelligence and real world learning, Wayve is taking a distinct approach, building a generalisable driving intelligence that can power any vehicle, anywhere. By combining embodied AI with scalable deployment, we are creating technology that can be shaped to each OEM brand and driver experience, accelerating the transition to a safer, more intelligent future of mobility.

How we work - Locations & Flexible Working:

Our 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. This gives our teams the connection and energy of working together, alongside the flexibility to do their best work in a way that fits their lives.

The Interview Process:

Our process is clear and respectful of your time:

• Initial call / recruiter screen: general background, current situation, interests and Wayve company information & hiring context.

• Competency Interviews: programming and code review.

• Deep-dive technical interviews: domain knowledge & system design.

• Final interview: mission & values alignment.

We’ll always explain the format and work around your availability.

What’s in it for you (Location dependant):

Salaries benchmarked against the market annually

Meaningful equity, sharing in the ownership and long term success of Wayve

Relocation support and visa sponsorship where applicable

Hybrid working, core hours and the chance to work hands on in vehicle workshops and labs

Learning and development budgets with support for training, conferences and growth

Comprehensive benefits including health insurance, dental, enhanced maternity and paternity leave, retirement or pension where applicable, access to therapists, wellbeing partnerships, team socials and more

A quick, honest note before you apply.

Wayve 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.

If that sounds like the kind of problem you want to spend your time on, we’d really like to hear from you.

At 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.

For more information visit Careers at Wayve. To learn more about what drives us, visit Values at Wayve

DISCLAIMER: 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.