Director, AV Product Engineering

Description

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.

Responsibilities

• As Director of Engineering you will manage the Product Engineering group within our AI Engineering organisation. You will report to the VP of Autonomy. There are four divisions within Autonomy:
• Core AV Technology – Foundation model, model architecture, learning foundations.
• Robotics Technology – Sensing, control, vehicle adaptability technology.
• Product Engineering – This role – NoA, active safety, parking product development.
• Release – Coordinate and automate software + model releases to application teams.
• The role is on the critical path to the financial success of the business. You are responsible for taking AI model backbones and delivering an autonomous vehicle capability roadmap with production-level quality . This includes collecting, filtering and selecting the most relevant training data; and then training, tuning, debugging production models. The technology will be deployed to multiple OEM partners working with separate Application teams.
• You are expected to establish solid ML practices from the start and to attract technical leadership. You will lead multiple teams (50+ permanent employees) covering Driving, ADAS, Parking, HMI functionality.
• You will set the technical direction in your area and ensure that deliverables align with company objectives. You will provide leadership and guidance to each of the Engineering Managers that work within your area. You will steer the teams and coordinate with others across Wayve. You will work with leaders across the company to ensure career growth for your teams.
• This means you will:
• Define and own the technical vision, strategy and metrics for your area, ensuring its teams and the rest of Wayve are aligned and galvanised.
• Frame autonomous driving as a problem that can be solved by data. Define efficient data curriculums to ensure product feature and geographical coverage.
• Drive an eval-driven culture to reach KPI targets with high predictability and resource efficiency.
• Partner with the senior leadership team to maintain a culture of impact, performance, and health.
• Build technical capabilities across the division and develop talented engineers as Wayve grows. Build resilient and reliable systems, teams and individuals.
• Work closely with team members to develop career plans and growth trajectories based on each individual’s strengths and weaknesses and their own aspirations.
• You will be essential to Wayve’s mission, deeply enjoy what you do, take immense pride in being a part of something big, and love pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

Requirements

• In order to set you up for success as an Engineering Director at Wayve, we’re looking for the following skills and experience.
• Essential
• You have delivered successful Autonomy products that rely on complex AI models.
• Management: experience leading complex teams, e.g., multiple management layers or matrixed.
• Domain skills: experience with autonomy products – autopilot/navigation, active safety, parking.
• Product delivery skills: roadmap articulation, interface with leadership & business functions.
• Execution skills: resource allocation, program planning and execution 1-2 years out.
• Engineering skills: code development practices, testing, serviceability.
• Education: BS or MS in Computer Science, Engineering, or similar experience.
• Desirable
• Experience applying foundation models to implement specific product features.
• Experience working with multiple automotive OEMs.
• Experience with GenAI simulation.
• Experience with cloud platforms, databases, large scale data pipelines.
• 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.

Conditions

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.

Benefits

• 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.