Evaluation, Validation & Simulation Engineer

42dot; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 145,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

42dot is building a new autonomous driving organization to deliver production-ready L4 autonomy across trucks, buses, passenger vehicles, and robotaxis. You will work on autonomy evaluation, validation, simulation, KPI development, scenario analysis, and performance measurement.

This is a hands-on engineering role involving software development, data analysis, simulation, and autonomy performance evaluation.

Qualifications

• Grit, ownership, and problem-solving ability.
• Degree in CS/Robotics/EE or related field.
• Strong Python and/or C++ programming skills.
• Strong analytical and quantitative problem-solving skills.
• Experience with large datasets and software systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop autonomy KPIs and performance metrics.
• Build evaluation and validation tools for autonomous driving systems.
• Analyze driving performance and identify failure modes.
• Develop scenario mining and performance analysis workflows.
• Support simulation-based testing and validation.
• Collaborate with ML, software, systems, and safety teams.
• Contribute to technical discussions and engineering decisions.

Skills

Python

C++

Analytical thinking

Problem solving

Ownership

Education

Bachelor’s/Master’s/PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, or related field

Job description

We are looking for the best

About Us

42dot is a mobility AI company committed to solving mobility challenges with software and AI. As the Global Software Center of Hyundai Motor Group, 42dot pioneers the future of mobility by advancing the development of software-defined vehicles.

We develop safety-first, user-centric software-defined vehicle technologies that deliver the latest performance through continuous updates like smartphones. By advancing software and AI technology, 42dot envisions a world where everything is connected and moves autonomously through a self-managing urban transportation operating system.

About the Role

We’re building a new autonomous driving organization to deliver production-ready L4 autonomy across trucks, buses, passenger vehicles, and robotaxis.
Our approach is ML-first, centered around end-to-end learning, foundation models, vision-language-action (VLA) models, and world models.
As one of the founding members of the autonomy organization, you’ll help build the systems that determine whether our autonomy stack is actually improving, where it is failing, and what should be built next.
You will work on autonomy evaluation, validation, simulation, KPI development, scenario analysis, and performance measurement. Your work will directly influence engineering priorities and product decisions across the organization.
This is a hands-on engineering role involving software development, data analysis, simulation, and autonomy performance evaluation.

Founding Team Opportunity

Most autonomy programs were started years ago. The major evaluation methodologies, engineering processes, and validation strategies were established long before today’s engineers joined.

We’re at a different stage.

We’re assembling the founding team that will define how autonomy performance is measured, validated, and improved across the organization.

The engineers who join now will help shape:

• Evaluation methodology
• KPI strategy
• Validation framework
• Simulation strategy
• Engineering culture
• Technical roadmap

Responsibilities

• Develop autonomy KPIs and performance metrics.
• Build evaluation and validation tools for autonomous driving systems.
• Analyze driving performance and identify failure modes.
• Develop scenario mining and performance analysis workflows.
• Support simulation-based testing and validation.
• Collaborate closely with ML, software, systems, and safety teams.
• Contribute to technical discussions and engineering decisions.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated grit, ownership, and problem-solving ability. We value engineers who take initiative, thrive in ambiguity, chase difficult problems, and consistently deliver results.
• Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, or a related field.
• Strong Python and/or C++ programming skills.
• Strong analytical and quantitative problem-solving skills.
• Experience working with large datasets and software systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Autonomous driving experience.
• Robotics experience.
• Simulation experience.
• Data analytics or ML evaluation experience.
• Statistical analysis experience.
• Large-scale data processing experience.

Interview Process

• Application Review - Coding Test - 1st interview - 2nd interview - Offer Negotiation - Hiring
• The screening procedures may vary depending on the position, schedule, or other circumstances.

Compensation

• $145,000 - $210,000

Additional Information

• In accordance with fair hiring practices, do not include any personal information unrelated to your job qualifications (e.g., Social Security Number, family relations, marital status, age, photo, physical condition, place of birth, etc.) in your resume.
• All documents must be submitted in PDF format and under 30MB in size.
• If you experience issues uploading your resume, please send it along with the job posting URL to [e-mail].
• We strongly encourage applications from U.S. veterans and candidates eligible for employment preference under applicable laws.
• Qualified individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
• 42dot does not accept unsolicited resumes and will not pay fees for any such submissions. Equal Opportunity Statement
• 42dot is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status.

Please review the following information before applying.

• How to work in 42dot, About 42dot Way