Head of Software Operations

Nuro; Mountain View (CA); On-site; USD 193,000 - 291,000; Full time

Job summary

Nuro is seeking a Head of Software Operations to lead the data generation and evaluation loop that trains and validates our AI models for autonomous driving. You will shape the data strategy, own end-to-end workflows, and drive improvements across the autonomy stack with our ML, simulation, and product teams.

Your team will coordinate data labeling, evaluation datasets, and KPI-driven optimization, partnering with engineering and data science to ensure high-quality releases and scalable

Qualifications

• 10+ years of operational leadership experience.
• 5+ years in AV, robotics, or complex ML operations with budget or P&L ownership.
• Proven track record managing large-scale vendor operations (labeling/annotation).
• Strong working knowledge of AI systems and cross-functional collaboration with engineering and product teams.
• Strong analytical skills to identify KPI gaps and drive execution.

Responsibilities

• Direct strategy and execution of the Software Operation organization, providing high quality data for AI models, conducting triage and root cause analysis to support autonomy and system teams.
• Own data labeling vendors as the extended software operation organization. Be responsible for quality, throughput SLAs, budgets, pricing negotiation.
• Manage embedded domain specialists doing deep-dive work on autonomy stack modules, and partner closely with engineering and data science to build out scenario and evaluation datasets.
• Set the operational KPIs, throughput metrics, and quality bar across all pipelines, and act as the main connective tissue between Software Operations, Engineering, and Product.
• Run a multi-pillar organization efficiently, evolving the organization structure to align with the business needs.

Skills

Operational leadership

Vendor operations management

AI systems knowledge

Cross-functional collaboration

Analytical skills

Scaling organizations

Job description

Who We Are

Nuro is a self-driving technology company on a mission to make autonomy accessible to all. Founded in 2016, Nuro is building the world’s most scalable driver, combining cutting-edge AI with automotive-grade hardware. Nuro licenses its core technology, the Nuro Driver™, to support a wide range of applications, from robotaxis and commercial fleets to personally owned vehicles. With technology proven over years of self-driving deployments, Nuro gives the automakers and mobility platforms a clear path to AVs at commercial scale, empowering a safer, richer, and more connected future.

Who We Are

Nuro is a self-driving technology company on a mission to make autonomy accessible to all. Founded in 2016, Nuro is building the world’s most scalable driver, combining cutting-edge AI with automotive-grade hardware. Nuro licenses its core technology, the Nuro Driver™, to support a wide range of applications, from robotaxis and commercial fleets to personally owned vehicles. With technology proven over years of self-driving deployments, Nuro gives the automakers and mobility platforms a clear path to AVs at commercial scale, empowering a safer, richer, and more connected future.

About The Role

Data is the foundation of autonomous driving. Every improvement in Nuro’s autonomy stack depends on identifying the right real-world examples, transforming them into high-quality training and evaluation datasets, and rigorously validating that each software release is ready for the road.

As Head of Software Operations, you will lead the organization responsible for this critical development loop—from producing the data that trains and evaluates Nuro’s AI models to identifying autonomy regressions and building confidence in every software release. Your work will directly influence how quickly our models learn, how effectively engineering teams resolve performance gaps, and how safely new capabilities reach the vehicle.

Sitting at the center of Nuro’s autonomy organization, your team will work closely with machine learning, autonomy, simulation, onboard systems, data science, and product teams. You will also help Nuro take advantage of emerging technologies, including multimodal foundation models, LLMs to improve how training data is created and how system performance is evaluated.

We are looking for a proactive, technically fluent operational leader who can identify gaps across the autonomy development lifecycle and build the teams, systems, and partnerships needed to close them. You will define the long-term vision for software operations while developing an organization equally capable of navigating ambiguity, executing disciplined processes, and staying aligned with Nuro’s broader technical roadmap.

About The Work

• Direct the strategy and execution of the Software Operation organization, including providing high quality data for AI models, conducting triage and root cause analysis to support autonomy and system teams.
• Own data labeling vendors as the extended software operation organization. Be responsible for quality, throughput SLAs, budgets, pricing negotiation.
• Manage embedded domain specialists doing deep-dive work on autonomy stack modules, and partner closely with engineering and data science to build out scenario and evaluation datasets.
• Set the operational KPIs, throughput metrics, and quality bar across all pipelines, and act as the main connective tissue between Software Operations, Engineering, and Product.
• Run a multi-pillar organization efficiently, evolving the organization structure to align with the business needs.

About You

• 10+ years of operational leadership experience, with 5+ years in AV, robotics, or complex ML operations including budget or P&L ownership
• Proven track record managing large-scale onshore and offshore vendor operations (labeling/annotation), both operationally and commercially
• Strong working knowledge of AI systems and cross-functional collaboration with engineering and product teams
• Strong analytical skills to identify root causes of KPI gaps and drive execution to resolve them
• Demonstrated ability to build and scale operational organizations in fast-paced, ambiguous environments

Bonus Points

• Background in autonomous vehicles or physical AI
• Experience with LLM or GenAI labeling pipelines

At Nuro, your base pay is one part of your total compensation package. For this position, the reasonably expected base pay range is between $193,000 and $291,000 for the level at which this job has been scoped. Your base pay will depend on several factors, including your experience, qualifications, education, location, and skills. In the event that you are considered for a different level, a higher or lower pay range would apply. This position is also eligible for an annual performance bonus, equity, and a competitive benefits package.

At Nuro, we celebrate differences and are committed to a diverse workplace that fosters inclusion and psychological safety for all employees. Nuro is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and expressly prohibits any form of workplace discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristics.