Lead AV Behavior Safety Engineer – Autonomous Driving

General Motors; Honolulu (HI); Remote; USD 251,000 - 385,000; Full time

Job summary

General Motors is seeking a Principal AV Behavior Safety Engineering Lead to shape the strategy, measurement, and validation of safety for SAE Level 3–4 automated driving systems powered by machine‑learned models. You will influence launch decisions and coordinate across AI/ML, software validation, simulation, and safety metrics teams.

You will lead the end‑to‑end safety framework, define ODD breakdowns, and validate AV behaviors using simulated, closed‑course, and public‑road data.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field.
• 8+ years in machine learning, engineering, data science, or a related field.
• 8+ years in autonomous vehicle or robotics development or related field.
• Demonstrated experience working on production‑intent AV programs.
• Track record providing technical safety leadership in AV development (e.g., defining safety strategies, risk assessments, validation methodologies, safety case contributions).
• Deep understanding of AV behavior development: defining ODDs, behaviors, and evaluation criteria; analyzing simulation, closed‑course, and public‑road test data; and generating prioritized, actionable recommendations for developers.
• Experience applying AV safety standards and best practices, such as ISO 5083, ISO 21448 (SOTIF), and AVSC practices
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills, including the ability to explain complex technical tradeoffs to executives and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Proven ability to influence cross‑functional teams without direct authority.

Responsibilities

• Lead Technically: define safety strategy for next-gen ADS architectures and risk-based evidence.
• Own the behavior-focused portion of the ADS Safety Case with key claims and evidence.
• Collaborate with Validation, AI/ML, Simulation, and Safety Metrics teams to define end-to-end AV behavior validation methodology.
• Set strategy for breaking down ODDs and validating performance per behavior and in aggregate.
• Define evaluation metrics, human benchmarks, and safety launch targets for AV behaviors and system performance.
• Assess AV performance using simulation, closed-course, and public-road data and provide prioritized feedback to teams.
• Define and run an assurance process to verify sufficiency criteria and safety targets for launch readiness.

Skills

AV Safety

AI/ML

Autonomous Driving

Validation

Safety Strategy

Cross-functional Leadership

Standards

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Tools

Python

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Scikit-learn

SQL

Docker

Kubernetes

Jira

LangChain

PySpark

Job description

General Motors is seeking a Principal AV Behavior Safety Engineering Lead to shape the strategy, measurement, and validation of safety for SAE Level 3–4 automated driving systems powered by machine‑learned models. You will influence launch decisions and coordinate across AI/ML, software validation, simulation, and safety metrics teams.

You will lead the end‑to‑end safety framework, define ODD breakdowns, and validate AV behaviors using simulated, closed‑course, and public‑road data.