Lead Data Scientist, Autonomous Driving

Top Echelon Software, LLC; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Disability insurance

Life insurance

401(k)

Paid time off

Lunch benefits

Job summary

NGV Talent seeks a Lead Data Scientist for Autonomous Driving in Austin, TX. The role combines leadership with hands‑on analytics, overseeing experiments, metrics, and data pipelines across simulation and on‑road data to assess system performance and safety readiness.

You will mentor analysts, shape the analytics strategy, and collaborate with engineering and product teams in a hybrid work setting. Strong Python/SQL, statistics, and end‑to‑end experimentation are essential.

Qualifications

• 4+ years analytics experience supporting a large‑scale or complex technology product.
• Strong background in statistical reasoning and experimental methods.
• Advanced proficiency in Python and SQL for analysis and pipeline development.
• Experience designing and running experiments end to end.
• Proven experience leading, mentoring, and hiring analytics professionals.

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain metrics and metric hierarchies to measure autonomous driving system performance and safety readiness.
• Analyze simulation, real‑world driving, test, and labeled data to evaluate end‑to‑end system behavior.
• Lead an evaluation and experimentation focus area within the analytics organization.
• Hire, mentor, and develop analysts within the team.
• Design, execute, and interpret experiments using statistical methods.
• Translate experimental results into actionable recommendations for stakeholders.
• Perform hands‑on analysis of complex datasets using Python and SQL.
• Build, maintain, and automate analytics pipelines with data engineering partners.
• Collaborate with engineering, product, and infrastructure teams to ensure data accuracy and availability.
• Monitor platform health, system behavior, and performance trends across operating conditions.

Skills

Analytics leadership

Statistical methods

Experiment design

Team mentoring

Hiring analytics professionals

Education

Graduate degree in Statistics / quantitative field

Tools

Python

SQL

Job description

Job Title: Lead Data Scientist, Autonomous Driving

Work Location: Austin, TX

Job Type: Full-Time

Work Setting: Hybrid

Job Overview

The Lead Analyst, Autonomous Driving is responsible for leading evaluation, experimentation, and analytics for autonomous vehicle technology. This role focuses on integrating simulation, on-road, test, and human‑labeled data to assess system performance, safety readiness, and technology quality across behavior and hardware layers.

This position is designed for experienced analytics professionals who can lead a technical focus area while remaining hands‑on with data, experiments, and model outputs in a hybrid work environment supporting cross‑functional engineering and product teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and maintain metrics and metric hierarchies to measure autonomous driving system performance and safety readiness
• Analyze simulation, real‑world driving, test, and labeled data to evaluate end‑to‑end system behavior
• Lead an evaluation and experimentation focus area within the analytics organization
• Hire, mentor, and develop analysts within the team
• Design, execute, and interpret experiments using statistical methods
• Translate experimental results into actionable recommendations for stakeholders
• Perform hands‑on analysis of complex datasets using Python and SQL
• Build, maintain, and automate analytics pipelines with data engineering partners
• Collaborate with engineering, product, and infrastructure teams to ensure data accuracy and availability
• Monitor platform health, system behavior, and performance trends across operating conditions

Requirements

• 4+ years of analytics experience supporting a large‑scale or complex technology product
• Strong background in statistical reasoning and experimental methods
• Advanced proficiency in Python and SQL for analysis and pipeline development
• Experience designing and running experiments end to end
• Proven experience leading, mentoring, and hiring analytics professionals

Preferred Qualifications

• Graduate degree in Statistics, Applied Statistics, Biostatistics, Econometrics, or a quantitative field
• Experience with modern data stack and data engineering workflows
• Background in autonomous systems or other technically complex domains

Benefits

• Employer‑subsidized medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Employer‑paid disability and life insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Generous paid time off
• Covered lunches and related employee benefits

Additional Details

• Hybrid work setting in Austin, Texas
• U.S. work authorization required
• Background check and onboarding verification required
• Interview process includes technical and cross‑functional interviews