Principal AV Behavior Safety Engineering Lead

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

Remote/Hybrid

Remote - United States

Mountain View, California, United States of America

Full time

JR-202619516

Job Description

The Safety Assurance for Effective Autonomous Driving Software (SAFE‑ADS) department is part of GM’s Global Product Safety, System, and Certification (GPSSC) organization. Our mission is to help GM deliver trusted automated‑driving products. As the central authority for automated driving system (ADS) safety, SAFE‑ADS brings together experts from across the company to develop and maintain a comprehensive safety case including safety performance indicators for GM’s automated‑driving technologies.

GM’s vision is zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion—and autonomous vehicle safety is essential to achieving that vision.

As Principal AV Behavior Safety Engineering Lead, you will lead the strategy and support execution for how GM defines, measures, and validates the safety of SAE Level 3 – 4 Automated Driving Systems powered by machine‑learned models. You will report into the AV Safety Strategy and Assurance organization and directly influence launch decisions for GM’s next generation of automated driving products.

If you are passionate about safety, have deep experience in autonomous vehicle development and validation, and are a proven technical leader in AI/ML‑driven systems, this role is an opportunity to shape how millions of people experience safe automated driving.

The Role

The AV Safety Strategy and Assurance team is seeking a hands‑on Principal engineer with extensive experience in the end‑to‑end development lifecycle of autonomous vehicle behaviors, from ADS Architecture, ODD and behavior definition through simulation, closed‑course, and public‑road validation.

If you’re excited to lead in autonomous driving safety, we’d love to hear from you!

You will:

Lead Technically

• Reference and interpret standards such as ISO 21448 (SOTIF), ISO 5083, and AVSC best practices to define GM’s strategy for safe autonomous system development,validationanddeployment
• Own safety strategy for next generation ADS architectures
• Own the behavior‑focusedportionof the ADS Safety Case, including key claims, sufficiency criteria, and recommended evidence for AV behaviorsafety performance.
• Collaborate with Software Validation, Embodied AI, Simulation, and Safety Metrics teams to define the end‑to‑end AV behavior validationmethodologyfor AI‑driven systems.
• Set the strategy forhow we systematically break down ODDs and howperformance isvalidatedper behavior and in aggregate.
• Collaborate onevaluationmetrics, human benchmarks, and safety launch targets for AV behaviors and overall system performance. This includes supporting development of safety performance indicators (SPIs) for AV behaviors.
• Assess AV performance across safety and reliability dimensions using simulation, closed‑course, and public‑road data and provide clear, prioritized feedback to engineering teams
• Define and run an assurance process to verify the sufficiency criteria and safety targets to support launch readiness

Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications)

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field
• 8+ years of experience inmachine 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 recordproviding 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 (Software, AI/ML, Systems Engineering, Product, Program Management, Operations) without direct authority.
• Strong problem‑solving mindset, comfort with ambiguity, and a proactive attitude toward learning and continuous improvement.

What Will Give You A Competitive Edge (Preferred qualifications)

• MastersDegreein Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematicsor related field
• Programming & Frameworks : Python , R,Java, PySpark,PyTorch, TensorFlow, Scikit-learn, LangChain, SQL
• Machine Learning & AI : Large Language Models (LLMs), Generative AI, RAG, Deeplearning, Reinforcement Learning, Natural Language Processing (NLP), SVM,XGBoost, Random Forest, Decision Trees, Clustering
• Cloud & Big Data Platforms: (Preferred Microsoft Azure (Data Lake, Machine Learning, Databricks)), Nice to Have (AWS (S3, SageMaker, Bedrock) or Google Cloud Platform (BigQuery, Dataflow, AI Platform) )
• Deployment & MLOps: MLflow , Model Monitoring & Versioning, Docker & Kubernetes, GitHub , Jira
• Data Analysis & Visualization : Tableau,PowerBI, Pandas, NumPy

Why This Role Is Unique

• ImpactatScale: Your work will directly influence how GM brings safe automated driving systems to millions of customers.
• End‑to‑End Ownership: You will own the strategy, framework, and evidence assessment for AV behavior safety.
• Cross‑Functional Reach: You will collaborate across AI, software,validation, simulation,metricsoperationsand vehicle programteams, shaping the direction of GM’s automated driving roadmap.

Compensation

The compensation information is a good faith estimate only. It is based on what a successful applicant might be paid in accordance with applicable state laws. The actual base salary a successful candidate will be offered within this range will vary based on factors relevant to the position, as well as geography of the selected candidate.

The salary range for this role is $250,600 and $384,600. The actual base salary a successful candidate will be offered within this range will vary based on factors relevant to the position.

Bonus Potential: An incentive pay program offers payouts based on company performance, job level, and individual performance.

Benefits

GM offers a variety of health and wellbeing benefit programs. Benefit options include medical, dental, vision, Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Accounts