Motional

Motional

Senior Data Scientist, Systems Performance

Boston, Massachusetts, United States; Remote U.S · Senior

Sponsorship not specified$149k-$199kDetected 7 days ago
PythonSQLAWSMachine LearningData AnalysisData EngineeringData ScienceNLPMLOpsStatisticsA/B TestingSystems EngineeringRoboticsCommunicationCollaborationProblem Solving

About the role

  • Rigorous behavioral and system performance evaluation is critical to scaling our service and achieving Motional's long-term goals.
  • You will help ensure Motional's performance evaluation is efficient, scientifically rigorous, and aligned with our growth priorities.
  • Salary Range $149,000 - $198,500 USD Motional is a driverless technology company making autonomous vehicles a safe, reliable, and accessible reality.

Responsibilities

  • Lead the development of evaluation frameworks for the autonomous system, connecting technical problems to rigorous, data-driven approaches for measuring and validating performance.
  • Collaborate closely with Functional Safety and Systems Engineering teams to ensure evaluation metrics map effectively to automotive safety standards (e.g., SOTIF, ISO 21448) and launch readiness decisions.
  • Drive our approach to performance analysis using data-backed statistical methods for simulation and on-road data.
  • Develop new statistical analysis methods to analyze AV performance data and lead by example in applying them to real problems.
  • Build confidence in the evaluation framework through data-driven insights and clear communication of findings to technical leaders and stakeholders.
  • Make sense of large datasets to drive insights, solve ambiguous performance questions, and communicate results effectively across teams and upward to leadership.
  • Develop new metrics, interpret trends, and investigate anomalies in simulation and on-road data.
  • Collaborate with developers to drive action based on these results.
  • Mentor and collaborate with fellow engineers and foster a positive, collaborative work environment.
  • We aren't just developing driverless cars

Requirements

  • 5+ years of industry experience solving complex problems with large datasets, with a track record of framing ambiguous questions into rigorous, data-driven analyses.
  • Strong problem-solving skills: ability to break down complex performance and evaluation challenges, think logically, and remove bias from how problems are defined and assessed.
  • Bachelor's or higher degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Data Science, Robotics, Physics, Mathematics, or a related quantitative field. Master's or PhD preferred.
  • Experience applying advanced statistical and ML methods to drive insights from large and complex data sets.
  • Demonstrated ability to work independently with minimal guidance and drive projects from problem definition through to actionable results.
  • Proven communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to explain technical findings clearly to engineering partners and leadership.
  • Familiarity with data pipelines and distributed compute (e.g., AWS) to seamlessly collaborate with our Data Engineering and MLOps partners.

Nice to have

  • Bachelor's or higher degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Data Science, Robotics, Physics, Mathematics, or a related quantitative field.
  • Master's or PhD preferred.

Skills

  • Strong Python and SQL skills, with demonstrated experience using data analysis libraries to work with large, complex datasets.
  • Demonstrated experience with statistical analysis, hypothesis testing, causal analysis and data analysis.
  • Eager to learn new statistical and ML techniques and demonstrated willingness to teach
  • Bonus Points:
  • Experience with adversarial scenario generation and closed-loop simulation environments.
  • Experience in autonomous driving or robotics, specifically evaluating sub-systems like Perception, Prediction, or Motion Planning.
  • Expertise in Machine Learning and Deep Learning.
  • Familiarity with automotive safety standards like ISO 26262 or ISO 21448 (SOTIF).
  • The estimated compensation range listed in this job posting reflects base salary only.
  • Candidates for certain positions are eligible to participate in Motional's benefits program.
  • Salary Range
  • $149,000 - $198,500 USD

Compensation

  • $149,000 - $198,500 USD

Benefits

  • Use fleet and evaluation data to identify edge cases in an automated manner and coverage gaps, and partner with engineering to feed novel scenarios back into the simulation catalog and strengthen test coverage.

Company info

  • If you are a rigorous, collaborative data scientist with a passion for improving how autonomous systems are measured and validated at scale, we encourage you to apply.
Apply directly at Motional →Create a free account for alerts like thisView Motional immigration profile

This listing is sourced directly from Motional's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.