Staff Data Scientist, Tech

About the Role

In this role, you will be the primary technical lead responsible for evaluating the safety and maturity of Autonomous Vehicle (AV) partners looking to launch on the Uber platform.

Your mission is to conduct rigorous technical safety due diligence to ensure that any third-party AV technology meets Uber's safety standards. You will serve as the technical bridge between Uber and our partners, requiring a unique blend of deep systems engineering expertise and world-class external communication skills. This role is on Uber's Autonomous Mobility and Delivery Safety team and reports to the Senior Manager, Systems Engineering, Autonomous Mobility & Delivery Autonomous Mobility & Delivery.

What You Will Do

• What You Will Do -
• Determine Partner Assessment Criteria: Define and maintain the technical rubrics and safety benchmarks used to evaluate diverse AV stacks. You will tailor these criteria to account for different operational design domains (ODDs) and technology architectures.
• Partner Integration Leadership: Work hand-in-hand with external partner engineering teams and internal engineering teams to ensure their system aligns with our safety expectations.
• Safety Risk Assessments (SRAs): Conduct deep-dive technical reviews of partner systems. You will be responsible for authoring comprehensive Safety Risk Assessments that synthesize complex technical data into clear, actionable feedback for both the partner and Uber's leadership.
• Regulatory compliance & system impact: Partner with policy and regional teams to translate local regulatory requirements into engineering solutions, and perform rigorous safety analyses to evaluate their impact on vehicle systems, user behavior, and operational risk.
• Process Improvement: Continuously evolve Uber's partner onboarding and assessment frameworks. You will identify bottlenecks in the current verification and validation (V&V) pipeline and implement data-driven improvements to make the process more scalable and robust.
• Strategic Communication: Act as the face of Uber's safety engineering team to external partners. You will navigate complex technical negotiations and provide high-stakes verbal and written briefings to cross-functional stakeholders, including Product, Legal, and Policy teams.
• Apply AI responsibly: Evaluate and integrate AI/ML-driven approaches to enhance safety validation and risk identification, while ensuring appropriate oversight, traceability, and compliance with safety standards.
• Basic Qualifications -
• Bachelor's degree in Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• 7+ years of experience in systems engineering, with a significant focus on complex hardware/software integrations.
• Proven track record in the Autonomous Vehicle industry, specifically within safety-critical systems.
• Experience with V&V methodologies and AV industry standards and best practices (e.g., ISO 26262, SOTIF/ISO 21448).
• Proven experience performing Safety Risk Assessments (SRA) or similar technical due diligence.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a track record of managing high-stakes external technical relationships.
• Preferred Qualifications -
• Experience with ISO 26262, SOTIF (ISO 21448), and ANSI/UL 4600 standards.
• Demonstrated ability to navigate global regulatory landscapes and work with internationally distributed teams.
• Ability to influence cross-functional teams without direct authority.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to distill complex technical risks into business impact.
• Ability / experience with AI

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