Sensing Systems Engineer
Wayve · Sunnyvale, California
Before the detail, here's the challenge you'd help us solve.
We build the embodied intelligence that moves real vehicles safely, and the ecosystem a billion machines will run on in the future. Very few people in AI can say this. Every role here, whatever the team, plugs into that.
Here’s what this particular role covers.
THE ROLE
We are looking for a Sensing Systems Engineer to take ownership of the sensing subsystem across our vehicle platforms. This role sits within the Robotics team and operates at the intersection of AV Engineering, Hardware, Vehicle Software, Validation and Product.
You will be responsible for ensuring that our sensor stack and its integration into the vehicle platform meet the performance standards required for reliable model development and deployment. This includes defining clear requirements, building robust validation frameworks, and driving system-level decisions.
This is a cross-functional role focused on reducing ambiguity in sensing performance and enabling confident, data-driven decisions about vehicle readiness.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Own sensing system performance
- Define what “good” looks like for the sensing stack in the context of model development, on-road performance and other applications using sensor data
- Translate high-level product needs into measurable sensing requirements
- Requirements & system definition
- Develop and maintain clear sensing system requirements (e.g., sensing subsystem performance for both perception and localization sensors, calibration quality etc.)
- Align requirements across Robotics, AV Product, Hardware, Vehicle SW and Automotive Product
- System architecture & integration
- Support Hardware and Vehicle Software teams to ensure correct sensor integration into the vehicle platform
- Identify trade-offs and drive decisions on sensor configuration and system design
- Provide consultancy on customers new vehicle programs on sensor requirements
- Verification & validation
- Design and implement frameworks to evaluate sensing system performance
- Establish benchmarks and acceptance criteria for new vehicle bring-up
- Diagnose and resolve sensor-related issues before they impact on-road behavior
- Cross-functional leadership
- Act as the central point of coordination for sensing across teams
- Bring clarity to decision-making during ambiguous or fast-moving bring-up phases
- Impact on ML systems
- Evaluate how sensing quality affects model performance in real-world scenarios
- Partner with ML teams to close the loop between data quality and model outcomes
ABOUT YOU
In order to set you up for success as a Sensing Systems Engineer at Wayve, we're looking for the following skills and experience.
ESSENTIAL
- 5+ years of experience in autonomous systems, robotics, automotive, or a closely related field, with direct involvement in real-world system deployment or vehicle bring-up
- Strong systems engineering capability, including translating high-level product or model needs into clear, testable sensing requirements
- Hands-on experience with at least one primary sensor modality (camera, LiDAR, radar), including integration into real-world platforms such as vehicles or robotic systems
- Working knowledge of multi-sensor systems, including both perception sensors (camera, LiDAR, radar) and localization sensors (IMU, GNSS, wheel odometry)
- Experience evaluating sensor performance and understanding limitations in real-world conditions
- Experience defining metrics, benchmarks, and acceptance criteria for system performance
- Experience working closely with multiple stakeholders such as Hardware, Vehicle Software, ML/Perception/Localization, and Product teams
DESIRABLE
- Experience in autonomous driving or ADAS systems
- Practical experience with sensor calibration, time synchronization, and data alignment
- Experience with vehicle platforms or embedded systems
- Background in safety-critical or high-reliability systems
- Experience on safety standards applied to AV, in particular SOTIF
This is a full-time role based in our office in Sunnyvale. At Wayve we want the best of all worlds so we operate a hybrid working policy that combines time together in our offices and workshops to fuel innovation, culture, relationships and learning, and time spent working from home. The reasonably estimated salary for this role ranges from $209,700-$310,000, plus a competitive equity package. Actual compensation is based on the candidate's skills, qualifications, and experience.
A quick, honest note before you apply.
Wayve is not a mature, fully-structured place with the playbook already written. Much of how we work is still being written, and if you join, you’ll help write it. That suits people who want real ownership more than people who need a settled structure from day one.
If that sounds like the kind of problem you want to spend your time on, we’d really like to hear from you.