Director - Data Science & Engineering

We’re reinventing personal transportation—making the future safer, cleaner, and more enjoyable. We’ve created our vehicle specifically for dense, complicated urban environments. Zoox is the only driving vehicle on the market with bidirectional driving capabilities and four-wheel steering, allowing us to maneuver through compact spaces and change directions without the need to reverse. The future is for riders.We are searching for a Director of Data Science to lead our rapidly growing data science and engineering team, reporting directly to the CTO. The Data Science team leverages data from our autonomous vehicles, simulation pipelines, and operations to inform autonomy and service readiness and proactively guide quantitative decisions across the company along the way. You will be responsible for partnering with our AI, simulation, mission assurance, and operations teams to drive improvements, inform development, and identify high-leverage projects on our path towards autonomy. You will play a key role in enabling Zoox to develop and scale with a data-driven quantitative approach.As the director of our Data Science organization, you will lead a diverse, experienced team with a rapidly growing scope and responsibility while also having access to one of the most comprehensive datasets in the autonomous driving industry. You will be responsible for the team’s technical direction and execution, culture, operational procedures and processes, strategy, and administrative affairs. You will be at the table along with our extended leadership team.Zoox is a company at the forefront of AV technology - a field that's being defined as it grows. Likewise, Zoox itself is evolving, and your role will vary with each aspect of the project. You'll identify the tasks that need to be done and either delegate each job or roll up your sleeves and help complete some yourself. Along the way, you'll learn new skills, which will provide you with exciting challenges and plenty of personal and professional growth opportunities. This is a highly cross-functional role with opportunities to significantly influence Zoox overall.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead a group of managers, data scientists, and engineers, and be responsible for the group’s strategy, productivity, and impact within the company. Define key performance metrics for our service and ride quality in order to guide product development to a commercial launch.
• Partner closely with our executive team in ensuring that our Data Science initiatives are progressing in an efficient manner.
• Collaborate heavily with our mission assurance and operations teams to validate and ensure the safety of our software stack.
• Identify key areas of investment for our perception, prediction, and planning teams.
• Establishing best practices and statistical rigor around data-driven decision-making. Support key decisions working cross-functionally across engineering and product.
• Stay on top of industry trends in data science and engineering, making sure Zoox remains at the cutting edge of both statistical methods and the implementation of data-related tools and pipelines at scale.

Requirements

• Experience driving decision-making at various levels in an organization5+ years of leading large relevant projects from inception to delivery5+ years of extensive leadership experience, leading teams of 30+; including managers.
• 10+ years of experience in data science, data engineering, data analysis, leadership, and people management
• Familiarity with SQL; familiarity with Python, R, or ScalaSound statistical inference skills, with the ability to communicate uncertainty appropriately to other engineering and business stakeholdersComfort with very large and diverse datasets
• Experience with Spark or large-scale data analysis
• Exceptional communication and collaboration skillsStrong track-record in managing complex cross-functional projects
• Ability to keep the big picture in focus and to provide clear, well-structured, and concise communications tailored to each appropriate audience
• BS, MS, or PhD in Mathematics, Data Science, or related fields.

Vaccine MandateEmployees working in this position will be required to be fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. An applicant is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine. Applicants will be required to show proof of vaccination status upon receipt of a conditional offer of employment. That offer of employment will be conditioned upon, among other things, an Applicant’s ability to show proof of vaccination status. Please note the Company provides reasonable accommodations in accordance with applicable state, federal and local laws.About ZooxZoox is developing the first ground-up, fully autonomous vehicle fleet and the supporting ecosystem required to bring this technology to market. Sitting at the intersection of robotics, machine learning, and design, Zoox aims to provide the next generation of mobility-as-a-service in urban environments. We’re looking for top talent that shares our passion and wants to be part of a fast-moving and highly execution-oriented team.Follow us on LinkedInA Final Note:You do not need to match every listed expectation to apply for this position. Here at Zoox, we know that diverse perspectives foster the innovation we need to be successful, and we are committed to building a team that encompasses a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and skills.