ML Engineer, Behavior Planning

Aurora
Mountain View, CA
Hybrid

Who this role is best for

A natural match if you have experience with Imitation Learning and Reinforcement Learning in autonomous vehicle systems and are based in Mountain View, CA.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with experience in autonomous vehicle systems and a background in ML research or production.
    — “Develop and deploy large-scale models trained with Imitation Learning and Reinforcement Learning”
  • Individuals with a strong foundation in PyTorch and modern ML architectures like Transformers.
    — “mastery of modern ML architectures including Transformers and Diffusion Models”
  • Professionals who have worked on simulation engines or offboard critic models for autonomous systems.
    — “Build our next-generation simulation engine: Architect cutting-edge offboard foundation models”

Things to consider

  • At least 3 days per week in-office presence is expected, which may impact remote flexibility.
    — “work from the office at least 3 days per week”
  • The role demands a high level of commitment to safety, which is a core company value.
    — “each employee at Aurora has a role in contributing to safety, every step of the way”

How to stand out

  • Highlight experience with deploying ML systems in real-world environments.
    — “deploy your models on real production vehicles”
  • Emphasize fluency in Python and experience with high-performance coding practices.
    — “Fluency in Python, with a focus on writing high-performance, maintainable code”
  • Showcase a history of working with large datasets and distributed computing frameworks.
    — “Experience training large models on massive datasets using distributed computing”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • develop and deploy large-scale models
  • evaluate driving behavior at scale
Typical background
MS or PhD in Robotics, Machine Learning, Computer Science

Skills & requirements

Required

Machine LearningImitation LearningReinforcement LearningLarge-scale Model Training

Preferred

Neural SimulatorsGenerative Models

Stack & domain

RoboticsMachine LearningComputer SciencePythonPyTorchImitation LearningReinforcement LearningTransformer ModelsDiffusion ModelsCommunicationCollaborationProblem-solvingAttention To DetailSelf-driving TechnologyAutonomous Vehicle

About the role

Original posting from Aurora via Ashby

Who we are

Aurora’s mission is to deliver the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly.

The Aurora Driver https://aurora.tech will create a new era in mobility and logistics, one that will bring a safer, more efficient, and more accessible future to everyone.

At Aurora, you will tackle massively complex problems alongside other passionate, intelligent individuals, growing as an expert while expanding your knowledge. For the latest news from Aurora, visit aurora.tech http://aurora.tech or follow us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/auroradriver.

What we are looking for

Aurora hires talented people with diverse backgrounds who are ready to help build a transportation ecosystem that will make our roads safer, get crucial goods where they need to go, and make mobility more efficient and accessible for all.

We are seeking a ML Engineer to join the Behavior Planning Team. This is a high-impact role where you will sit at the frontier of autonomous vehicle technology. You won't just be applying AI and ML methods; you will be advancing the state-of-the-art for how a self-driving system reasons about the world, interacts with humans on the road, and masters complex, high-dimensional decision-making.

In this role you will

  • Define the architecture of our onboard planning models: Develop and deploy large-scale models trained with Imitation Learning and Reinforcement Learning that enable the Aurora Driver to navigate complex environments with human-like fluidity and superhuman safety.
  • Revolutionize evaluation: Develop powerful offboard critic models that can evaluate driving behavior at scale, identifying subtle nuances in comfort, progress, and safety that traditional heuristics miss.
  • Build our next-generation simulation engine: Architect cutting-edge offboard foundation models that power our simulation engine, creating realistic "world models" to test the Aurora Driver against an infinite variety of edge cases.
  • Bridge research and production: Reach new frontiers of autonomous driving technology by pushing forward the state-of-the-art, but also deploy your models on real production vehicles that drive on public roads and must meet the highest standards of safety.

Required qualifications

  • BS, MS, or PhD in Robotics, Machine Learning, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field, or equivalent practical experience.
  • 2+ years of experience developing state-of-the-art ML models, either in a research or production setting.
  • Hands-on experience working on Imitation Learning or Reinforcement Learning applied to physical or simulated agents.
  • Experience training large models on massive datasets using distributed computing.
  • Fluency in Python, with a focus on writing high-performance, maintainable code.
  • Deep experience with PyTorch (preferred) or another modern ML framework, and a mastery of modern ML architectures including Transformers and Diffusion Models.

Desirable qualifications

  • A track record of publications in top-tier ML conferences (NeurIPS, ICML, CoRL, CVPR, AAAI).
  • Experience deploying complex ML systems in production environments.
  • Experience in developing generative models or neural simulators for synthetic data generation.
  • Fluency with C++, with a focus on writing high-performance, safe, and maintainable code.

The base salary range for this position is $139,000 - $223,000 per Year. Aurora’s pay ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, the successful candidate’s starting base pay will be determined based on factors including job-related skills, experience, qualifications, relevant education or training, and market conditions. These ranges may be modified in the future. The successful candidate will also be eligible for an annual bonus, equity compensation, and benefits.

Working at Aurora

At Aurora, we bring together extraordinarily talented and experienced people united by the strength of our values. We operate with integrity, set outrageous goals, and build a culture where we win together — all without any jerks.

We believe in-person work increases collaboration, empathy, and our ability to lead effectively. As a result, Aurorans are expected to work from the office at least 3 days per week, with some roles requiring more frequent in-office presence, up to 5 days per week, based on operational needs.

Our Careers page https://aurora.tech/careers provides insight into what it is like to work at Aurora, and you can find all the latest updates in our Newsroom https://aurora.tech/newsroom.

Our commitment to safety

At the core of everything we do is our commitment to safety. Building best-in-class self-driving technology will take time, and we believe that each employee at Aurora has a role in contributing to safety, every step of the way. Aurora expects commitment to our safety policies from every employee, and seeks candidates who take an active responsibility, can contribute to building an atmosphere of trust, and invest in the organization’s long-term success by prioritizing working safely, no matter what.

Our commitment to inclusion

Aurora considers candidates without regard to their race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy status, parent or caregiver status, ancestry, political affiliation, veteran and/or military status, physical or mental disability, or any other status protected by federal or state law. Aurora considers qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local law. We are also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us at careersiteaccommodations@aurora.tech.

For California applicants, information collected and processed as part of your application and any job applications you choose to submit is subject to Aurora’s California Employment Privacy Policy.

Source: Aurora careers (Ashby)

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