AV Test Engineer

About the role

Motional's Las Vegas office is located less than 10 miles from the Las Vegas strip at 730 E Pilot Road and is home to one of the largest fleets of self-driving vehicles. The city's grid system of roads and being one of America's "smart cities" allows for extensive research and development testing.

Mission Summary

The Autonomous Vehicle (AV) Test Engineering team is responsible for validating the safety, functionality, and performance of self-driving technology through rigorous, system-level testing. As a Systems Test Engineer, you will play a hands-on role in the end-to-end verification of AV features-spanning perception, planning, and control-across virtual, closed-course, and public road environments.

We are seeking a versatile engineer to contribute to test strategy, scenario creation, and infrastructure development. Whether your expertise lies in Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL), synthetic simulation, or physical track testing, you will help translate engineering requirements into comprehensive test plans and measurable outcomes. Your efforts will support iterative development, fault injection analysis, and safety-critical system evaluation to ensure every release meets the highest standards for quality and reliability.

Essential Duties

• Test Design & Execution: Design and execute test campaigns for self-driving features (perception, planning, and control) across virtual, synthetic, and physical environments.
• Multi-Modal Validation: Leverage Software-in-the-Loop (SIL), Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL), and scenario-based simulation platforms (e.g., Applied Intuition) for feature validation and regression testing.
• Simulation & Resimulation: Create synthetic and log-replay scenarios to support root-cause analysis and large-scale release validation.
• Track & Systems Integration: Perform mechatronic and systems integration testing, including closed-course test track validation and on-vehicle environments.
• Automation: Develop and maintain detailed test plans and automation scripts using Python and Bash/Shell.
• Data Analysis: Analyze logs and data to assess system behavior and conduct root-cause investigations, collaborating cross-functionally with perception, planning, hardware, and safety teams.
• Hardware Debugging: Conduct fault injection and low-level control testing using tools like CANalyzer or CANoe for subsystems such as drive-by-wire (DBW), braking, and steering.
• Compliance: Ensure testing practices align with industry standards such as ISO 26262, ISO 21448 (SOTIF), and ISO 9001.
• Collaboration: Document procedures and technical findings using tools like Confluence, Jira, and GitLab to ensure traceability.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree or higher in Engineering, Robotics, ECE, Computer Science, or a relevant technical field.
• Experience: 2+ years in software QA, systems testing, or mechatronic system validation, preferably within ADAS or autonomous systems.
• Technical Skills:
• Proficiency in Linux and programming/scripting languages such as Python, C++, or Bash/Shell.
• Experience writing and developing comprehensive test cases and test plans.
• Domain Expertise (One or more of the following):
• Virtual/Simulation: Proficiency with AV simulation platforms (e.g., Applied Intuition, IPG Carmaker, NVIDIA DRIVE Sim).
• HIL/Hardware: Hands-on experience with Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) environments and automotive communication protocols (CAN, LIN, Ethernet).
• Field/Track: Experience with track-based testing and mechatronic system integration.
• Problem Solving: Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot, debug, and think logically to remove bias from problem evaluation.
• Adaptability: Ability to operate effectively amid ambiguity and interpret evolving system requirements in a fast-paced environment.

Physical Demands

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit, talk, or hear.
• The employee is occasionally required to stand and at times for long periods; walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms.
• The employee must occasionally lift and move up to 50 pounds.

Working Environment

• While performing the duties of this job, the team member is regularly exposed to outside weather conditions, road conditions, and pedestrian traffic.
• The team member is regularly exposed to mechanical and computer parts.
• The team member is occasionally exposed to fumes and airborne particles.
• The noise level in the environment is low to moderate.

Pay and benefits

The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors including but not limited to specific skills, experience and expertise, role location, certifications, licenses, and business needs. The estimated compensation range listed in this job posting reflects base salary only. This role may include additional forms of compensation such as a bonus or company equity. The recruiter assigned to this role can share more information about the specific compensation and benefit details associated with this role during the hiring process.

Candidates for certain positions are eligible to participate in Motional's benefits program. Motional's benefits include but are not limited to medical, dental, vision, 401k with a company match, health saving accounts, life insurance, pet insurance, and more.

Salary Range $98,000 - $129,500 USD

Motional is a driverless technology company making autonomous vehicles a safe, reliable, and accessible reality. We're driven by something more.

Our journey is always people first.

We aren't just developing driverless cars; we're creating safer roadways, more equitable transportation options, and making our communities better places to live, work, and connect. Our team is made up of engineers, researchers, innovators, dreamers and doers, who are creating a technology with the potential to transform the way we move.

Higher purpose, greater impact.

We're creating first-of-its-kind technology that will transform transportation. To do so successfully, we must design for everyone in our cities and on our roads. We believe in building a great place to work through a progressive, global culture that is diverse, inclusive, and ensures people feel valued at every level of the organization. Diversity helps us to see the world differently; it's not only good for our business, it's the right thing to do.

Scale up, not starting up.

Our team is behind some of the industry's largest leaps forward, including the first fully-autonomous cross-country drive in the U.S, the launch of the world's first robotaxi pilot, and operation of the world's longest-standing public robotaxi fleet. We're driven to scale; we're moving towards commercialization of our technology, and we need team members who are ready to embrace change and challenges.

Formed as a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv, Motional is fundamentally changing how people move through their lives. Headquartered in Boston, Motional has operations in the U.S and Asia.