We are seeking a Senior Data Scientist to join our Perception Verification and Validation team. The team is responsible for verifying and validating the perception stack of our autonomous driving system by building the metrics, datasets, and analyses that tell us how perception performance translates into driving behavior. As a senior member of the team, you will own the evaluation strategy for major perception capabilities from start to finish, partnering with perception and ML engineers, systems and safety engineers, and autonomy leadership to decide what to measure, how to measure it with statistical rigor, and what the results mean for release decisions.
Your work will directly shape how Zoox safely and efficiently ships perception improvements to our fleet, connecting model-level performance to end-to-end system behavior. You will also help raise the bar for the team by mentoring other data scientists and setting technical direction for how we validate perception.
Lead the design of metrics and evaluation frameworks for new perception capabilities, partnering with perception engineers early in model development to define what "ready to ship" means and how it connects to end-to-end driving behavior.
Drive cross-team validation projects, bringing together perception, systems, safety, and autonomy stakeholders to build consensus on metrics, evaluation datasets, and release criteria.
Develop rigorous statistical methods for uncertainty quantification, error estimation, and error propagation (frequentist, bootstrap, and Bayesian) so teams know when changes in performance are real.
Build evaluation datasets and analyze large-scale, highly geospatial fleet and simulation data to uncover perception failure modes, then turn findings into clear recommendations for engineering and executive leadership.
Mentor and guide a small group of data scientists by defining tasks, reviewing their work, and raising the team's technical bar.
Requirements:
Master's degree with 7+ years of experience, or PhD with 3+ years of experience, in data science, applied science, or a related quantitative role (Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related field).
Expert proficiency with SQL and/or Spark (PySpark or Scala) and Python, with a track record of building production-quality analyses and pipelines on large-scale (terabyte+) distributed data.
Deep expertise in statistical modeling, inference, and decision making, including uncertainty quantification, and a history of connecting point and uncertainty estimates to high-stakes decisions.
Experience designing metrics and validating ML models, such as computer vision, sensor-based, or perception models, including discovering and measuring failure modes.
Demonstrated track record of leading technical projects across teams, mentoring other data scientists or engineers, and presenting results and recommendations to senior leadership.
Bonus Qualifications:
Experience with autonomous driving, robotics, or other safety-critical systems, including system-level verification and validation or simulation.
Experience analyzing geospatial data and/or working with embeddings (e.g., similarity search, representation learning).
Skilled at using AI tools to improve development efficiency and quality.
There are three major components to compensation for this position: salary, Amazon Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), and Zoox Stock Appreciation Rights. A sign-on bonus may be offered as part of the compensation package. The listed range applies only to the base salary. Compensation will vary based on geographic location and level. Leveling, as well as positioning within a level, is determined by a range of factors, including, but not limited to, a candidate's relevant years of experience, domain knowledge, and interview performance. The salary range listed in this posting is representative of the range of levels Zoox is considering for this position.
Zoox also offers a comprehensive package of benefits, including paid time off (e.g. sick leave, vacation, bereavement), unpaid time off, Zoox Stock Appreciation Rights, Amazon RSUs, health insurance, long-term care insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance, and life insurance.
Skills Required
- Master’s degree with 7+ years of experience, or PhD with 3+ years of experience, in data science, applied science, statistics, mathematics, computer science, or a related quantitative field
- Expert proficiency with SQL and/or Spark, including PySpark or Scala, and Python
- Experience building production-quality analyses and pipelines on terabyte-scale distributed data
- Deep expertise in statistical modeling, inference, decision-making, and uncertainty quantification
- Experience designing metrics and validating machine learning models, including identifying and measuring failure modes
- Track record leading technical projects across teams, mentoring data scientists or engineers, and presenting recommendations to senior leadership
- Experience with autonomous driving, robotics, safety-critical systems, system-level verification and validation, or simulation
- Experience analyzing geospatial data or working with embeddings, similarity search, or representation learning
- Skill using AI tools to improve development efficiency and quality
Zoox Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Zoox and has not been reviewed or approved by Zoox.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare is extensive, with broad medical and vision options, company‑paid disability coverage, and multiple mental‑health resources. Feedback suggests coverage breadth and auxiliary programs support a wide range of needs.
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Parental & Family Support — Family supports include paid parental leave, additional pregnancy disability time, fertility coverage, and adoption/surrogacy assistance. Backup care and family‑oriented programs further reinforce support across life stages.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Day‑to‑day perks are robust, including free daily meals, fitness subsidies, commuter support, and on‑site amenities. Feedback suggests these lifestyle benefits enhance convenience and workplace experience, especially for office‑based roles.
Zoox Insights
What We Do
Zoox is an autonomous mobility company that was founded to provide a safer, cleaner, and more enjoyable future on the road. To achieve that goal, the company has spent the past 10 years creating a purpose-built robotaxi that gives the world a better way to ride.
Why Work With Us
At Zoox, we are working to solve one of the greatest technological challenges of our generation. From the beginning, we have been focused on our goal of reimagining transportation from the ground up. We are a mission-driven community of innovators working together to create a safer, cleaner, and more enjoyable future on the road.
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