Vehicle Validation Engineer

The Role

As a Vehicle Validation Engineer at Wayve, you’ll play a key role in enabling the real-world deployment of our end-to-end AI driving systems. You’ll ensure our vehicles are ready for testing and that test activities deliver high-quality, reliable data to accelerate development.

Joining at an early stage, you’ll help shape how we test and operate autonomous vehicles at scale—developing validation approaches, improving systems, and working closely with engineering, product, and operations teams to push the boundaries of what’s possible.

Beyond test execution, you’ll contribute to how vehicle performance is evaluated and communicated, helping provide meaningful feedback on system behaviour, performance gaps, and real-world driving quality from a customer perspective.

Key responsibilities:

• Plan and execute vehicle tests to support development, validation, benchmarking, and real-world deployment.

• Develop and improve vehicle validation test concepts to evaluate system performance across a range of real-world scenarios.

• Work closely with engineering, product, and operations teams to translate testing needs into effective test activities.

• Ensure vehicles are prepared, maintained, and consistently ready for safe and efficient testing.

• Deliver high-quality test data, performance reporting, and actionable insights to support rapid iteration and decision-making.

• Provide detailed feedback on vehicle behaviour, driving performance, and system gaps from both technical and customer perspectives.

• Conduct benchmarking activities to evaluate system performance and track progress over time.

• Develop and improve testing processes, documentation, and operational best practices as the team scales.

• Manage relationships with external suppliers and service partners.

About you

You’re a hands-on engineer who thrives in fast-moving environments and enjoys working at the intersection of hardware, software, and real-world systems. You take ownership, focus on outcomes, and look for ways to continuously improve how things are done.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Experience with CANalyzer, CANoe, or similar tools for vehicle diagnostics, along with vehicle instrumentation and data logging tools (e.g. Vector, ETAS, Racelogic).

• Experience executing structured vehicle tests in proving ground and/or real-world environments.

• Comfortable working across Linux, Windows, and SSH-based environments.

• Ability to interpret technical requirements and translate them into clear test cases and validation plans.

• Strong communication skills, with the ability to work effectively across engineering, product, and operations teams.

• Proactive, hands-on approach with a focus on improving processes, tools, and ways of working.

• Understanding of safe testing practices and risk assessments in safety-critical environments.

• Ability to analyse test data and deliver clear, actionable insights to engineering teams.

Desirable Skills & Experience

• Experience working with autonomous vehicle or ADAS systems.

• Familiarity with scripting or data tools (e.g. Python, MATLAB) for analysis or automation.

• Understanding of vehicle networks (CAN, LIN, Ethernet) and diagnostic protocols.

• Exposure to simulation or test environments (e.g. HiL, SiL).

• Awareness of automotive safety standards or regulatory frameworks (e.g. ISO 26262).

This role is a full-time role based in Sunnyvale, CA (hybrid) and the reasonably estimated salary for this role ranges from $122,900 to $163,800, plus a competitive equity package. Actual compensation is based on the candidate's skills, qualifications, and experience. 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.