Principal Engineer, Autonomy

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Principal Engineer, Autonomy based in Canada.

This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of autonomous systems in a highly technical, real-world environment where innovation meets large-scale operational impact. As the senior-most individual contributor within the autonomy organization, you will define the technical direction of critical autonomy capabilities while collaborating closely with engineering leadership and cross-functional teams. Your expertise will influence the architecture, performance, and evolution of perception, prediction, planning, and system integration. This role is ideal for a hands-on technical leader who thrives on solving complex engineering challenges and turning cutting-edge research into reliable production systems. You'll work in a fast-paced, collaborative environment focused on delivering safe, scalable, and high-performance autonomous solutions with measurable real-world results.

Accountabilities:: As the Principal Engineer, Autonomy, you will provide technical leadership across the autonomy stack while maintaining deep ownership of one or more core domains. You will guide architectural decisions, influence engineering strategy, and ensure autonomous systems are robust, scalable, and production-ready.

Lead the technical vision and development of core autonomy functions, including perception, prediction, planning, or a combination of these domains.

Design and evolve perception systems covering object detection, classification, tracking, and multi-modal sensor fusion.

Develop advanced prediction models for intent inference, behavior forecasting, and complex edge-case handling.

Architect planning and decision-making systems capable of supporting safe and efficient autonomous operations in dynamic environments.

Define technical direction across module interfaces to ensure a cohesive, high-performing autonomy stack.

Own the functional software architecture of the autonomy platform while collaborating with adjacent engineering teams.

Evaluate and integrate deep learning techniques where they provide measurable performance improvements.

Drive production-quality software development with a strong focus on reliability, scalability, and real-world deployment.

Mentor senior engineers through technical leadership, code reviews, architectural guidance, and best practices without direct people management.

Translate ambiguous technical challenges into executable engineering plans and deliver production-ready solutions.

Requirements:

The ideal candidate is a highly experienced autonomy expert with exceptional technical depth, strong software engineering skills, and a proven history of delivering production autonomous systems. They combine strategic thinking with hands-on execution and thrive in solving complex engineering problems.

15+ years of hands-on experience developing production-grade autonomous systems.

Deep expertise across multiple autonomy domains, including perception, prediction, planning, localization, or controls.

Proven success delivering autonomy software deployed on real-world vehicles at meaningful scale.

Previous experience serving as the senior-most individual contributor within an autonomy engineering organization.

Expert-level knowledge in at least one core autonomy discipline, with strong understanding of adjacent systems.

Advanced programming skills in C++ and Python.

Strong knowledge of deep learning techniques for autonomous systems, including model training, deployment, evaluation, and lifecycle management.

Experience with ROS or ROS 2 and distributed computing environments for real-time autonomous systems.

Strong understanding of software architecture, system integration, and production engineering practices.

Excellent problem-solving, communication, and technical leadership skills.

Demonstrated ability to influence technical direction across teams without formal management responsibilities.

Experience with functional safety standards (such as ISO 26262, ISO 13849, SOTIF, or equivalent) is considered an asset.

Familiarity with simulation-driven testing, verification, and CI/CD pipelines for autonomy is preferred.

Experience operating autonomous systems in complex, human-interactive, or unstructured environments is highly desirable.

Benefits:

Opportunity to serve as the senior-most technical expert within the autonomy engineering organization.

High-impact role with direct influence over next-generation autonomous technology and product architecture.

Collaborative environment working alongside experienced engineering leaders and autonomy specialists.

Exposure to real-world commercial autonomous deployments with significant technical challenges.

Opportunity to work on cutting-edge AI, robotics, perception, prediction, and planning technologies.

Backing from a well-funded, high-growth technology environment focused on innovation.

Strong opportunities for technical ownership, professional growth, and long-term career impact.

How Jobgether works: We use an AI-powered matching process to ensure your application is reviewed quickly, objectively, and fairly against the role's core requirements. Our system identifies the top-fitting candidates, and this shortlist is then shared directly with the hiring company. The final decision and next steps (interviews, assessments) are managed by their internal team. We appreciate your interest and wish you the best!  Why Apply Through Jobgether?    Data Privacy Notice: By submitting your application, you acknowledge that Jobgether will process your personal data to evaluate your candidacy and share relevant information with the hiring employer. This processing is based on legitimate interest and pre-contractual measures under applicable data protection laws (including GDPR). You may exercise your rights (access, rectification, erasure, objection) at any time.     #LI-CL1