Staff Vehicle Attributes Engineer

About the role

At Zoox, we are redefining mobility by building an autonomous ride-sharing experience that is safe, efficient, and unlike anything on the road today. The Staff Vehicle Attributes Engineer owns the end-to-end definition, validation, and traceability of the Zoox vehicle attributes that define the passenger experience. You will own the attribute strategy and roadmap for the platform, ensuring alignment between vehicle capabilities, system architecture, and service objectives. This role requires deep collaboration with robotics, controls, and vehicle engineering to translate abstract experience goals into precise, testable vehicle specifications. You will be responsible for resolving cross-functional trade-offs by analyzing complex interactions between hardware, software, and service constraints. As the outward-facing representative for Vehicle Integration, you will communicate vehicle status, risks, and decisions to senior leadership and inter-departmental stakeholders with clarity and conviction. You will drive the critical decisions that shape how the vehicle feels, performs, and scales from prototype to service fleet. In this position, you will ensure that every vehicle meets the highest possible standards for performance, comfort, and safety, bridging the gap between complex technical constraints and an uncompromising passenger experience.

Key facts

What you'll do

Lead the definition and governance of core vehicle attributes, establishing measurable targets and acceptable ranges that balance performance, cost, and risk.

Champion the translation of high-level service and experience goals into specific vehicle and system attribute requirements with clear acceptance criteria.

Own the attribute traceability strategy, ensuring alignment from service intent through system architecture, vehicle design, and verification activities.

Drive cross-functional trade-off analysis by coordinating with controls, robotics, vehicle engineering, and operations to resolve critical issues impacting vehicle behavior and performance.

Represent Vehicle Integration in high-stakes program reviews, communicating vehicle status, risks, and decisions to inter-departmental customers and leadership.

Define and own the validation and verification strategy for vehicle attributes, ensuring test plans, scenarios, and metrics comprehensively cover the operational design domain.

Establish and maintain the attribute roadmap, anticipating future service needs and platform evolution to guide vehicle development cycles.

Analyze operational data and simulation results to refine attribute targets, identify edge cases, and support iterative improvements to the vehicle experience.

Partner with operations and service teams to ensure vehicle attributes support reliability, maintainability, and fleet efficiency objectives.

Lead the documentation of vehicle assumptions, constraints, and decisions to ensure clarity and continuity across the organization.

Develop and maintain rigorous analytical models that predict vehicle performance across scenarios, supporting early-stage decision-making and risk mitigation.

Act as the central point for attribute-related decisions, escalating when necessary and ensuring alignment across teams and timelines.

Promote a culture of rigorous analysis, clear communication, and shared ownership of the Zoox vehicle experience across engineering and partner organizations.

Ensure that all vehicle attributes are designed with traceability to safety goals, service requirements, and regulatory expectations from concept through deployment.

Requirements

You hold a Bachelor's degree in a relevant technical field or have equivalent practical experience.

You possess deep experience in defining, analyzing, and validating complex vehicle or system-level attributes and requirements.

You are comfortable working with both qualitative expectations and quantitative targets in a highly technical environment.

You have a strong understanding of how vehicle design decisions impact passenger experience, safety, and operational performance.

You are experienced in collaborating with cross-functional teams, including robotics, controls, software, and vehicle engineering.

You have a proven track record of driving critical decisions and resolving complex trade-offs in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment.

You are comfortable using data and analysis to challenge assumptions and refine requirements throughout the development lifecycle.

You communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences, translating complex concepts into clear, actionable information.

You are highly organized, able to manage multiple priorities, and comfortable operating in a dynamic, rapidly evolving startup environment.

Nice to have

Experience with autonomous vehicle programs or advanced mobility services.

Background in robotics, controls, or vehicle systems engineering.

Experience with safety-critical systems and functional safety processes.

Familiarity with regulatory considerations for autonomous vehicles.

Practical notes

This is a full-time position based in Banbury, UK.

Candidates must be eligible to work in the UK without sponsorship.

The position is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

Relocation is not sponsored by the company.