Principal Engineer, System Performance Analytics

About Motional Motional is an autonomous vehicle technology company on a mission to make driverless vehicles a safe, reliable, and accessible reality. The company formed in 2020 and is majority-owned by Hyundai Motor Group, one of the world’s largest vehicle manufacturers. Motional has extensive experience in commercial robotaxi operations, with service currently available on the Uber network in Las Vegas and plans for driverless operations by the end of 2026. Headquartered in Boston, Motional has operations in the U.S. and Singapore. To explore our current openings, please visit our careers page at motional.com/careers. Please be alert for job recruitment scams, including fraudulent job postings, offers, and communications by individuals or entities purporting to be affiliated with Motional. All of our third party job postings link back to our motional.com/careers page. Need assistance? If you have questions or want to report suspicious activity, send us a direct message - we’re here to help.

Motional

We're making driverless vehicles a safe, reliable, and accessible reality.

autonomous vehiclesroboticsartificial intelligencemachine learningself-drivingride hailautonomyautomationsoftwareengineering

M

motional.com

501-1,000 employees

Software Development

Boston, Massachusetts

2020

Privately Held

79k LinkedIn followers

• Motional is a leading autonomous driving company on a mission to make driverless
• vehicles a safe, reliable, and accessible reality. Backed by Hyundai Motor
• Group, Motional is at the forefront of the physical AI revolution. Motional
• isn’t just building first-of-its-kind technology; we are transforming
• transportation to create safer streets and more sustainable mobility options.
• The Systems Readiness and Performance team is the crucial bridge between
• software development and real-world deployment. We are responsible for driving
• system design, for verifying and validating the autonomy stack, and for
• defining, measuring, and validating system performance targets. We work closely
• with stakeholders in autonomy, infrastructure, and operations to build the
• definitive safety case for the commercial launch of our fully driverless IONIQ 5
• robotaxis in Las Vegas later this year.
• We are seeking a Principal Engineer to own and elevate the autonomous vehicle
• performance executive reporting for our organization. As a critical leader
• within the team, you will be the definitive voice translating complex robotics
• data, autonomy insights, and system performance metrics into compelling,
• strategic narratives for Motional's highest-level stakeholders.
• While you will take immediate ownership of our critical weekly Software
• Performance Review (SPR) presented to leadership (including the CEO), your
• mandate extends far more broadly. You will architect the broader executive
• reporting ecosystem, commercial readiness reviews, and long-term autonomy trend
• analyses. Furthermore, you will serve as a force multiplier, mentoring junior
• engineers to elevate the data visualization and storytelling culture across the
• entire team. This role requires a unique hybrid professional: someone who deeply
• understands robotics and the autonomous vehicle (AV) problem space, but can
• synthesize that complexity into high-level strategy.
• Strategic Data Synthesis: Analyze complex autonomous vehicle data pipelines
• encompassing heuristic extraction, diagnostic evaluations, and ETL-driven AV
• performance data analysis and visualization to extract the core "story" the
• data is telling.
• Executive Reporting Ownership: Establish the analytical "rhythm of business"
• by leading the weekly Software Performance Review (SPR) and owning all
• leadership AV performance reporting, continuously calibrating metrics to
• align with executive goals and directly answer the strategic questions needed
• to drive the business forward.
• Cross-Functional Alignment: Partner seamlessly with internal team leads
• across Heuristic Extractors, Reasoning Engine & Infrastructure, Diagnosis &
• Reporting, and Data & Metrics Analysis to unify disparate data streams into a
• single, cohesive release narrative.
• Mentorship & Team Elevation: Serve as the strategic anchor for the team,
• mentoring junior engineers. Establish best practices in data visualization,
• chart design, and executive communication.
• Reporting Automation & AI Tooling: Architect and deploy automated, zero-touch
• reporting pipelines utilizing modern AI workflows (e.g., Cursor IDE) and
• integration frameworks like Model Context Protocol (MCP). Directly connect AV
• performance databases to programmatic presentation tools (e.g., Google Slides
• API) to auto-generate weekly reporting decks and eliminate manual reporting
• overhead.

Required

• 8+ years of experience bridging business intelligence, data science, and
• strategic reporting within a highly complex technical field (Autonomous
• Vehicles, Robotics, Aerospace).
• Master’s degree in Business Analytics, Data Intelligence, Robotics, or an MBA
• combined with a remarkably strong technical foundation in engineering problem
• spaces.
• Executive Presence: You possess superb communication skills and can command a
• room. You are experienced in leading executive presentations and
• high-visibility reviews with polish and professionalism.
• Analytical & Influential: You can use data to build a compelling Point of
• View (POV) that influences internal stakeholders and drives actionable
• engineering decisions.
• Strategic & Operational Balance: You can synthesize the long-term system
• maturity vision while also diving deep into the details of specific software
• release anomalies.
• Strong foundational understanding of robotics systems, data architectures,
• and the unique problem space of autonomous vehicle performance, perception,
• and prediction validation.
• The Art of Data Visualization: Treat data visualization as a strategic art
• form. Exercise expert judgment in knowing exactly what type of chart, graph,
• or visual framework to use, where to place it, and how to design it to
• instantly translate dense engineering outputs into clear, executive-level
• insights.
• AI-Assisted Development: Familiarity with modern AI agent workflows and IDEs
• (e.g., Cursor, GitHub Copilot) and an understanding of how to leverage API
• protocols (such as MCP) to connect disparate SaaS tools and databases
• securely.

Preferred

• deep-tech, AI, robotics, or automotive sectors.
• Direct experience reporting on software readiness, simulation performance
• (e.g., Software/Hardware-in-the-Loop), and safety metrics for autonomous
• systems.
• Proven track record of replacing entirely manual presentation-building
• processes with scalable, code-driven slide generation scripts.
• Successful overhaul and seamless weekly delivery of the Software Performance
• Review (SPR), resulting in immediate clarity and strategic alignment for the
• CEO.
• Establishment of a unified data storytelling framework that elevates the
• entire System Performance Organization's reporting quality and visualization
• standards.
• Demonstrated growth and elevated output from mentored junior BABI engineers.
• The work environment characteristics described here represent those a team
• member encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.
• We encourage a hybrid schedule with in-office time at one of our locations in
• Boston, Pittsburgh, or Las Vegas to support collaboration, or this role can be
• fully remote.
• 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.

• 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. For more information,
• visit  www.Motional.com
• [https://www.linkedin.com/company/67123512/], Instagram
• [https://www.instagram.com/motionaldrive/] and YouTube
• Motional AD Inc. is an EOE. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating
• an inclusive environment for all employees. To comply with Federal Law, we