Director of Autonomy (South San Francisco, CA or Remote)

Founded in 2017, Phantom Auto is the only company capable of remotely monitoring, guiding, and driving vehicles from thousands of miles away. Our technology is like Zoom for the physical world, and our customers are bestowing that same remote work privilege on their employees that formerly had to be physically inside vehicles to operate them.

We are an energetic and passionate team on a mission to build the future of remote operation.

At Phantom, every day is a unique adventure as we work with the world’s leading automation companies. Because we work with global customers, we have the unique opportunity to work with many incredible vehicles and use cases.

As an early Phamily member, you will be instrumental in defining the foundations of our product and culture.

If you are determined to take on the world’s most complex challenges and help build an industry-defining company, this is the opportunity for you.

As the Director of Autonomy, you will lead the development of autonomous and semi-autonomous capabilities for Phantom’s industrial portfolio to support our existing customer base with their applications. In this role, you will be responsible for working closely with our customers to develop the autonomous roadmap, collaborating with technical leadership and ultimately delivering robust solutions that address our customers highest priority needs.

These solutions are solved through the application of contextually relevant process and practice, the use of tools and technology and by applying soft skills such as effective communication and mentoring both team leaders and engineers. Focus will be supporting our customers design, implementation, use and enablement of the autonomous solution.

The ideal candidate will be an expert who has overseen the development of either a complete system or components from the R&D phase through product shipment and has a passion for developing real-world solutions.

Responsibilities:

• Responsible for the overall planning, execution, and success of Phantoms Autonomy strategy
• Provide the team with technical, tactical and strategic leadership
• Hire the best and grow superstars from within.
• Deeply collaborate with software, hardware, Product and integration teams
• Work directly with customers to support their development of autonomous solutions
• Design, implement and validate geometric and learning-based algorithms to support robust and scalable localization, mapping and presence and their necessary tools and metrics
• Lead the design, prototyping, engineering, validation and implementation of the autonomous roadmap
• Research and suggest perception SW, sensor fusion, localization, motion planning and control, as well as software architecture and data engineering for level 2/3/4 autonomous systems
• Collaborate closely with engineering teams across the company to refine product requirements and interfaces
• Work closely with suppliers and other teams to achieve a seamless and robust vehicle implementation

Requirements

• Ph.D. or MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, or other related fields or combination of related education and experience
• 5 years of management experience, preferably in the self-driving industry, with a minimum 10 FTE’s
• Deep expertise in one of the following fields and excellent knowledge in others: sensor fusion, probabilistic perception, object tracking, computer vision, deep learning or advanced driver assistance systems, and artificial intelligence
• Demonstrated track record of impeccable judgment and highly effective action in the context of a multi-faceted and dynamic external environment
• Adept at communicating complex issues in a convincing manner to a variety of audiences, occasionally in public settings, both written and verbal
• Excellent interpersonal skills, along with exceptional written and verbal communication ability
• Proficiency using Jira, Google Suite, Gitlab, Jfrog, C++, Python, Javascript, etc.
• Location: Position is either local to South San Francisco or can also be remote. If remote, roughly 50% travel is required.

Personal Traits:

• Self-starter: We are looking for people to take initiative and take command as needed.
• Resourceful: You are able to leverage a mix of open source and previous experience to optimize for speed and safety. You find novel ways of approaching problems to work within constraints.
• Collaborator: In this role, you will work closely with customers and internal partners. You identify win-win situations and leave a trail of fans behind you.
• Organizer: You will build both the team and the solution from scratch. You are comfortable taking business goals and translating them into roadmaps, and further down into project plans. You manage your stakeholders but you are not afraid to make bets and project into the future.
• Positivity: You understand that sometimes it rains, sometimes it snows. You inject energy into your team, and you keep spirits high even when faced with setbacks. You learn from mistakes, but you know they are a part of life. If life was easy, you’d be bored!

Benefits

● Be part of an early start-up that's backed by industry-leading venture capitalists

● Competitive compensation package with early-stage equity at a high-growth startup

● Exceptional benefits: Employer-provided Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance (99.9% covered)

● Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

● Health Savings Account (HSA)

● Short term / long term disability and life insurance

● Unlimited PTO

● 401K Retirement Plan

● Paid Holidays

● Healthy Work / Life Balance

● Company-sponsored events

● Pet-friendly workplace

● Free weekday lunches

● Employee Referral Program

● Work with a team of ‘rockstars’ who bring out the best in everyone

● Incredible career growth potential

Important COVID-19 Guidance (For candidates applying to roles in the United States):

Per Phantom Auto’s policy all employees who work at the office, have a hybrid schedule or visit the Phantom Auto office in person must be fully vaccinated.

A Final Note

You do not need to match every listed expectation to apply for this position. Here at Phantom Auto, we know that diverse perspectives foster the innovation we need to be successful, and we are committed to building a team that encompasses a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and skills.