Map Annotation Specialist for Annotation and Labeling, Enterprise AI

Woven by Toyota is enabling Toyota’s once-in-a-century transformation into a mobility company. Inspired by a legacy of innovating for the benefit of others, our mission is to challenge the current state of mobility through human-centric innovation — expanding what “mobility” means and how it serves society.
Our work centers on four pillars: AD/ADAS, our autonomous driving and advanced driver assist technologies; Arene, our software development platform for software-defined vehicles; Woven City, a test course for mobility; and Cloud & AI, the digital infrastructure powering our collaborative foundation. Business-critical functions empower these teams to execute, and together, we’re working toward one bold goal: a world with zero accidents and enhanced well-being for all.
TEAMThe Enterprise AI team is dedicated to empowering Toyota and its affiliates with a robust platform for AI innovation. Our mission is to provide a comprehensive, end-to-end machine learning ecosystem that propels the development of groundbreaking projects, such as autonomous driving, within the Toyota Group. As a standardized machine learning platform under Woven by Toyota, we aim to streamline every facet of AI development, from training and inference to MLOps, thereby enhancing the safety, convenience, and autonomy of Toyota vehicles.
The Map Annotation Specialist is a critical cross-functional role responsible for managing data annotation workflows, overseeing vendor operations, leading quality assurance for mapping datasets, and driving project execution across engineering, product, and external teams. This role ensures the consistent delivery of accurate, road-worthy map data for autonomous vehicle development through scalable workflows, process refinement, and strategic project leadership.
RESPONSIBILITIES

Project & Program Management

• Define project scope and manage timelines for annotation initiatives with input from product and engineering stakeholders.
• Coordinate efforts across internal teams and external vendors across global time zones.
• Standardize communication processes and provide regular updates on risks, status, and progress.
• Proactively identify project risks and blockers, escalating and resolving issues through cross-functional collaboration.
• Manage contracts and ensure vendor SLAs and operational KPIs are consistently met.

Annotation Quality Assurance & Workflow Development

• Design and maintain labeling workflows for 2D/3D annotation tasks, including HD maps and specialized experimental features.
• Serve as the quality lead for annotation work, performing QA reviews, peer audits, and in-vehicle validation assessments.
• Collaborate with engineering and ML teams to troubleshoot bugs, improve tooling (e.g., map editors), and implement quality improvements.
• Provide timely and actionable QA feedback to vendors and internal teams.
• Perform direct annotation on complex or time-sensitive features as needed.

Training, Documentation & Vendor Enablement

• Create and manage scalable training materials for both internal team members and external vendors.
• Lead onboarding, documentation, and training efforts to ensure consistency, accuracy, and ramp-up efficiency.
• Maintain and improve Confluence knowledge bases, documentation standards, and instructional templates.
• Mentor junior team members and co-leads on best practices for training, vendor relationships, and documentation quality.

Cross-functional Support & Process Improvement

• Partner with engineering, product, and ML teams to define future labeling requirements and tooling needs.
• Conduct industry and product research to support annotation design, validation checks, and future feature scoping.
• Lead retrospectives and documentation review sessions to improve workflows and maintain operational excellence.
• Contribute to roadmap planning through operational input, tooling feedback, and annotation capacity estimates.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience.
• 4+ years in map annotation, data labeling, QA, or project/operations management.
• Experience managing vendor teams, defining QA standards, and executing training programs.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills across technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Familiarity with 2D/3D annotation tools, GIS systems, or autonomous vehicle mapping.
• Experience with JIRA, Confluence, and cloud collaboration tools.
• Bonus: working knowledge of Python, SQL, git, and AWS environments.

For positions based in Palo Alto, CA, the base pay for this position ranges from $59,500- $97,750 a year
Your base salary is one part of your total compensation. We offer a base salary, short term and long term incentives, and a comprehensive benefits package. The total compensation offered to an employee will be dependent upon the individual's skills, experience, qualifications, location, and level.
WHAT WE OFFERWe are committed to creating a modern work environment that supports our employees and their loved ones. We offer many options of the best programs to allow you to do your most meaningful work and to help you shape the future of mobility.・Excellent health, wellness, dental, and vision coverage・A rewarding 401k program・Flexible vacation policy・Family planning and care benefits
Our Commitment・We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity.・Any information we receive from you will be used only in the hiring and onboarding process. Please see our privacy notice for more details.