Head of Perception (US)

Founded in 2016 in Silicon Valley, Pony.ai has quickly become a global leader in autonomous mobility and is a pioneer in extending autonomous mobility technologies and services at a rapidly expanding footprint of sites around the world. Operating Robotaxi, Robotruck and Personally Owned Vehicles (POV) business units, Pony.ai is an industry leader in the commercialization of autonomous driving and is committed to developing the safest autonomous driving capabilities on a global scale. Pony.ai’s leading position has been recognized, with CNBC ranking Pony.ai #10 on its CNBC Disruptor list of the 50 most innovative and disruptive tech companies of 2022. In June 2023, Pony.ai was recognized on the XPRIZE and Bessemer Venture Partners inaugural “XB100” 2023 list of the world’s top 100 private deep tech companies, ranking #12 globally. As of August 2023, Pony.ai has accumulated nearly 21 million miles of autonomous driving globally. Pony.ai went public at NASDAQ in Nov. 2024.

Responsibility

We are seeking a visionary and experienced Head of Perception to lead our US perception team. As the Head of Perception, you will be responsible for developing and implementing the next-generation perception system that enables our autonomous systems to understand and navigate their environment with precision and reliability. You will work closely with the planner team to accomplish the final end-to-end AI-based autonomous driving system.

• Push forward innovative AI techniques to solve extremely challenging real-world robotics problems that are deployed at large scale. 
• Manage the team with world-class deep learning engineers and software engineers, ensure each team member operates with excellence and achieves their objectives. 
• Drive both the short-term and long-term technical vision in a domain where long-term solutions are still evolving research challenges, continually advancing the state of the art of the autonomous driving system. 
• Develop and maintain strong collaborative relationships with peers across the entire company, foster a unified and synergistic environment that leverages cross-functional expertise to propel our autonomous systems forward.

Requirements

• Master’s or PhD Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, or related fields
• 5+ years of experience in deploying state-of-the-art computer vision or deep learning technologies to real-world applications.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as C++ or Python.
• Execution mindset and skills in a fast paced environment.
• Excellent technical leadership abilities.
• Passionate about AI technologies for real-world applications.

Preferred Experience

• Strong track record in designing org structures and growing people.
• Extensive experiences in the autonomous driving industry.
• Strong understanding of real-time systems and optimization techniques.
• Hands-on experience having deployed real products or platforms into the real world, and intimately understanding the challenges of working with complex systems

Compensation and Benefits

Base Salary Range: $245,000 - $350,000 Annually

Compensation may vary outside of this range depending on many factors, including the candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies, experience, and location. Base pay is one part of the Total Compensation and this role may be eligible for bonuses/incentives and restricted stock units.

Also, we provide the following benefits to the eligible employees:

• Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
• Retirement Plan (Traditional and Roth 401k)
• Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
• Paid Time Off (Vacation & Public Holidays)
• Family Leave (Maternity, Paternity)
• Short Term & Long Term Disability
• Free Food & Snacks

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