Senior AI & AV Safety Researcher

Job Description

Remote: This role is categorized as remote. This means the successful candidate may be based anywhere in the United States and is not expected to report to a GM worksite unless directed by their manager.

The Role

The Safety Assurance for Effective Autonomous Driving Software team at General Motors is seeking a Senior Systems and Safety Engineer with strong data analysis and modeling expertise to support the development, validation, and compliance of autonomous vehicle (AV) software systems. The Safety Assurance for Effective Autonomous Driving Software (SAFE-ADS) department is part of the Global Product Safety, System, and Certification (GPSSC) organization at GM.  The SAFE-ADS department serves as the central body for automated driving system (ADS) safety. GM’s vision is zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion – AV safety is at the heart of driving forward this vision.

This role plays a critical part in shaping GM’s safety assurance strategies by leveraging statistical insights, collision dynamics modeling, safety and compliance metrics defining and development and counterfactual driver behavior analysis. The ideal candidate will possess deep technical expertise in traffic safety, risk modeling, and AV system performance, and will help define measurable safety goals in alignment with regulatory expectations and internal safety policies.

What You’ll Do

• Define and refine safety and traffic compliance metrics for AV software based on data-driven insights.

• Lead the development of counterfactual driver behavior models to simulate alternative outcomes in near-miss or intervention scenarios.

• Analyze large-scale real-world and simulation datasets (e.g., SHRP2, GM fleet data) to identify leading indicators of risk, unsafe behaviors, or non-compliance events.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (system architects, ML engineers, safety operators) to ensure that AV behavior aligns with established safety goals and compliance thresholds.

• Model collision scenarios and dynamics to assess severity, avoidability, and control system response.

• Translate statistical findings into actionable safety recommendations for engineering and policy teams.

• Contribute to safety case development and internal documentation supporting AV software releases.

• Support alignment with internal and external standards (e.g., ISO 26262, UL 4600, NHTSA safety frameworks, GM Safety Process).

This job is not eligible for relocation benefits. Any relocation costs would be the responsibility of the selected candidate.

Additional Job Description

Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications)

• M.S. or Ph.D. in Systems Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Applied Statistics, Robotics, or a related field.

• 5+ years of experience in safety systems, AV development, or traffic safety analysis.

• Demonstrated expertise in data analysis, statistical modeling, and machine learning applied to safety-critical systems.

• Deep understanding of AV safety principles, traffic law compliance, and behavioral modeling.

• Proficiency with Python and data analysis tools (e.g., NumPy, pandas, scikit-learn, SQL, Databricks).

• Experience with counterfactual reasoning or driver modeling frameworks.

• Familiarity with real-world driving datasets (e.g., SHRP2, crashdatabases).

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to present complex data clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.

What Will Give You a Competitive Edge (Preferred Qualifications)

• Experience with AV simulation platforms (e.g., Carla, Apollo, NVIDIA DRIVE Sim).

• Familiarity with Functional Safety (ISO 26262), SOTIF (ISO 21448), UL 4600.

• Prior involvement in regulatory safety reporting (e.g., NHTSA’s Standing General Order (SGO), state reporting, consent order, etc.)

• Knowledge of crash reconstruction, accident severity modeling, or surrogate safety metrics.

Compensation:

• The expected base compensation for this role is $130,800- $200,400USD Annually

• Actual base compensation within the identified range will vary based on factors relevant to the position

• Bonus Potential: An incentive pay program offers payouts based on company performance, job level, and individual performance

Benefits:

GM offers a variety of health and wellbeing benefit programs. Benefit options include medical, dental, vision, Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Accounts, retirement savings plan, sickness and accident benefits, life i