Full-Time
Staff Machine Learning Engineer
Emergency Trajectory Models
Updated on 9/3/2026
Wayve
1,001-5,000 employees
Embodied AI autonomous driving software.
Compensation Overview
$336.4k - $370.3k/yr
Sunnyvale, CA, USA
Hybrid
Hybrid working policy combines time in the Sunnyvale office with working from home.
 AI & Machine Learning (1) |
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- A track record of staff-level technical leadership, including setting direction for ambiguous machine learning programmes, aligning multiple teams, and carrying work from research through production deployment.
- Deep expertise developing learned trajectory-generation or policy models for embodied systems, including architecture design, objective design, training, and empirical validation.
- Hands-on experience with behaviour cloning, reinforcement learning, or related methods, including objective design, distribution shift, robustness, and closed-loop failure analysis.
- Strong machine learning engineering skills in Python and PyTorch, with experience building reproducible training and evaluation systems on large, heterogeneous datasets.
- Exceptional technical judgement and communication, including the ability to make safety-relevant trade-offs explicit, define the evidence needed for decisions, and lead without relying on formal authority.
- Set the technical strategy and roadmap for the emergency trajectory model, including its behavioral scope, operating envelope, system interfaces, and measurable acceptance criteria.
- Design and train trajectory-generating policies using behaviour cloning, reinforcement learning, or other sequential decision-making approaches.
- Build a data strategy for rare emergency cases by combining fleet data, targeted mining, simulation, augmentation, and reweighting while controlling coverage gaps and unintended behavior.
- Create rigorous open-loop and closed-loop evaluations for collision avoidance, evasive steering, emergency braking, recovery, robustness, latency, and regressions in nominal driving.
- Lead integration into the shared driving stack, align technical decisions across teams, and raise the bar through architecture reviews, mentoring, and clear communication of risks, trade-offs, and evidence.
- Experience applying learned models in autonomous driving or robotics, with strong understanding of motion planning, vehicle dynamics, control, or collision avoidance.
- Experience with specialist, fallback, redundant, mixture-of-experts, or model-routing architectures and the interfaces used to select between them.
- Experience mining, generating, or evaluating rare events using simulation and fleet or real-world data.
- Experience deploying learned policies under real-time latency, reliability, and compute constraints; proficiency in C++, CUDA, or systems optimisation.
- Experience with multimodal, transformer-based, diffusion-based, or other generative trajectory or policy models.
Wayve.ai builds autonomous driving technology, focusing on AV2.0. Its main offering is embodied AI software that lets vehicles learn from experience and adapt to new environments using end-to-end deep learning, without relying on explicit programming, HD maps, or complex robotic stacks. The product works by training a neural system that drives from sensor inputs to control outputs, enabling driving behavior to improve through real-world data and interactions instead of hand-engineered rules. Compared with traditional self-driving stacks that depend on heavy mappings and modular software, Wayve.ai aims to be lean and scalable, reducing cost and enabling faster deployment for automakers and fleet operators. Its goal is to enable safer, more sustainable mobility and to bring driving automation to scale through commercially viable partnerships with automotive manufacturers and delivery fleets.
Company Size
1,001-5,000
Company Stage
Series D
Total Funding
$2.6B
Headquarters
London, United Kingdom
Founded
2017
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Uber launched supervised Wayve robotaxis in London on September 3, 2026.
- Wayve raised $1.5 billion in 2026, including $60 million from AMD, Arm, Qualcomm.
- Wayve plans Tokyo trials and Nissan deployment by March 2028.
What critics are saying
- London service still requires safety drivers; full driverless approval has not begun.
- Reuters on July 1, 2026 said Nissan still assesses Wayve’s safety approach.
- If Wayve cannot prove scalable safety, its $8.6 billion story collapses.
What makes Wayve unique
- Wayve’s end-to-end, mapless AI Driver runs on raw cameras and radar alone.
- Uber, Stellantis, and Nissan back Wayve’s platform, signaling ecosystem-scale distribution.
- TfL licensed Wayve vehicles for London rides on August 5, 2026.
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Hybrid Work Options
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6 month growth
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↑ 2%2 year growth
↑ 1%Robotaxis hit London streets, but with driver on board. Uber and British start-up Wayve launched their commercial robotaxi service in London on September 3, 2026, ahead of rivals Waymo, owned by Google-parent Alphabet, and China's Baidu, which has partnered with Lyft. - Picture from Instagram/wavyeai * Uber and British start-up Wayve have launched a commercial robotaxi service in London, marking the first such service in the city, with human supervisors present behind the wheel for safety. * The phased rollout begins with a limited number of vehicles, while fully autonomous operations remain pending regulatory approval. * This service positions Wayve ahead of rivals like Waymo and Baidu in London, as plans for expansion to Tokyo and other cities are in development. * Currently, safety authorization permits 15 supervised vehicles, with fares aligning with regular Uber rides. First Published: Thursday, 03 Sep 2026 11:57 AM MYT LONDON, Sept 3 - Uber and British start-up Wayve launched their commercial robotaxi service in London on Thursday, although passengers will still have a human supervisor behind the wheel. 'It's going to be a phased deployment, so we're going to start off small,' Wendy Lee, head of product at Uber, told AFP, adding that the number of vehicles will be 'in the order of dozens to start'. The rollout makes Wayve the first company to launch a robotaxi service to the public in London, ahead of rivals Waymo, owned by Google-parent Alphabet, and China's Baidu, which has partnered with Lyft. Autonomous taxis are already operating in the United States and China, but London is only the second city in Europe to have them, after Zagreb, where Croatian company Verne operates the service using technology from China's Pony.ai, with a supervisor on board for safety. During a demonstration in London for AFP on Tuesday, an operator briefly took back control of the vehicle at an intersection near Big Ben. 'This is exactly why we start with safety operators behind the wheel. It's to ensure that people are safe when they're driving,' said Kaity Fischer, head of business development at Wayve. It remains unclear when Uber and Wayve will launch fully autonomous taxis, with both companies unable to give an exact date. Waymo told AFP that it intends to launch vehicles carrying passengers 'with nobody behind the wheel by the end of the year, subject to government approval'. Lyft, which plans to launch a service with Baidu's Apollo Go in 2027, said it is waiting for guidance from London's transport authority, Transport for London (TfL), on the issue. The guidelines should be issued 'shortly,' according to TfL, which added that no operator has yet begun the approval process for fully autonomous vehicles. Wayve and Uber currently have safety authorisation for 15 supervised vehicles. In London, where the fares will initially be the same as for regular Uber rides, the launch marks Wayve's first mass-market rollout. Wayve plans to expand next to Tokyo and then to 10 more cities with Uber, according to Fischer. - AFP
London's first robotaxis hit the streets: Everything you need to know about new self-driving cabs. All the details on Uber and Wayve's new fleet of self-driving cabs now operating in London - including how to get one News Briefings Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice. Uber has launched the UK's first ever robotaxi fleet in London. The US firm has partnered with British AI tech firm Wayve to create the autonomous vehicles and public self-driving service. As it stands, the vehicles will have a human safety driver who can take over the reins should it be necessary. Uber and Wayve beat the likes of Google's Waymo and China's Baidu in launching robotaxis in the UK capital, though more fleets by other operators are likely to launch in the future. London is not the first capital to see robotaxis in operation - they have already been rolled out across major cities in the US, parts of Europe, and the Middle East. The launch has been hailed as a "major milestone" for transport in London by the transport secretary Heidi Alexander, but concerns have also been raised about the impact on jobs and safety, with many questions over the vehicles still unanswered. That said, Uber claimed some 140,000 Londoners have opted-in to try the robotaxis in the capital. So before, you sign up, here is everything we know: A self-driving Uber car When will Wayve become fully autonomous? It is still unclear when Wayve will become fully autonomous without a safety driver. For there to be no human driver present, the vehicles will need regulatory approval from the DVLA, which is granted under a separate government process. It seems unlikely that this will happen this year. Alex Kendall, the chief executive and co-founder of Wayve, said technology was "still maturing", but the company was "pushing as fast as [it] can" to offer robotaxi services without a human safety driver. How do you book a Wayve? Wayve will be available via the Uber app, but customers won't be able to actively select a robotaxi ride. Instead, once a ride has been requested, Uber may match the customer with a robotaxi. The customer then has the option to accept or decline the robotaxi ride. The passenger will be matched with an autonomous vehicle Uber/Wayve But, those who want a chance to try a robotaxi can update their preferences in settings to boost their odds of matching. What will it be like to ride a robotaxi? Riders will unlock the vehicle from their app to begin the trip. Demos are available on Uber to help customers out. The passenger will unlock and start the ride Uber/Wayve Once inside, a pre-recorded script will be played and then the ride will continue as usual. The experience is available in 64 languages and has an interactive screen where riders can see their trip in action. Should you need assistance, there is support on the Uber app and inside the vehicle. But remember, initially, there will be a human driver inside the vehicle as part of the phased introduction. Will it cost more than a normal taxi? The Wayve robotaxis will be priced the same as a regular UberX, Uber Comfort, or Uber Electric ride. The fleet comprises all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles, meaning the service is not available on UberXL rides. MORE ABOUT
London debuts first Uber-hailed autonomous taxis featuring wayve technology. 03/09/2026 2 min. read Autonomous vehicle technology has made its public debut on London's roads through a partnership between Uber and British technology company Wayve. From Thursday, Uber users can book rides in self-driving vehicles across the capital, marking a significant step in the companies' efforts to advance autonomous transport in Europe. The initial rollout involves 15 licensed Ford Mustang vehicles fitted with Wayve's artificial intelligence system. Transport for London has approved the vehicles under private hire vehicle regulations, which require a licensed safety driver to remain behind the wheel, monitor the vehicle and take manual control when necessary. The companies must secure separate approval from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency before they can operate the vehicles without human safety drivers. Industry observers do not expect the approval to come this year.Although the initial fleet is small compared with the more than 100,000 private hire vehicles operating in London, demand could be strong. A safety driver will remain inside the vehicle and follow a standard script informing passengers that they will not speak during the journey unless they need to take control of the steering or braking systems. Wayve has taken a different approach from competitors such as Google-backed Waymo and China's Baidu. Rather than relying on detailed pre-mapped environments, the British company uses end-to-end artificial intelligence models to enable its vehicles to learn and respond to their surroundings. Recent tests in central London demonstrated the system's ability to handle complex urban situations, including adjusting its driving in real time to avoid blocking access points while parking. Wayve plans to expand the service by integrating its AI software into newly manufactured Nissan Leaf electric vehicles. The company said it would introduce fully driverless operations once vehicle safety testing, manufacturing and regulatory approvals are in place, although it has not set a firm timeline. The launch places London alongside cities in the United States, China and the United Arab Emirates where autonomous vehicles already operate. It also follows Uber's driver-supervised autonomous vehicle rollout in Zagreb, Croatia. Government officials welcomed the initiative as a milestone for Britain's technology sector and wider economic growth, describing London's complex traffic environment as an important testing ground for autonomous driving technology. Uber executives said autonomous vehicles could make transport safer and more affordable in the long term. However, the company stressed that human drivers would remain an important part of its platform as demand for its services grows. Labour representatives have raised concerns about the potential impact of autonomous vehicles on employment, warning that large-scale adoption could cause significant social and economic disruption for hundreds of thousands of people working in the driving sector. Friday Omosola is a News Editor at NRTC who's passionate about investigating and reporting under-reported social and political issues in Africa.
Uber and AI firm Wayve launch first self-driving robotaxis in London. Thu, September 3, 2026 at 1:33 AM PDT * Uber and British AI firm Wayve have launched the UK's first self-driving robotaxis in London, allowing Londoners to hail autonomous vehicles through the Uber app with human safety drivers onboard. Uber has launched the UK's first robotaxis across London after partnering with British AI technology firm Wayve. Londoners can hail autonomous vehicles through Uber, although each vehicle will still have a human safety driver who can take the wheel if needed. The companies said they are operating a "small fleet" of all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles equipped with the Wayve AI driving technology. Transport for London granted minicab licences for use on the self-driving vehicles last month. Uber said more than 140,000 Londoners have already opted in to show their preference to use self-driving vehicles through the ride-hailing app. Sarfraz Maredia, global head of autonomous mobility at Uber, said: "We're delighted to bring autonomous rides to Uber riders in London for the very first time, powered by Wayve, a homegrown British success story. "London is a world-class hub for transportation innovation and this launch is a major milestone in scaling safe, accessible AV technology in a city with some of the world's most complex roads." Alex Kendall, chief executive and co-founder of Wayve, said: "We're proud to introduce the Wayve AI Driver to the public for the first time right here in London, our home city and one of the most complex driving environments in the world. "Autonomous driving technology will complement the city's rich transport network, and we're excited for Londoners to experience it first as we begin our global rollout with Uber." Wayve was founded in 2017 by two University of Cambridge PhD students. London will be the first city in the world to use its technology for commercial journeys. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: "This is a major milestone for the future of transport in London, as British innovation brings this technology on to our roads and gives passengers more choice. "As this technology develops, we want to support new opportunities for investment and skills, while recognising the important role that those working in the sector today will continue to play."
Uber and British tech company Wayve have launched London's first self-driving taxi service, using Ford Mustang Mach-E electric vehicles equipped with Wayve's autonomous technology. Unlike robotaxis in the US and China, which operate without human drivers, London's service will have safety drivers who can intervene if needed. The rollout begins with under 20 vehicles. Uber customers may be matched with a Wayve vehicle when booking through the app, with prices identical to regular Uber rides. The companies still require UK government approval to operate without safety drivers. London's narrow, congested roads and legal jaywalking present unique challenges for autonomous vehicles. Waymo and Baidu are also preparing to launch commercial services in the city. Last month, Uber launched its first European robotaxi service in Zagreb, Croatia, also with human safety drivers.