Senior Director, Engineering

Meet the Team: 

As an organization at the forefront of autonomous driving, we have gathered vast amounts of valuable sensor data that provide a deep insight into various driving environments and scenarios. Within the AI Foundation Department our strategic response is to integrate foundational computer vision techniques to harness its full potential and drive its capabilities further ahead to adhere to future needs. 

What You'll Do: 

• Provide strategic direction and leadership to the engineering managers and their teams in the development and execution of autonomous truck behaviors, path planning, and prediction of other road users.  

• Seamlessly integrate classical algorithms and cutting-edge machine learning techniques to develop robust, safe behaviors for autonomous trucking  

• Drive engineering excellence by ensuring critical processes are implemented for the delivery of a safety critical system.  

• Collaborate with principal engineers to establish and maintain a robust technical plan for the autonomous trucking group, ensuring alignment with overall business objectives.  

• Work closely with the Technical Product Management group to understand priorities and translate them into actionable engineering plans.  

• Manage and allocate resources effectively to meet project goals and timelines, while ensuring optimal utilization of talent within the engineering group.  

• Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement within the engineering organization.  

• Establish and maintain strong relationships with cross-functional teams, including Product Management, Research & Development, and Operations, to ensure seamless integration and successful delivery of autonomous trucking solutions.  

• Stay abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and regulatory requirements relevant to autonomous trucking, and proactively incorporate them into the group’s strategic plans.  

• Drive the recruitment, onboarding, and professional development of engineering talent, fostering a high-performance culture.  

• Direct reports include the positions of engineering manager and individual contributors. 

• Manage a team of engineering managers ensuring priorities are clear for the team and work is distributed appropriately within the team. 

• Maintain a culture of excellence through guidance, mentorship, and career development. Foster a collaborative team environment that celebrates team and individual wins. 

• Responsible providing leadership to their subordinates. 

• Provide up-to-date guidance and direction to employees to ensure compliance with federal, state, and company policies, procedures, guidelines, and management principles.  

• In partnership with People Operations, supervisory responsibilities include leading continuous team goal setting, career pathing and professional development, tracking competencies, employee team building and training, performance management, work prioritization, resource management and controlling expenses, and reinforces systems, policies, and procedures. 

• Trains staff, maintains training records, ensures appropriate and continuous training.  Proactive change and conflict management in support of Torc’s core values. 

• Identify future growth plan to support organizational needs and partner with People Operations and Talent Acquisition to lead organizational development; includes recruiting, screening, interviewing, selection, hiring and onboarding processes.  Recommends salary increases, promotions, transfers, demotions, or terminations.  Manages any problems and concerns to closure.  

What You'll Need to Succeed:  

• 8 years+ years people management experience and: 

• Master’s Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Systems Engineering, or equivalent  

• 15+ years relevant experience 

• Experience directing the strategy of a technology industry and collaborating with other strategic partners, internal and external stakeholders. 

• Extensive experience in leading engineering teams and managing complex projects in the autonomous vehicle industry, preferably with a focus on class 8 trucks. 

• Strong technical background and understanding of autonomous vehicle systems, including perception, planning, and control. 

• Proven track record of successfully executing complex engineering projects within tight timelines. 

• Familiarity with Agile development methodologies and project management tools.  

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills verbal and written, with the ability to collaborate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders, effectively create and proofread documents and reports, and communicate to a diverse workforce. 

• Ability to effectively manage time, prioritize, delegate and handle multiple tasks with a global team in a fast-paced environment. 

• Strong strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities, with a keen eye for detail.  

• Must possess a passion and the ability to develop and grow colleagues to their highest potential. 

• Passion for innovation and a deep commitment to delivering cutting-edge autonomous trucking solutions.  

• Adept in intercultural competences and experienced with an international work environment. 

• Keen attention to detail to identify problems and processes that don’t comply with protocol. 

• Critical/logical thinking to identify problems and provide solutions to ensure efficiency, safety, and quality. 

• Strong business insight and judgment, team orientation and collaborative style 

• Strong time management and organizational skills to plan, develop, coordinate resources, prioritize effectively, and maintain competing demands simultaneously with frequent interruptions and in a fast-paced environment. 

• Ability to ethically handle sensitive and confidential information with impartiality and professionalism. 

Bonus Points! 

• Master of Business Administration preferred. 

• Phd in relevant topic is a plus. 

Perks of Being a Full-time Torc’r   

Torc cares about our team members and we strive to provide benefits and resources to support their health, work/life balance, and future. Our culture is collaborative, energetic, and team focused. Torc offers:       

• A competitive compensation package that includes a bonus component and stock options     

• 100% paid medical, dental, and vision premiums for full-time employees       

• 401K plan with a 6% employer match     

• Flexibility in schedule and generous paid vacation (available immediately after start date)    

• Company-wide holiday office closures     

• AD+D and Life Insurance