Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Autonomous Driving Foundation Models
Real job — pulled straight from XPENG’s careers page · Verified May 23, 2026 · No reposts.
Job description
XPENG is hiring a Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Autonomous Driving Foundation Models — a full-time, based in Santa Clara, CA role ($244k–$413k). Apply directly on XPENG's careers page below.
Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer – Autonomous Driving Foundation Models
Location: Santa Clara, CA
Department: General Intelligence Center
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Architectural Leadership: Lead the design of end-to-end VLA architectures, bridging multi-modal perception with high-level linguistic reasoning and precise action generation.
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World Model Development: Drive R&D in generative world models (latent dynamics) to create high-fidelity, controllable driving simulations for closed-loop training and evaluation.
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Policy Evolution: Apply Advanced RL (Online/Offline) and IL to refine driving policies, focusing on long-horizon planning and complex multi-agent interactions.
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Scaling & Data Strategy: Define scaling laws for driving foundation models, overseeing data curation, automated labeling, and post-training at a multi-billion parameter scale.
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Global Generalization: Lead the model’s adaptation strategy for overseas road conditions, ensuring robust performance across varying traffic laws and driving cultures.
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5-8 years of expertise in Deep Learning, with a significant track record in VLM, VLA, or Embodied AI.
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Proven experience in training and deploying Foundation Models (Transformers, LLMs) at scale.
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Deep understanding of Sequential Decision Making, World Models, or Policy Gradient methods.
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Mastery of PyTorch and expertise in distributed training (DeepSpeed, Megatron, etc.).
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A "Product-First" mindset: The ability to balance cutting-edge research with the deterministic requirements of L4 production vehicles.
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A fun, supportive and engaging environment
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Infrastructures and computational resources to support your ML model development/research.
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Opportunity to work on cutting edge technologies with the top talent in the field.
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Opportunity to make significant impact on transportation revolution by the means of advancing autonomous driving
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Competitive compensation package
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Snacks, lunches, dinners, and fun activities
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Frequently asked questions
What is the salary for Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Autonomous Driving Foundation Models at XPENG?
The estimated salary range for Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Autonomous Driving Foundation Models at XPENG is $244,000 - $413,000 USD per year.
What skills are required for Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Autonomous Driving Foundation Models at XPENG?
The required skills for Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Autonomous Driving Foundation Models at XPENG include: AI, Machine Learning, PyTorch, LLM.
What is the seniority level for Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Autonomous Driving Foundation Models at XPENG?
Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Autonomous Driving Foundation Models at XPENG is a Senior / Staff level position.
How do I apply for Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Autonomous Driving Foundation Models at XPENG?
You can view the full description and apply for Senior Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Autonomous Driving Foundation Models at XPENG on EchoJobs: https://echojobs.io/job/xpeng-senior-staff-machine-learning-engineer-autonomous-driving-foundation-models-d87xc.