Senior Software Engineer - Performance Prediction

Latitude AI (lat.ai [https://lat.ai/]) develops automated driving technologies,

including L3, for Ford vehicles at scale. We’re driven by the opportunity to

reimagine what it’s like to drive and make travel safer, less stressful, and

more enjoyable for everyone.

When you join the Latitude team, you’ll work alongside leading experts across

machine learning and robotics, cloud platforms, mapping, sensors and compute

systems, test operations, systems and safety engineering – all dedicated to

making a real, positive impact on the driving experience for millions of

people.

As a Ford Motor Company subsidiary, we operate independently to develop

automated driving technology at the speed of a technology startup. Latitude is

headquartered in Pittsburgh with engineering centers in Dearborn, Mich., and

Palo Alto, Calif.

Meet the team:

The Performance Prediction team builds the Machine Learning models, evaluation

pipelines, and internal tools that help us understand how autonomy behavior

changes across software releases. We work on problems that span behavior

classification, ride quality detection, probabilistic trajectory prediction, and

release regression analysis.

Our systems support both classical and modern ML approaches. That includes

compact learned classifiers such as tree-based models for behavior and ride

quality detection, as well as deep learning-based probabilistic prediction

models for more complex autonomy tasks. We also build the software around those

models: dataset definition, feature generation, training and tuning workflows,

offline metrics, experiment tracking, and tools that help engineers inspect

regressions at the slice and scenario level.

This role is a strong fit for someone who enjoys building reliable Python

systems and applying rigorous ML evaluation methods in a safety-critical domain.

In practice, the work is a mix of ML systems development, model and evaluation

work, and internal tooling used by partner teams across autonomy.

What you’ll do:

* Build production software for model training, offline evaluation, and

release-comparison workflows

* Develop and improve learned models for performance prediction, including

behavior classifiers and probabilistic prediction models

* Design training, validation, and holdout strategies that produce trustworthy

results

* Define and track model and release metrics such as precision, recall, F1, ROC

AUC, calibration quality, and task-specific forecasting metrics

* Run experiments, tune models, and analyze results with strong statistical

rigor

* Build internal tools that help engineers compare software versions, inspect

model outputs, and investigate regressions

* Partner with autonomy, simulation, and infrastructure teams to move ideas

from prototype to production

* Raise engineering quality through testing, code review, CI, and maintainable

interfaces across data, modeling, and product layers

What you'll need to succeed:

* Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical

Engineering, Robotics or a related field and 4+ years of relevant experience

(or Master's degree and 2+ years of relevant experience, or PhD)

* Strong software engineering skills in Python, including experience building

modular, maintainable, well-tested systems in a shared codebase

* Experience developing, training, tuning, or productionizing supervised ML

models

* Strong grounding in statistics and experimental design, including experience

designing model training and evaluation tests

* Experience selecting and interpreting model metrics, thresholds, and

tradeoffs for real-world decision-making

* Experience with ML tooling such as PyTorch, scikit-learn, or similar

frameworks

* Experience working with large datasets using SQL, pandas, and NumPy

* Strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively across

software, ML, and autonomy teams

Nice to have:

* PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, Robotics, or a closely

related field is preferred

* Equivalent research-heavy industry experience is highly valued

* Experience with probabilistic forecasting, trajectory prediction, sequential

modeling, or graph-based models

* Experience with classical ML methods such as random forests, gradient

boosting, or calibrated linear models

* Experience with calibration, uncertainty estimation, ablation studies, error

analysis, or release regression methodology

* Experience building internal analytics or ML tools with Dash, Plotly,

Streamlit, or similar frameworks

* Experience with workflow orchestration or experimentation tools such as

Dagster, Airflow, or Weights and Biases

* Experience with Bazel or other large-scale build systems

* Prior autonomous driving experience is helpful but not required. Strong

experience with production ML systems and rigorous model evaluation is

sufficient

What we offer

• you:
• * Competitive compensation packages
• * High-quality individual and family medical, dental, and vision insurance
• * Health savings account with available employer match
• * Employer-matched 401(k) retirement plan with immediate vesting
• * Employer-paid group term life insurance and the option to elect voluntary
• life insurance
• * Paid parental leave
• * Paid medical leave
• * Unlimited vacation
• * 15 paid holidays
• * Daily lunches, snacks, and beverages available in all office locations
• * Pre-tax spending accounts for healthcare and dependent care expenses
• * Pre-tax commuter benefits
• * Monthly wellness stipend
• * Adoption/Surrogacy support program
• * Backup child and elder care program
• * Professional development reimbursement
• * Employee assistance program
• * Discounted programs that include legal services, identity theft protection,
• pet insurance, and more
• * Company and team bonding outlets: employee resource groups, quarterly team
• activity stipend, and wellness initiatives
• Learn more about Latitude’s team, mission and career opportunities at lat.ai
• [https://lat.ai/]!
• The expected base salary range for this full-time position in California is
• $179,200 - $268,800 USD. Actual starting pay will be based on job-related
• factors, including exact work location, experience, relevant training and
• education, and skill level. Latitude employees are also eligible to participate
• in Latitude’s annual bonus programs, equity compensation, and generous Company
• benefits program, subject to eligibility requirements.
• Candidates for positions with Latitude AI must be legally authorized to work in
• the United States on a permanent basis. Verification of employment eligibility
• will be required at the time of hire. Visa sponsorship is available for this
• position.
• We are an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to a culturally diverse
• workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment
• without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual
• orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status.
• #LI-CQ1