Head of Engineering

Head of Engineering — Autonomous Vehicle Operations Platform Hybrid, with regular in-person collaboration required Type: Full-Time Level: Executive / Founding Engineering Leadership Industry: Autonomous Mobility | Fleet Software | AI Infrastructure | Connected Vehicles Base Salary: $200,000–$300,000 annually , plus eligibility for a performance bonus and meaningful equity. Final compensation will depend on experience, technical scope, and leadership level and is subject to company plan terms and Board approval. Autzu builds autonomous infrastructure for autonomous operators: the software that deploys, monitors, and orchestrates autonomous vehicles across multiple vehicle platforms, ride platforms, and markets. Over eight years of live fleet operations, Autzu has developed proprietary operating data and experience across vehicle deployment, telemetry, charging, maintenance, rideshare integrations, and multi-market fleet management. Autzu is an NVIDIA Inception company and an Uber partner, with operations in the U.S. and Canada. We are not building another autonomous-driving stack. We are building the operating layer that allows vehicles from different OEMs and autonomy providers to be deployed, monitored, serviced, and commercially operated at scale. Infra is a separate robotics-infrastructure company developing the physical autonomous-hub and robotic-servicing layer. Autzu owns the software, data, vehicle integrations, and orchestration platform and will integrate with Infra through defined APIs. The Role You will be the founding engineering leader for Autzu’s autonomous vehicle operations platform. You will define the architecture, hire the initial team, and ship the software that connects autonomous vehicles from multiple manufacturers with the fleet operators, ride platforms, maintenance networks, and physical infrastructure that keep them operating. You will initially report to the founder and work directly with the Board, strategic partners, and investors. Autzu expects to appoint a CEO as the company moves into its next phase, and you will provide technical input during that process and partner closely with the incoming executive leadership. This role is designed to expand into broader CTO-level scope as the platform, team, and company grow, based on agreed milestones, company needs, performance, and Board approval. Not in scope: building the autonomous-driving stack, robotic hardware, depots, or charging equipment. Autzu integrates with those systems; it does not manufacture them. What You Will Build in the First 12 Months Vehicle connectivity: A vehicle-agnostic integration framework for supported AV operators, OEMs, telematics systems, and vehicle platforms—including state, telemetry, diagnostics, readiness, and authorized operational commands. Deployment and orchestration: Vehicle onboarding, readiness, positioning, dispatch, remote supervision, exception handling, escalation, and return-to-service workflows across mobility platforms. Fleet intelligence: A vehicle-condition record and operational data platform using Autzu’s existing fleet history to improve utilization, uptime, maintenance planning, and unit economics. Partner interfaces: Integrations with ride platforms, autonomy licensors, OEMs, charging and maintenance networks, insurance, compliance systems, and Infra’s physical hub platform. AI-enabled operations: Agentic and predictive systems that automate operational workflows, identify exceptions, recommend actions, and reduce unnecessary human intervention. The engineering organization: Hire an initial team of three to four senior engineers and establish architecture standards, code review, CI/CD, testing, observability, security, incident response, and release discipline. Platform evolution: Harden the current production system and introduce clear service boundaries and APIs without undertaking a disruptive rewrite. You Have Shipped production software that ran on—or directly orchestrated—autonomous vehicles, robots, connected fleets, or other mission-critical physical systems. Led engineering teams as a Staff-plus technical lead, Engineering Manager, Director, Head of Engineering, VP Engineering, or CTO. Hired senior engineers while remaining hands-on in architecture, system design, and code review. Built distributed, event-driven systems involving real-time telemetry, cloud infrastructure, operational data pipelines, APIs, and external integrations. Experience operating software on which real-world operations depended, including uptime, monitoring, incident response, security, and release management. The ability to explain complex technical architecture clearly to customers, strategic partners, investors, and executive leadership. A builder mentality and comfort operating with a lean team, significant autonomy, and incomplete information. A willingness to work regularly with the founder and team in the San Francisco Bay Area. Strongly Preferred Experience at an AV developer, robotaxi operator, robotics or Physical AI company, connected-vehicle platform, drone company, AMR provider, or fleet-technology organization. Familiarity with NVIDIA DRIVE, Jetson, Isaac, edge computing, or comparable autonomous-system platforms. Experience with remote operations, fleet orchestration, telemetry, diagnostics, vehicle readiness, or autonomous deployment. Experience integrating software with OEMs, mobility marketplaces, rideshare platforms, charging systems, or maintenance providers. Experience applying AI agents, machine learning, or predictive systems to real operational workflows. Experience scaling a platform across multiple cities, countries, vehicle types, or operating partners. What We Offer A $200,000–$300,000 base salary , performance-based upside, and meaningful equity. A funded initial team of three to four senior engineers, with room to expand as customer and partner contracts grow. Ownership of the engineering architecture, product roadmap, hiring strategy, and technical execution. Direct access to the founder, Board, strategic partners, and investors. The opportunity to become Autzu’s broader technology leader as the company scales. A chance to build the software operating layer that connects autonomous vehicles, fleet operators, mobility platforms, and future robotic infrastructure. Why Now Autonomous vehicles cannot scale through driving technology alone. Operators need software that knows where every vehicle is, what state it is in, what it needs next, when intervention is required, and how it should move through deployment, charging, maintenance, servicing, and revenue operations. #J-18808-Ljbffr Autzu Inc.