Verification & Validation Lead

SteerAI is an autonomous mobility technology company powered by Venture One, the commercialization arm of the Advanced Technology Research Council. SteerAI’s advanced AI-powered autonomy stack, developed by the Technology Innovation Institute, empowers the logistics and defense industries by turning industrial vehicles into autonomous powerhouses that can handle complex off-road missions, transform operations and protect organizations' most important assets: their workforce.

As the V&V Lead, you will be responsible for defining and driving the verification and validation strategy across SteerAI’s autonomy platform. You will work closely with engineering, product, safety, and operations teams to ensure our autonomous systems meet technical, safety, and customer requirements.

This role requires a strong understanding of autonomous systems, software validation, system engineering, and operational deployment. The ideal candidate combines technical depth with the ability to build scalable processes in a fast-growing startup environment.

• Define and own the overall Verification & Validation strategy for SteerAI’s autonomous vehicle platform
• Establish validation methodologies, processes, tools, and metrics across the autonomy stack
• Define acceptance criteria and readiness gates for software releases, vehicle platforms, and customer deployments
• Build and lead the V&V roadmap aligned with company objectives and product milestones

• Lead end-to-end validation of autonomous vehicle capabilities, including perception, localization, planning, control, and vehicle integration
• Define and manage validation campaigns using simulation, software-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop, closed-course testing, and real-world deployments
• Ensure traceability between requirements, implementation, test scenarios, and validation results
• Analyze system performance, identify gaps, and drive improvements with engineering teams

• Develop scalable testing methodologies for autonomous driving scenarios and operational design domains
• Define scenario-based testing strategies covering nominal and edge-case behaviors
• Support fleet deployment readiness and customer acceptance testing
• Drive data-driven validation using operational data and KPIs

• Collaborate with system engineering and safety teams to ensure compliance with relevant standards and best practices
• Contribute to safety cases and evidence generation for autonomous system deployment
• Establish quality gates and release criteria for autonomous capabilities

• Build and grow the V&V capability within SteerAI
• Collaborate closely with autonomy, platform, vehicle integration, and product teams
• Promote engineering discipline, continuous improvement, and a validation mindset across the organization.

• 8+ years of experience in verification, validation, testing, or system engineering roles
• Experience validating complex software and/or autonomous systems
• Strong understanding of autonomous vehicle architectures and development processes
• Experience defining test strategies for safety-critical systems
• Experience with simulation, scenario testing, data analysis, and real-world testing campaigns
• Strong understanding of software development lifecycle and release processes
• Ability to work across multidisciplinary engineering teams
• Experience in autonomous vehicles, robotics, ADAS, or aerospace systems
• Experience with ISO 26262, automotive safety processes, or equivalent safety frameworks
• Experience with requirements management and traceability tools
• Experience building V&V teams or processes from the ground up
• Familiarity with ROS, simulation platforms, and autonomous driving datasets
• Experience supporting customer deployments and field operations

We offer a competitive salary, a comprehensive benefits package, and the opportunity to work alongside some of the brightest minds in the Autonomous Robotics industry. Our work culture is collaborative and inclusive, with a strong focus on innovation and personal growth.