---
title: 'Sr. /Staff System Safety Engineer, Autonomy at DiDi Labs'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/sr-staff-system-safety-engineer-autonomy-didi-labs-san-jose-hr27mnazva4n'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-09'
---

# Sr. /Staff System Safety Engineer, Autonomy at DiDi Labs

- **Company:** DiDi Labs
- **Location:** San Jose, CA
- **Posted:** 2026-09-01
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-09
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/didi/jobs/8168500

## Job description

## About The Company

DiDi's autonomous driving unit was established in 2016 with the mission of developing Level 4 autonomous driving (AD) technology to make transportation safer and more efficient. In August 2019, the unit became an independent company, DiDi Autonomous Driving, dedicated to advanced AD R&D, product application, and business expansion. We believe integrating AD technology into a shared-mobility fleet will generate immense social value. By leveraging DiDi's specialized technology, operational expertise, and integrated ecosystem, we are positioned to build and operate a highly efficient, user-oriented autonomous fleet.

## About The Role

We are seeking an experienced and mission-driven Senior/Staff System Safety Engineer, Autonomy to lead the safety strategy and deployment readiness of our fully autonomous driving systems. In this role, you will define and implement the safety frameworks, release policies, and system-level engineering processes that enable safe and scalable unmanned operations. You will act as a technical leader in system safety, ensuring that our vehicles meet rigorous safety standards while advancing toward large-scale commercial deployment.

## Responsibilities

- Own the safety evaluation and release strategy for unmanned autonomous driving operations, defining clear criteria for system release, degradation, and fallback under varying operating conditions.
- Design, implement, and champion the safety-related systems engineering framework, including safety requirements, system architecture, and Verification & Validation (V&V) plans.
- Conduct systematic assessments of unmanned operational workflows, emergency protocols, and supporting tools/platforms to ensure safety and operational completeness.
- Develop and institutionalize safety evaluation methodologies and metrics frameworks, translating safety goals into quantifiable, verifiable, and continuously tracked indicators.
- Serve as the technical lead for safety-related incident review and analysis during unmanned operations, driving continuous improvements in system design, test coverage, and operational procedures.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with Software, Product, Operations, and Safety teams to support leadership decisions regarding unmanned deployment, city expansion, and operational scaling.

## Qualifications

- Bachelor’s or higher degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a closely related technical field.
- 3-5 years of industry experience in systems engineering, safety engineering, autonomous systems, or a directly related field.
- Strong systems thinking with the ability to decompose complex safety challenges and drive practical, scalable solutions.
- Demonstrated ability to collaborate across teams, influence stakeholders, and take ownership of safety outcomes.
- Experience working in a fast-paced environment with multiple parallel projects and ambiguous requirements.

## Preferred Qualifications

- Professional experience in safety-critical autonomous vehicle deployment or large-scale robotic systems operations.
- Background in functional safety (ISO 26262, SOTIF) or safety assurance of unmanned systems.
- Hands-on experience with safety validation tools, simulation-based V&V, or operational safety monitoring platforms.
- Proven track record of defining release policies or safety readiness criteria for real-world autonomous systems.

The base salary range for this full-time position is $148,594-247,038 (Sr. Engineer) and $178,286-296,400 (Staff Engineer) annually in addition to bonus, equity and benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

I acknowledge that prior to submitting this application, I have read and accepted the Privacy Notice for California Residents which is available on https://v.didi.cn/AQnxlBa

## About DiDi Labs

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: DiDi Labs is the U.S. research and development arm of DiDi, focused on advancing Level 4 autonomous driving technology through large-scale AI models and real-world ride-hailing data.
- **Entity Type**: Private (subsidiary of DiDi Global Inc., which is not publicly traded)
- **Headquarters**: Mountain View, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2017 (DiDi Labs); parent company Didi Chuxing founded in 2012
- **Founders**: DiDi Labs was launched under the leadership of Cheng Wei (DiDi founder and CEO) and initially led by Dr. Fengmin Gong, Vice President of DiDi Research Institute.

## Core Business
- **Primary Industry**: Autonomous driving (Level 4), artificial intelligence, mobility technology
- **Target Customers**: B2B (integrated into DiDi’s shared-mobility fleet), enterprise partnerships (e.g., automotive OEMs, cities for smart transportation)
- **Mission**: Develop Level 4 autonomous driving technology to make transportation safer and more efficient, and integrate it into a shared-mobility fleet to generate broad social value.

## Products & Services
- **VLA (Vision-Language-Action) Foundation Models**: Large-scale deep learning systems for multi-agent behavior prediction and autonomous vehicle planning, built on DiDi’s massive real-world driving dataset.
- **Behavioral & Motion Planning Systems**: Core decision-making and trajectory optimization algorithms that enable safe, smooth navigation in complex urban environments.
- **AI Research (Computer Vision, NLP, Speech, Mapping)**: Through DiDi AI Labs (China-based but collaborative), the company develops speech interaction, smart mapping, and perception solutions.
- **Autonomous Vehicle Testing & Fleet Operations**: DiDi Autonomous Driving operates test fleets in the United States and China, and runs open-source challenges (e.g., Udacity Self-Driving Car Challenge).

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed for DiDi Labs; parent DiDi Global was valued at over $60 billion during its 2021 IPO (now delisted and private).
- **Key Metric**: Total funding for DiDi exceeds $20 billion across multiple rounds (SoftBank, Tencent, etc.). DiDi Labs benefits from parent’s resources.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: DiDi’s investors include SoftBank Vision Fund, Tencent, Uber, Apple, and others. DiDi Labs partners with Udacity, and its team includes security expert Charlie Miller.
- **Growth Signals**: Independent autonomous driving unit established in 2019; active hiring in 2025 for VLA and motion planning roles; integration with DiDi’s massive ride-hailing network (over 500 million users) provides unmatched real-world data.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Massive Real-World Data**: Access to DiDi’s billions of trips across Asia, Latin America, and Australia gives the team proprietary training data for behavior prediction and planning.
- **Integration with Shared Mobility**: Autonomous fleet can be deployed directly into an existing ride-hailing platform, offering a clear go-to-market path.
- **Top Talent & Research**: Deep roster of AI researchers, published in top conferences (NeurIPS, CVPR, ICLR, etc.), and strong collaboration with global research network.
- **Open Innovation**: Hosts open-source challenges and engages with the broader self-driving community.

## Strategic Focus
- **Current Priorities**: Scaling VLA foundation models for multi-agent prediction and planning; deploying Level 4 autonomous vehicles in operational domains; optimizing latency and safety for production deployment.
- **Direction for Growth**: Expanding the autonomous fleet, deepening partnerships with cities, and building the “smart transportation ecosystem” through AI-driven infrastructure.

## Why Work Here
- **Cutting-Edge AI at Scale**: Work on large-scale distributed training (hundreds to thousands of GPUs), transformers, diffusion models, and real-time planning for safety-critical systems.
- **Impact**: Directly contribute to autonomous driving technology that could transform urban mobility and reduce traffic accidents.
- **Compensation & Benefits**: Competitive base salary (e.g., $129k–$247k for ML Engineer, plus bonus, equity, and benefits). Roles in Mountain View with hybrid/office expectations.
- **Culture & Perks**: Collaboration with world-class researchers, access to massive datasets, and a mission-driven environment focused on safety and innovation.
- **Work Model**: Based in Mountain View, CA; roles are likely on-site or hybrid given the hands-on nature of autonomous vehicle development.

## Sources
1. [Job Board - Machine Learning Engineer, VLA](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/didi/jobs/7975368)
2. [Job Board - Software Engineer, Motion & Behavioral Planning](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/didi/jobs/7975371)
3. [PRNewswire - DiDi Launches U.S. Labs in Silicon Valley](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/didi-launches-us-labs-in-silicon-valley-to-build-global-nexus-of-innovation-300420435.html)
4. [Golden - DiDi Labs Company Profile](https://golden.com/wiki/DiDi_Labs-GE84KD8)
5. [DiDi Official - AI Labs Page](https://www.didiglobal.com/science/ailabs)

## Other roles at DiDi Labs

- [Software Engineer / Sr. Software Engineer, Planning Selection Autonomy](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-sr-software-engineer-planning-selection-autonomy-didi-labs-znt50prkgrw8) — San Jose, CA
- [Software Engineer, Motion Planning](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-motion-planning-didi-labs-san-jose-gj5n60m2bt8x) — San Jose, CA
- [Staff/Principal AI Transformation Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-principal-ai-transformation-engineer-didi-labs-san-jose-0kt7qqpjbfaz) — San Jose, CA
- [Technical Program Manager, Autonomy](https://feeny.ai/job/technical-program-manager-autonomy-didi-labs-san-jose-qqr86j3cpk46) — San Jose, CA
- [Sr. / Staff Software Engineer, Infrastructure (Autonomy)](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-staff-software-engineer-infrastructure-autonomy-didi-labs-san-jose-fgb84pk2gbty) — San Jose, CA
- [Software Engineer, Map Fusion & Planning](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-map-fusion-planning-didi-labs-san-jose-g8fe119htkz6) — San Jose, CA
- [Motion Planning Engineer (PhD, Intern)](https://feeny.ai/job/motion-planning-engineer-phd-intern-didi-labs-san-jose-md1kry2qmm4c) — San Jose, CA
- [Senior/Sr. Staff AI Infrastructure Engineer, Inference & Optimization](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-sr-staff-ai-infrastructure-engineer-inference-optimization-didi-labs-san-09dry78v6mty) — San Jose, CA