--- title: 'Test & Evaluation Operator at Waabi' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/test-evaluation-operator-waabi-phoenix-7cts9eejextc' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-07' --- # Test & Evaluation Operator at Waabi - **Company:** Waabi - **Location:** Phoenix, AZ - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-08-25 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-07 - **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/waabi/357a9513-5900-4b33-9ce8-77ff2d1017c8 ## Job description Waabi, founded by AI visionary Raquel Urtasun, is the leader in Physical AI. With a world-class team, we're unlocking the next era of autonomous transportation with technology that's powering commercial autonomous trucks and robotaxis. Waabi is backed by and partners with world leaders in AI, automotive, logistics, and deep tech. With offices in Toronto, San Francisco, Dallas, and Pittsburgh, Waabi is growing quickly and looking for diverse, innovative and collaborative candidates who want to impact the world in a positive way. To learn more visit: www.waabi.ai You will… Operate Class 8 autonomous and manual vehicles on closed course and public roads, to the full Vehicle Operator standard. Own in-seat execution of platform V&V and release testing including testing safety assurance limits, driver override response, supervised autonomy stability, and fault injection. Produce written evaluations precise enough for engineering to act on, separating baseline from novel behavior and stating whether it reproduces. Execute vehicle dynamics and characterization campaigns — tire evaluation, trailer stability, axle-weight verification — including offsite testing at partner proving grounds. Serve as the qualified evaluator for operator certification: administer Knowledge and Proficiency Checks and clear operators onto a platform. Author and maintain platform-specific operator documentation — start-up and shutdown sequences, known-behavior references, SOP input. Own the DOT and CVSA compliance read on new platforms. Train operators on new platforms and move platform knowledge between sites ahead of any handover. Escalate safety-relevant findings and stop testing when equipment or vehicle behavior warrants it. Document the basis for that call. Qualifications: 8+ years as a Vehicle Operator, commercial test driver, or in a technically equivalent Class 8 operations role, including 4 years on autonomous or ADAS-equipped vehicles. CDL Class A, current Medical Examiner's Certificate, and a clean driving record, background check, and drug screen. Strong technical aptitude with autonomy platforms. Demonstrated ability to characterize vehicle behavior precisely: consistent versus intermittent, reproducible versus one-off, with conditions and magnitude rather than impressions. Strong written communication skills, translating in-cab observation into reports operations, engineering and safety can act on without follow-up. Demonstrated familiarity with closed-course and proving-ground protocols, including edge-case and failure-mode testing. Solid understanding of FMCSA and DOT requirements for test and development vehicles — DVIR, Hours of Service, DOT annual inspection, CVSA out-of-service criteria, and 49 CFR Parts 393 and 396. Experience training, coaching, or certifying other commercial drivers is highly desirable. CVSA Enhanced Pre-trip certification, Proving ground experience or licenses, a strong plus. Comfort maintaining written documentation and willingness to learn the team's reporting tooling. Passion for self-driving technologies, solving hard problems, and building a culture of safety and operational excellence. Ability to work flexible shifts, including days, nights, and weekends. Travel to other operational sites and partner proving grounds will be required. Day Shift Schedule and Flexibility: Base shift: 7:30 AM – 4:30 PM MT. Day shift crews are expected to be flexible. Perks/Benefits: Waabi provides a competitive benefits package that includes: Competitive compensation and equity awards. Health and wellness benefits encompassing Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage Paid parental, medical and family care leave. Generous PTO Policy. Retirement savings plans including 401(k) or RRSP options. Health savings account contribution options. Daily drinks, snacks, and catered meals (when in office). Regularly scheduled team building activities and social events both on-site, off-site & virtually. Additional benefits are offered and tailored to specific country locations. As we grow, this list continues to evolve! Waabi is a technology start-up building technologies to transform the way the world moves. Join our talented team to be a part of the future and to make an impact! Waabi is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating a supportive, inclusive, and accessible workplace for all our employees. We seek applicants of all backgrounds and identities, across race, color, ethnicity, national origin or ancestry, age, citizenship, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military or veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or parental status, caregiver status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law. We make workplace accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as required by applicable law. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process please let our recruiting team know. ## About Waabi ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Waabi is pioneering Physical AI for autonomous vehicles, starting with self-driving trucks and expanding into robotaxis, using a breakthrough interpretable AI model and the industry's most realistic neural simulator. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series C, $1B total funding) - **Headquarters**: Toronto, Ontario, Canada - **Founded**: 2021 - **Founders**: Raquel Urtasun ## Core Business - **Primary industries**: Autonomous vehicle technology, truck transportation, logistics, robotaxi services - **Target customers**: B2B – trucking fleets, logistics providers, and eventually ride-hailing operators; enterprise partnerships with OEMs and transportation companies - **Mission**: To empower humanity to build a better tomorrow by fundamentally rethinking how autonomous vehicles are developed, deployed, and scaled – safely and efficiently. ## Products & Services - **Waabi Driver**: An end-to-end, interpretable and verifiable AI system that enables self-driving capabilities for trucks and, soon, robotaxis. The system is designed to be scalable and safe by leveraging a next-generation neural simulator (Waabi World) for validation before deployment on public roads. - **Waabi World**: The industry’s most realistic neural simulator, used for testing and training the Waabi Driver in millions of scenarios, dramatically reducing the time and resources needed to bring autonomous vehicles to market. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private company) - **Key Metrics**: Annual Revenue: $11.2M (est., from private data providers); Total Funding: ~$1B across four rounds; Headcount: 271 employees (+51% YoY) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Khosla Ventures (lead in Series B & C), Uber, Volvo Group Venture Capital, Radical Ventures, NVentures (NVIDIA’s venture arm) - **Growth Signals**: - Raised $750M Series C in January 2026 (led by Khosla Ventures) - Expanding from autonomous trucks into robotaxi market (hired Ryan Wallace as GM of Robotaxi in Sept 2026) - 52 active job postings (+62% YoY job posting growth) - Talent influx from Cruise, Aurora, Uber, Waymo, TuSimple, NVIDIA ## Competitive Advantages - **Interpretable & verifiable AI**: Unlike black-box systems, Waabi’s end-to-end model is designed to be transparent and auditable, increasing trust and regulatory viability. - **Neural simulator (Waabi World)**: Enables massive-scale virtual testing that accelerates development while maintaining safety – a key moat over rivals that rely on costly real-world miles. - **Founder-led**: Raquel Urtasun is a world-renowned AI researcher (former Uber ATG chief scientist) with deep expertise in computer vision and autonomous systems. ## Strategic Focus - **Scale the Waabi Driver** for commercial trucking operations and simultaneously **enter the robotaxi market**. - **Deepen OEM and strategic partnerships** (e.g., with Volvo and Uber) to integrate technology into production vehicles. - **Continue aggressive hiring** of AI researchers, software engineers, systems engineers, and policy experts across North America. ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: Values safety, efficiency, data-driven decision-making, and a "virtuous cycle of innovation." Emphasis on real-world impact and personal growth. - **Remote/Hybrid**: Offers remote flexibility with 5 offices across North America (Toronto, San Francisco, Dallas, Phoenix, Pittsburgh). Many roles are hybrid or remote. - **Engineering culture**: Technical stack includes Python, PyTorch, TensorFlow, CUDA, ROS, Linux, Kubernetes, and proprietary simulation tools. 43% of employees are in technical roles, 15% in research. - **Perks**: Not explicitly listed, but strong employer rating (4.6/5 on third-party reviews) and high compensation (e.g., Staff Software Developer median ~$151K USD, Systems Engineer ~$124K). - **Growth opportunities**: 51% YoY headcount growth, many leadership hires; career progression from intern to director roles is common. ## Sources 1. [waabi.ai/careers](https://www.waabi.ai/careers) 2. [waabi.ai/company](https://waabi.ai/company) 3. [jobs.lever.co/waabi](https://jobs.lever.co/waabi) 4. [linkedin.com/company/waabi](https://www.linkedin.com/company/waabi) 5. [cbinsights.com/company/waabi](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/waabi) ## Other roles at Waabi - [Senior Product Designer, Autonomy Data & Tooling](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-product-designer-autonomy-data-tooling-waabi-toronto-rm8emj4m9qcv) — Toronto, Canada - [Staff Planner SW Quality Architect](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-planner-sw-quality-architect-waabi-us-rtftjrfsqkj1) — US &, Canada - [Staff Systems Engineer - Operational Readiness and Field Safety](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-systems-engineer-operational-readiness-and-field-safety-waabi-united-ww24dedpeqtv) — United States - [Applied AI Security Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/applied-ai-security-engineer-waabi-united-states-yqfqwngpexaz) — United States - [Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) Software/Firmware Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/hardware-in-the-loop-hil-software-firmware-engineer-waabi-pittsburgh-n3m7g0gzdfb4) — Pittsburgh, PA - [Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) Team Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/hardware-in-the-loop-hil-team-lead-waabi-pittsburgh-36jhb2942yj2) — Pittsburgh, PA - [Bringup Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/bringup-engineer-waabi-pittsburgh-0p9szxz048d8) — Pittsburgh, PA - [Shift Supervisor - Day Shift](https://feeny.ai/job/shift-supervisor-day-shift-waabi-dallas-yvd80qd56k96) — Dallas, TX - [Dispatcher - Day Shift](https://feeny.ai/job/dispatcher-day-shift-waabi-dallas-53fyzs74ykkg) — Dallas, TX - [Senior HW Systems Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-hw-systems-engineer-waabi-pittsburgh-e6845x23n5w0) — Pittsburgh, PA