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Autonomous Driving Executive Search

Executive Search for Autonomous Driving leadership, from perception and autonomy engineering through safety, fleet operations and commercial deployment. Vice president to C‑suite.

Key roles we place ↓

Overview

What we do in Autonomous Driving

Metric places senior and executive leaders across Autonomous Driving, covering autonomy and perception engineering, safety and validation, fleet operations and the commercial teams taking vehicles into service. The work spans the companies building the technology and the businesses deploying it. Searches run from vice president through C-suite.

Autonomous Driving is moving from research programs to vehicles in service, and that changes who the business needs. Leaders who can take a system through a safety case, past regulators and into a first commercial fleet are a much smaller group than the engineers who built the early prototypes.

Roles

The roles we place in Autonomous Driving

  • VP Autonomy Engineering Perception, planning and the autonomy stack.
  • Head of Safety Safety cases, validation and regulatory engagement.
  • Director of Simulation & Validation Testing programs that prove the system before it ships.
  • VP Fleet Operations Vehicles in service, depots and operational uptime.
  • Head of Hardware & Sensors Lidar, radar, compute and vehicle integration.
  • VP Business Development OEM, logistics and city partnerships.
  • Chief Technology Officer Technical leadership across the full stack.
  • Chief Operating Officer Operational leadership as the business moves into service.
  • Director of Embedded & Platform Software Embedded, controls and vehicle platform software.

+ many others

Within this sector

What Autonomous Driving covers

Autonomy & Perception

Perception, planning and the software stack that drives the vehicle.

Safety & Validation

Safety cases, simulation, testing and the path to regulatory approval.

Fleet Operations

Running vehicles in service, from depots and remote support to uptime.

Commercial Deployment

Partnerships, launch markets and the business model behind a fleet.

Market

Hiring in Autonomous Driving right now

The market has split into two kinds of company. Some are still proving the technology, and they hire for research depth. Others are putting vehicles into service, and they hire for the operations, safety and regulatory experience the industry is still building. The leaders who have taken a system through a safety case and into commercial operation are a small group, and every company in the space knows who they are. Trucking, robotaxis and delivery each have their own constraints, so experience in one does not always carry over. Searches that only look inside Autonomous Driving also miss people from aerospace, rail and automotive safety, where the same disciplines have been practiced for decades.

Common questions

Autonomous Driving hiring questions

The questions clients ask most often before briefing an Autonomous Driving search.

How long does an Autonomous Driving leadership search take?
We work to seven days to a shortlist on most briefs. How long the search takes after that depends on the role and on notice periods, so we set out a realistic timeline with you at the start.

How do you take on a search?
Our consultants map the market fully and approach people who are not looking, rather than working only from whoever has applied.

Do you place below vice president?
Most briefs sit at vice president and above. We also run director searches where the role is critical to getting vehicles into service, such as a head of safety or a fleet operations lead.

Do we need someone from Autonomous Driving?
Not always. Safety, validation and operations experience from aerospace, rail and automotive often transfers well, and those candidates are often easier to move than people already inside the handful of companies in this space.

Sector specialists

Autonomous Driving team

Zeke Arlott
Zeke Arlott
Head of Frontier Tech
Max Hayes
Max Hayes
Business Development Manager
Meet the team →

Let's build together

Ready to brief us on an Autonomous Driving search?

Tell us about the role and we'll give you a clear read on the market, the people worth speaking to and how quickly we can move.