Staff VLA Engineer

We are looking for the bestAbout Us42dot is a mobility AI company committed to solving mobility challenges with software and AI. As the Global Software Center of Hyundai Motor Group, 42dot pioneers the future of mobility by advancing the development of software-defined vehicles. We develop safety-first, user-centric software-defined vehicle technologies that deliver the latest performance through continuous updates like smartphones. By advancing software and AI technology, 42dot envisions a world where everything is connected and moves autonomously through a self-managing urban transportation operating <system.As> a Staff VLA Engineer you'll contribute to next-generation autonomous driving intelligence research, working alongside the team to push past current VLA capabilities. You'll bring hands-on expertise in foundation models, multimodal learning, world models, or autonomous systems, and help turn research ideas into real technical progress.ResponsibilitiesContribute to Next-Generation VLA ArchitecturesResearch and prototype next-generation Vision-Language-Action architectures.Explore scalable multimodal foundation models for autonomous <driving.Help> develop architectures with improved generalization, reasoning, and long-horizon decision <making.Support> work on large driving models that unify perception, planning, and action <generation.Support> World Model & Driving Reasoning ResearchBuild and experiment with world-model-based approaches for predictive driving <intelligence.Work> on future-state prediction, behavior forecasting, and counterfactual simulation.Contribute to long-horizon planning and reasoning research for autonomous <driving.Help> build models that understand complex traffic interactions and latent agent intentions.Explore Agentic Driving SystemsResearch goal-driven autonomous driving <agents.Help> develop architectures that integrate reasoning, planning, memory, and action.Investigate driving agents capable of adaptive decision making in open-world environments.Contribute ideas toward future driving-agent architectures as successors to current VLA systems.QualificationsMS or PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Machine Learning, Electrical Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).Strong hands-on experience with deep learning frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, JAX).Solid understanding of foundation models, multimodal learning, or transformer-based architectures.Experience training or fine-tuning large-scale models (vision, language, or multimodal).Strong software engineering skills and experience working with large-scale data pipelines.Ability to read, implement, and extend ideas from recent AI research papers.Excellent collaboration and communication skills, comfortable working across distributed, cross-functional, and cross-cultural teams (Silicon Valley + HQ Korea).Preferred QualificationsResearch experience in autonomous driving, robotics, or embodied AI (e.g., perception, planning, control, or end-to-end driving models).Experience with world models, model-based reinforcement learning, or predictive/generative simulation.Familiarity with Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models or agentic AI architectures (reasoning, planning, memory, tool use).Publications at top-tier AI/ML/robotics venues (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, CVPR, CoRL, RSS).Experience with large-scale distributed training and model optimization.Prior experience contributing research to production systems or bringing prototypes to deployment.Familiarity with simulation environments for autonomous driving (e.g., CARLA, nuPlan, Waymo Open Dataset).Interview ProcessApplication Review - Coding Test - 1st interview - 2nd interview - Offer Negotiation - HiringThe screening procedures may vary depending on the position, schedule, or other <circumstances.You> will be individually notified of the screening schedule and results via the email address provided in your application.Compensation$189,000 to $311,220Additional InformationIn accordance with fair hiring practices, do not include any personal information unrelated to your job qualifications (e.g., Social Security Number, family relations, marital status, age, photo, physical condition, place of birth, etc.) in your resume.All documents must be submitted in PDF format and under 30MB in size. If you experience issues uploading your resume, please send it along with the job posting URL to [email hidden] strongly encourage applications from U.S. veterans and candidates eligible for employment preference under applicable laws.Qualified individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).42dot does not accept unsolicited resumes and will not pay fees for any such submissions. Equal Opportunity Statement42dot is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status.※ Please review the following information before <applying.How> to work in 42dot, About 42dot Way →