Senior Data Science Startup Jobs in Michigan (NOW HIRING)

May Mobility is transforming cities through autonomous technology to create a safer, greener, more accessible world. Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, May develops and deploys autonomous vehicles (AVs) powered by our innovative Multi-Policy Decision Making (MPDM) technology that literally reimagines the way AVs think.

Our vehicles do more than just drive themselves - they provide value to communities, bridge public transit gaps and move people where they need to go safely, easily and with a lot more fun. We’re building the world’s best autonomy system to reimagine transit by minimizing congestion, expanding access and encouraging better land use in order to foster more green, vibrant and livable spaces. Since our founding in 2017, we’ve given more than 300,000 autonomy-enabled rides to real people around the globe. And we’re just getting started. We’re hiring people who share our passion for building the future, today, solving real-world problems and seeing the impact of their work. Join us.

May Mobility is experiencing a period of significant growth as we expand our autonomous shuttle and mobility services nationwide. As we advance toward widespread deployment, the ability to measure safety and comfort objectively, accurately, and at scale is critical. The Senior Data Scientist in this role will shape how we evaluate AV performance, uncover system vulnerabilities, and ensure that every driving decision meets the highest standards of safety and passenger experience. Your work will directly influence product readiness, inform engineering priorities, and accelerate the path to building trustworthy, human-centered autonomous driving systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop and refine safety and comfort metrics for evaluating autonomous vehicle performance across real-world and simulation data.
• Build ML and non-ML models to detect unsafe, uncomfortable, or anomalous behaviors.
• Analyze large-scale drive logs and simulation datasets to identify patterns, regressions, and system gaps.
• Collaborate with perception, prediction, behavior, and simulation teams to integrate metrics into workflows.
• Communicate insights and recommendations to engineering leaders and cross-functional teams.

Skills

Success in this role typically requires the following competencies:

• Strong proficiency in Python, SQL, and data analysis tools (e.g., Pandas, NumPy, Spark).
• Strong understanding of vehicle dynamics, kinematics, agent interactions, and road/traffic elements.
• Expertise in analyzing high-dimensional or time-series data from sensors, logs, and simulation systems.
• Excellent technical communication skills with the ability to clearly present complex model designs and results to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Detail-oriented with a focus on validation, testing, and error detection.

Qualifications and Experience Required

• B.S, M.S. or Ph.D. Degree in Engineering, Data Science, Computer Science, Math, or a related quantitative field.
• 5+ years of experience in data science, applied machine learning, robotics, or autonomous systems.
• 2+ years working in AV, ADAS, robotics, or another safety-critical domain involving vehicle behavior analysis.
• Demonstrated experience developing or evaluating safety and/or comfort metrics for autonomous or robotic systems.
• Hands-on experience working with real-world driving logs and/or simulation data.

Desired

• Background in motion planning, behavior prediction, or multi-agent interaction modeling.
• Experience designing metric-driven development, KPIs, and automated triaging pipelines.

Benefits and Perks

• Comprehensive healthcare suite including medical, dental, vision, life, and disability plans. Domestic partners who have been residing together at least one year are also eligible to participate.
• Health Savings and Flexible Spending Healthcare and Dependent Care Accounts available.
• Rich retirement benefits, including an immediately vested employer safe harbor match.
• Generous paid parental leave as well as a phased return to work.
• Flexible vacation policy in addition to paid company holidays.
• Total Wellness Program providing numerous resources for overall wellbeing

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and/or people of color are less likely to apply to a job unless they meet every qualification. At May Mobility, we’re committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workforce, so if you’re excited about this role but your previous experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway! You may be the perfect candidate for this or another role at May.

Want to learn more about our culture & benefits? Check out our website!

May Mobility is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants for employment will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, genetics or any other legally protected basis. Below, you have the opportunity to share your preferred gender pronouns, gender, ethnicity, and veteran status with May Mobility to help us identify areas of improvement in our hiring and recruitment processes. Completion of these questions is entirely voluntary. Any information you choose to provide will be kept confidential, and will not impact the hiring decision in any way. If you believe that you will need any type of accommodation, please let us know.

Note to Recruitment Agencies:

May Mobility does not accept unsolicited agency resumes. Furthermore, May Mobility does not pay placement fees for candidates submitted by any agency other than its approved partners.

Salary Range: $163,477 — $240,408 USD