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Vehicle Test Operator Jobs in Detroit, MI (NOW HIRING)

Applus IDIADA

Vehicle Test Driver - Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI · On-site

$15.75 - $19.50/hr

... and sustainable vehicles. If you want an opportunity to challenge yourself and enhance your ... Driver Operator Applus IDIADA is seeking Driver Operators to join our team. The ideal candidate is ...

Applus IDIADA

Vehicle Test Driver - Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI · On-site

$15.75 - $19.50/hr

... and sustainable vehicles. If you want an opportunity to challenge yourself and enhance your ... Driver Operator Applus IDIADA is seeking Driver Operators to join our team. The ideal candidate is ...

Applus IDIADA

Vehicle Test Driver - Michigan

Ann Arbor, MI · On-site

$15.75 - $19.50/hr

... and sustainable vehicles. If you want an opportunity to challenge yourself and enhance your ... Driver Operator Applus IDIADA is seeking Driver Operators to join our team. The ideal candidate is ...

Luxoft

Test Driver

Troy, MI · On-site

$15 - $18.75/hr

The Vehicle Test Driver is responsible for safely operating development, prototype, and production vehicles while supporting vehicle validation, diagnostics, and engineering activities. The role ...

Dtna

Engineering Technician - Vehicle Test

Detroit, MI

$65K - $105K/yr

Conduct vehicle testing in controlled and real-world operating conditions. * Perform vehicle ... Operate test vehicles in a variety of environments, terrains, and weather conditions. * Document ...

Luxoft

Test Driver

Troy, MI · On-site

$15 - $18.75/hr

The Vehicle Test Driver is responsible for safely operating development, prototype, and production vehicles while supporting vehicle validation, diagnostics, and engineering activities. The role ...

Applus IDIADA

Vehicle Test Driver - Ann Arbor, MI

Ann Arbor, MI · On-site

$15.75 - $19.50/hr

... vehicles. With presence in 22 countries, we offer job positions around the world and internal ... Driver Operator Applus IDIADA is seeking Driver Operators to join our team. The ideal candidate is ...

Applus IDIADA

Vehicle Test Driver - Ann Arbor, MI

Ann Arbor, MI · On-site

$15.75 - $19.50/hr

... vehicles. With presence in 22 countries, we offer job positions around the world and internal ... Driver Operator Applus IDIADA is seeking Driver Operators to join our team. The ideal candidate is ...

Applus IDIADA

Vehicle Test Driver - Ann Arbor, MI

Ann Arbor, MI · On-site

$15.75 - $19.50/hr

... vehicles. With presence in 22 countries, we offer job positions around the world and internal ... Driver Operator Applus IDIADA is seeking Driver Operators to join our team. The ideal candidate is ...

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All JobsVehicle Test Operator JobsVehicle Test Operator Jobs in Detroit, MI

Vehicle Test Operator information

See Detroit, MI salary details

$8

$20

$29

How much do vehicle test operator jobs pay per hour?

As of Sep 7, 2026, the average hourly pay for vehicle test operator in Detroit, MI is $20.01, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $17.36 and $21.39 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a vehicle test operator?

Vehicle Test Operators are professionals responsible for testing vehicles, often under real-world or controlled conditions, to ensure they meet safety, performance, and quality standards. They may drive vehicles on test tracks or public roads, monitor systems, and collect data for engineers. Their work helps manufacturers identify issues and improve vehicle designs before mass production. Vehicle Test Operators play a critical role in the automotive development process, especially for new technologies like autonomous vehicles and electric cars.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a vehicle test operator?

To thrive as a Vehicle Test Operator, you need a valid driver’s license, a solid understanding of vehicle mechanics, and strong attention to safety protocols. Familiarity with data logging systems, diagnostic tools, and sometimes proprietary autonomous vehicle software is often required. Excellent observational skills, clear communication, and the ability to work independently make candidates stand out in this position. These skills and qualities ensure accurate vehicle testing, uphold safety standards, and support effective collaboration in the development process.

What are some common challenges faced by vehicle test operators during on-road testing, and how can they be managed?

Vehicle Test Operators often encounter challenges such as unpredictable road conditions, adapting to rapidly changing test protocols, and ensuring accurate data collection while maintaining safety standards. Managing these challenges involves thorough pre-test planning, clear communication with engineering teams, and staying attentive to both the vehicle's behavior and the surrounding environment. Operators must also be comfortable with technology, as many tests involve advanced driver-assist or autonomous systems that require quick troubleshooting and feedback.

What is the difference between Vehicle Test Operator vs Vehicle Inspector?

AspectVehicle Test OperatorVehicle Inspector
Required CertificationsDriver's license, safety trainingVehicle inspection certification, safety training
Work EnvironmentTest tracks, laboratories, testing facilitiesInspection stations, repair shops, testing sites
Employer & Industry UsageAutomotive testing companies, manufacturersGovernment agencies, automotive service centers
Common Search & ComparisonVehicle Test OperatorVehicle Inspector

Both roles involve working with vehicles in testing or inspection environments. Vehicle Test Operators focus on conducting tests on vehicles to assess performance and safety, often requiring driving and safety certifications. Vehicle Inspectors primarily evaluate vehicle conditions for compliance and safety standards, often in inspection stations. While their environments and certifications overlap, their core responsibilities differ: testing vs. inspection.

What cities near Detroit, MI are hiring for Vehicle Test Operator jobs?

Cities near Detroit, MI with the most Vehicle Test Operator job openings:

Vehicle Test Operator jobs near you

Autonomous Vehicle Test Engineer

General Motors

Milford, MI • On-site

Full-time

Posted 7 days ago

General Motors rating

8.2

Company rating: 8.2 out of 10

General Motors

Based on 308 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

7.3

Company rating compared to similar companies: 7.3 out of 10

Automakers average

Based on 6,331 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

Job description

Job Description
Position summary
  • GM Level: 6A
  • Proposed job-family alignment: Test and Validation Engineering
  • Primary work location: GM Milford Proving Ground, Milford, Michigan
  • Travel: Approximately 10% as needed for training, team alignment, vehicle support, or other GM testing activities
  • Career track: Individual contributor

General Motors is developing advanced driving-assistance and autonomous-vehicle capabilities that require safe, repeatable, and scalable validation. The Autonomous Vehicle Test Engineer will plan, execute, and report autonomous-vehicle testing at GM's Milford Proving Ground in partnership with AV Test Engineering, Vehicle Integration, software and systems engineering, AV Operations, Fleet Reliability Engineering, and other cross-functional teams.
This role will translate engineering objectives and approved test requests into clear, executable test plans and procedures. The engineer will conduct closed-course regression, feature, behavior, calibration, system-validation, and structured data-collection testing; evaluate vehicle and autonomy-system behavior; troubleshoot software and hardware issues; and deliver complete, actionable evidence to engineering customers.
The role combines test planning, hands-on vehicle and test execution, technical triage, data analysis, and process improvement. The successful candidate will be comfortable working in a fast-changing environment, taking ownership of ambiguous problems, collaborating across software and hardware domains, and maintaining a high bar for safety, test quality, and technical rigor.
What you'll do
Plan and execute autonomous-vehicle testing
  • Translate product, software, systems, and program objectives into practical test plans, test cases, procedures, schedules, and resource requirements.
  • Plan and execute repeatable software regression, feature and behavior validation, structured scenario, calibration-support, fault-response, and targeted data-collection tests.
  • Conduct closed-course vehicle testing at Milford Proving Ground, including vehicle preparation, test setup, scenario execution, observation, intervention or takeover when required, and post-run closeout.
  • Coordinate test requests, priorities, vehicle assignments, track reservations, operating windows, personnel, equipment, and readiness reviews with AV Test Engineering and cross-functional stakeholders.
  • Follow approved test procedures and acceptance criteria while using sound engineering judgment when test conditions, vehicle state, system behavior, or data quality differs from expectations.
  • Make timely recommendations to proceed, modify, repeat, block, or stop testing based on safety, vehicle condition, system behavior, track conditions, weather, data quality, or test intent.
  • Support test execution across development and release milestones, including build checkout, regression campaigns, feature validation, system integration, and structured validation activities.
  • Support approved vehicle testing on public roads or other test environments when required by the program, applicable procedures, and GM driver-training and safety requirements.
Perform vehicle and system technical triage
  • Monitor vehicle and autonomy-system health before, during, and after testing, identifying conditions that could affect safety, data quality, or test availability.
  • Triage issues involving the AV software stack, vehicle compute, sensors, localization, calibration, connectivity, data recording, host-vehicle systems, vehicle networks, power, and test infrastructure.
  • Use system status, logs, drive data, diagnostic tools, measurements, operator observations, and repeatable experiments to isolate likely causes and determine the appropriate next action.
  • Reproduce issues when safe and practical, capture accurate timelines and evidence, and create actionable issue reports for software, systems, Vehicle Integration, Fleet Reliability Engineering, Troubleforce, Service Operations, or other support teams.
  • Distinguish between issues that can be safely contained or corrected during test execution and issues requiring vehicle removal from service, engineering review, formal change control, or additional safety assessment.
  • Partner with developers and systems engineers to clarify expected behavior, reproduce failures, evaluate fixes, and verify corrective actions through targeted retesting.
  • Support controlled fault-injection and non-nominal testing when requested, ensuring that test intent, expected system response, safety controls, and data-labeling requirements are understood before execution.
Deliver high-quality test results and data
  • Execute test procedures consistently and capture complete run information, including vehicle, software, calibration, map, track, scenario, operator, weather, and timing details.
  • Evaluate AV behavior and system response against defined test objectives and acceptance criteria, distinguishing objective evidence from anecdotal observations.
  • Report pass, fail, blocked, incomplete, and inconclusive outcomes with enough context for engineering teams to act without repeating avoidable setup work.
  • Ensure drive links, logs, data media, notes, screenshots, issue references, and other required evidence are transferred or uploaded through approved workflows.
  • Review test data for completeness, corruption, missing signals, unexpected configuration changes, or other conditions that could limit its usefulness.
  • Publish concise test summaries, technical findings, and status updates to the appropriate engineering and operations forums.
  • Maintain traceability for test requests, procedures, results, issues, and retests in tools such as Jira, Confluence, Xray, Slack, and approved data or fleet-management systems.
  • Provide timely feedback to remote software, systems, simulation, safety, and program teams so that test results support release decisions, feature refinement, and issue prioritization.
Support vehicle readiness and test execution infrastructure
  • Prepare assigned test vehicles and equipment for daily execution, including configuration checks, software and calibration state, physical condition, instrumentation, data-recording readiness, and required test assets.
  • Perform or coordinate pre-drive readiness checks, post-drive inspections, sensor and camera cleanliness checks, data-media handling, charging or fueling coordination, and other activities required to maintain test availability.
  • Support approved software or branch deployments, calibration updates, route or map selection, logging configuration, test tools, and other test-preparation activities.
  • Maintain accurate records of vehicle status, mileage or test hours, configuration, test history, open issues, and return-to-service decisions.
  • Identify vehicle downtime risks early and coordinate containment, recovery, maintenance, parts, facility resources, and technical assistance with the appropriate partner teams.
  • Help maintain reliable test infrastructure, track resources, measurement equipment, data workflows, and other assets needed for repeatable execution.
  • Contribute to readiness reviews and daily operating rhythms that align vehicle and facility availability with testing demand.
Collaborate across the AV development lifecycle
  • Work closely with AV Test Engineering leads, Vehicle Integration, software engineering, systems engineering, AV Operations, Fleet Reliability Engineering, Service Operations, Safety, Mapping, Simulation, and program teams.
  • Clarify test objectives, assumptions, expected system behavior, inputs, outputs, dependencies, and acceptance criteria before execution.
  • Coordinate with operations personnel and technicians to ensure vehicles, track activities, equipment, and supporting tasks are prepared and executed safely.
  • Provide clear technical direction during test execution when coordinating operators, technicians, contractors, or other support personnel, without formal people-management responsibility.
  • Communicate blockers, risks, schedule impacts, vehicle constraints, and issue status early enough for teams to make informed decisions.
  • Participate in technical reviews, release-readiness discussions, issue reviews, retrospectives, and other forums that improve test effectiveness and system quality.
  • Build trusted working relationships across disciplines by being responsive, precise, fact-based, and accountable for follow-through.
Improve test methods, tools, and operating processes
  • Identify opportunities to increase usable testing hours, improve coverage, reduce avoidable setup and reset time, and improve the quality and timeliness of test results.
  • Develop and maintain clear checklists, test templates, troubleshooting guides, readiness gates, standard work, and other documentation that improves repeatability.
  • Improve test intake, prioritization, planning, execution, reporting, issue follow-up, and data-management workflows.
  • Use metrics and evidence such as vehicle availability, test hours, completed runs, blocked runs, downtime, repeat failures, data-upload timeliness, issue aging, and request cycle time to identify improvement opportunities.
  • Support appropriate automation, tooling, and data-analysis improvements that reduce manual effort and increase test consistency.
  • Capture lessons learned from test campaigns and convert them into improved test plans, procedures, asset requirements, and recommendations.
  • Help onboard and share knowledge with other engineers, technicians, operators, and cross-functional partners.
Maintain a Safety First culture
  • Follow all GM, Milford Proving Ground, AV Operations, AV Test Engineering, and applicable safety procedures and work controls.
  • Verify that required personnel, training, vehicle qualifications, test equipment, track conditions, emergency support, communications, and approved procedures are in place before testing begins.
  • Stop work and escalate when vehicle condition, system behavior, weather, track conditions, personnel readiness, facility conditions, or test setup creates unacceptable risk.
  • Maintain disciplined adherence to approved operating limits, test procedures, takeover requirements, driver guidance, and change-control expectations.
  • Support incident, near-miss, and abnormal-event documentation with accurate facts, timelines, evidence, and follow-up actions.
  • Treat safety, data integrity, and test traceability as non-negotiable requirements for every test activity.
Required qualifications
  • Bachelor's degree in mechanical, electrical, automotive, systems, computer, robotics, aerospace engineering, computer science, or a related technical discipline.
  • At least 3 years of relevant experience in autonomous vehicles, automotive engineering, robotics, aerospace, vehicle testing, systems integration, test engineering, or a related technical operations environment.
  • Experience planning and executing vehicle, robotics, or other complex electro-mechanical system tests in a laboratory, proving-ground, field, or comparable operational environment.
  • Experience troubleshooting software-enabled hardware systems using diagnostic information, logs, measurements, observations, and structured problem-solving methods.
  • Ability to read and apply test procedures, requirements, acceptance criteria, operating instructions, and safety controls.
  • Demonstrated ability to take ownership, establish priorities, work independently, and drive ambiguous technical problems toward resolution.
  • Ability to collaborate effectively with software, hardware, systems, operations, reliability, safety, and program teams.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills, including concise technical reporting, issue escalation, and cross-functional coordination.
  • Ability to work onsite in a proving-ground environment with exposure to heat, cold, dust, wind, sun, noise, vehicle traffic, and changing work conditions.
  • Ability to perform hands-on vehicle readiness and troubleshooting activities, including inspecting vehicles, connecting or handling test equipment and data media, and moving through vehicle and track environments as required.
  • Ability to work onsite at GM Milford Proving Ground in Milford, Michigan, and travel approximately 10% as needed.
  • Valid driver's license and ability to meet applicable GM driver-training, vehicle-qualification, site-access, and safety requirements for vehicle testing.
Preferred qualifications
  • Direct experience testing autonomous vehicles, advanced driver-assistance systems, mobile robots, or other safety-critical autonomous systems.
  • Experience with closed-course test execution, proving-ground operations, scripted scenario testing, release regression, feature validation, calibration support, or structured data collection.
  • Experience with total-vehicle integration, vehicle systems testing, or end-to-end validation of software-enabled vehicle features.
  • Working knowledge of software-defined vehicle concepts, SDV 2.0 architecture, vehicle compute, electronic control units, over-the-air or branch-based software deployment, vehicle configuration, and software or hardware change management.
  • Experience with automotive diagnostics, CAN or Ethernet-based vehicle networks, sensors, localization, calibration, time synchronization, data recording, connectivity, or AV system-health monitoring.
  • Familiarity with AV and vehicle tools such as Xray, INCA, Vehicle Spy, DPS, Cursor, Git, GitHub, Buildkite, Grafana, Notelogger, SC3 Debug App, Jumpstart, Launchpad, Starfleet, HAT, Drives, Webviz, Netradyne, Looker, or comparable tools.
  • Experience using Linux, command-line tools, Python, SQL, spreadsheets, or other methods to inspect logs, automate repetitive analysis, or improve test and fleet reporting.
  • Experience with test-management, issue-tracking, configuration-management, or release tools such as Jira, Confluence, Jenkins, Artifactory, or comparable platforms.
  • Familiarity with software development life-cycle prac

Working at General Motors

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About General Motors

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

General Motors is a company with global scale and capabilities, headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, with employees around the world. The company employs over 165,000 people, serves six continents, operates across 22 time zones, and has a diverse workforce speaking 75 languages1. GM’s vision is to drive the world forward by pioneering innovations that move and connect people to what matters. The company is working towards an all-electric future with its new Ultium Platform and is pushing transportation options beyond our wildest imaginations with autonomous vehicles. GM is also committed to becoming the most inclusive company in the world.

Industry

Transportation equipment manufacturing

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

Detroit, MI, US

Year founded

1908

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