Interview Experience: Senior Driving Behaviors Systems Engineer II at Cruise

I recently interviewed for the Senior Driving Behaviors Systems Engineer II position at Cruise, and I want to share my experience to help others preparing for the role. This position plays a key role in defining, analyzing, and improving autonomous vehicle driving behaviors, ensuring that the vehicles perform safely, efficiently, and comfortably in a variety of environments.

Overview of the Role

As a Senior Driving Behaviors Systems Engineer II at Cruise, your primary responsibility is to analyze the driving behaviors of autonomous vehicles (AVs) and validate these behaviors against system requirements. This includes defining metrics, conducting simulation testing, and applying systems engineering and data analysis techniques to improve AV performance. You’ll work closely with teams across product, legal, engineering, and testing to ensure that the AVs operate safely and meet both legal and customer satisfaction standards.

Interview Process

The interview process for this role at Cruise is multi-faceted and involves several rounds. It focuses on assessing both your technical expertise and your ability to collaborate across teams.

1. Initial Screening (HR Interview)

Overview: The first step is usually an HR interview, where you’ll discuss your background, motivation for applying to Cruise, and alignment with the company’s values. The recruiter will also verify your qualifications and assess your interest in autonomous vehicle technologies.

Key Areas:

• Your experience in systems engineering, data analysis, and autonomous vehicles.
• General cultural fit for the company.

Example Question:
Why are you interested in working at Cruise, and what excites you about autonomous vehicles?

2. Technical Phone Interview

Overview: This round involves speaking with a senior engineer or hiring manager to assess your technical capabilities. The interview focuses on systems engineering principles, data analysis, and your ability to solve complex technical problems related to autonomous vehicles.

Key Areas Covered:

• Systems Engineering: How you approach designing and validating complex systems.
• Data Analysis: How you interpret large datasets to assess driving behaviors and system performance.
• Risk Management: Discuss how you would apply risk management tools and methodologies to decision-making in an AV system context.
• Programming: You may be asked to demonstrate your proficiency in Python, C++, and SQL for data analysis and system evaluation.

Example Question:
How would you analyze driving behaviors to ensure the vehicle’s behavior is both safe and comfortable for passengers?

3. Onsite Interview (Multiple Rounds)

The onsite is split into several rounds, each evaluating different aspects of your skill set.

Round 1 - System Design and Requirements Analysis

You will be asked to design a system for analyzing and validating AV driving behaviors. This could include developing simulation tests and defining metrics for performance validation.

Example Question:
Design a system that validates autonomous vehicle behavior in complex urban environments. What key metrics would you track, and how would you test for safety and comfort?

Round 2 - Data Analysis and Simulation Testing

In this round, expect to be presented with a dataset from an autonomous vehicle or a scenario to simulate. You’ll need to explain how you would process the data, identify key trends, and ensure that the system performs as expected in real-world conditions.

Example Question:
Given a set of driving data from autonomous vehicles, how would you validate that the vehicles are meeting safety and legal requirements?

Round 3 - Risk Management and Decision-Making

You may be asked how you would approach decision-making in the context of AV behavior analysis, particularly how you would prioritize tasks or handle ambiguous situations.

Example Question:
How would you manage risks related to software changes in the AV autonomy stack? What tools would you use to assess their impact on driving behaviors?

Round 4 - Behavioral and Leadership Assessment

As a senior engineer, they will want to know how you collaborate with other teams, manage complex projects, and lead initiatives. This round often focuses on past experiences and leadership qualities.

Example Question:
Describe a time when you worked with cross-functional teams to solve a major technical challenge. How did you ensure alignment and success?

4. Final Round (Leadership and Cultural Fit)

Overview: The final round is often a conversation with senior leadership to assess your strategic fit within the company. You’ll discuss your long-term vision for the role and how you would contribute to Cruise’s mission.

Example Question:
What do you think are the most important challenges in developing autonomous vehicle systems, and how would you approach solving them at Cruise?

Key Skills and Experience

To excel in this role, you need a strong combination of systems engineering, data analysis, and risk management skills, along with a deep understanding of autonomous vehicle technologies.

• Systems Engineering: Proven experience with designing, validating, and optimizing complex systems, particularly in the context of safety-critical systems like autonomous vehicles.
• Data Analysis: Ability to analyze large datasets to evaluate driving behaviors and system performance, using tools like Python, SQL, and other data processing frameworks.
• Risk Management: Knowledge of risk management methodologies and how to apply them to AV systems, including impact analysis for software changes.
• Programming: Proficiency in Python, C++, and SQL to perform data analysis and validate system performance.
• Collaboration: Experience working across teams, including product, legal, engineering, and testing, to ensure AV systems meet all requirements.
• Leadership: As a senior role, you’ll need experience leading teams, mentoring junior engineers, and making strategic decisions for system design and implementation.

What to Expect

• Complex Technical Challenges: Be prepared to solve problems related to system design, data analysis, and the validation of AV behaviors.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Expect to discuss how you use data to inform design and decision-making, particularly in terms of system performance, safety, and comfort.
• Collaboration Across Teams: You’ll be working with multiple teams across Cruise, so expect to discuss your experience in cross-functional collaboration.

Final Tips

• Brush Up on System Design: Be ready to discuss how you would approach designing complex AV systems and validating them through simulation and real-world testing.
• Focus on Data Analysis: Demonstrate your ability to analyze large datasets and extract meaningful insights to guide system improvements.
• Prepare for Behavioral Questions: As a senior engineer, leadership and communication are key. Be prepared to discuss past leadership experiences and how you collaborate with other teams.