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Supervise self-driving cars and trucks

Autonomous Vehicle Operator, Safety Driver & Test Driver Jobs

$25–$35/hrmost jobs paymedian today $25/hrtop posted rate $48/hr (Tesla)

Measured from 61 distinct advertised hourly rates, across 12 employers. 372 of these 456 openings give no hourly figure.

Safety drivers, AV operators, ADAS test drivers and self-driving truck operators keep autonomous vehicles safe on public roads and test tracks while the software learns. 456 roles are open right now in 50 countries at 23 employers, including TSMG, Tesla and Transdev. We re-read each employer's job board every day, so closed jobs drop off.

See 456 operator rolesLicenses and requirements →

Live autonomous vehicle operator roles

Updated 30 Oct 2026, 12:00 UTC

In the US by state: Texas, California, Florida, New York, Arizona

Some links here are referral links: when you join an employer through one, RobotTraining.jobs may receive a commission. It costs you nothing, and the employer pays you exactly the same.

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Every AV & Drone Operators role on the job board →

Before you apply

Most of these roles need a driver's license held for several years and a clean record; self-driving truck roles need a commercial license. Expect a driving-record and background check, drug testing for safety-sensitive roles and shift work, and check whether you are employed by the company or a staffing partner. Applying to any job here costs nothing, and no real employer will ask you to pay.

Who is hiring

EmployerOpen rolesPay stated
TSMG logoTSMG292Not stated
Tesla logoTesla69$20.20–$48/hr
Transdev logoTransdev24$21–$35/hr
Gatik logoGatik11$24–$31/hr
Aurora Innovation logoAurora Innovation10$27.50–$38.50/hr
HireArt logoHireArt7$23–$32/hr
ISEE logoISEE6Not stated
Nuro logoNuro6$26–$33.25/hr
Kodiak AI logoKodiak AI5$34–$39/hr
Waabi logoWaabi4$31–$43/hr
Moove logoMoove3Not stated
Avride logoAvride2$25/hr
Beep logoBeep2$22/hr
Bot Auto logoBot Auto2Not stated
Motional logoMotional2Not stated
PlusAI logoPlusAI2Not stated
Torc Robotics logoTorc Robotics2Not stated
Wayve logoWayve2Not stated
AeroVect logoAeroVect1$29–$32/hr
Applied Intuition logoApplied Intuition1Not stated
Latitude AI logoLatitude AI1Not stated
May Mobility logoMay Mobility1Not stated
Scout AI logoScout AI1$25–$30/hr

What the work is

“Autonomous vehicle operator” covers several jobs. The posting's title and duties tell you which one you are applying for.

Safety driver / AV operator

Supervise a self-driving car, robotaxi or delivery vehicle from the driver's seat, take over when the system needs you, and log disengagements and events after each run.

ADAS test & data-collection driver

Drive a sensor-equipped car on planned routes to record data or evaluate driver-assistance features, often on multi-week projects with travel and long sessions behind the wheel.

Autonomous truck operator

Hold a commercial license and drive or supervise self-driving trucks on highways, freight lanes and test courses, including pre-trip checks of the sensors and compute.

In-cab test specialist

Ride alongside the operator to run test software, watch the autonomy system's status, record takeovers and troubleshoot sensors and hardware during a mission.

What to check before you apply

Requirements differ between car, robotaxi and truck roles. Confirm these on the posting before you apply.

License & record

Most roles want a license held for several years and a clean driving record. Truck roles need a Class A commercial license (in the US, a CDL), and some testing projects name manufacturer test-driver certifications.

Screening

Expect a driving-record check and a background check. Safety-sensitive roles require drug testing, and some require a DOT physical before you start.

Shifts & travel

Day, night, weekend and rotating shifts are common. Truck testing and data-collection projects can mean long days and frequent travel, so check the schedule the posting states.

Contract terms

Some roles are permanent; others are temporary, project-based or employed through a staffing partner. Check the duration, benefits and who actually employs you.

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How contested these jobs are

From 2 Oct 2026 to 29 Oct 2026, AV & Drone Operators roles drew 9.9% of the apply clicks on RobotTraining.jobs while making up 47.8% of the time roles were open, so each opening drew 0.21x the attention of an average role. Fewer people chase each opening than in most kinds of work, so a fitting application stands out more easily.

Measured from apply clicks on this site, not from hires. Every kind of work compared.

Hiring autonomous vehicle test drivers and safety operators? : we size the pool near your site, check each person against your brief and introduce only the people who said yes. How it works and what it costs.

Frequently asked questions

What does an autonomous vehicle operator do?

An autonomous vehicle (AV) operator, often called a safety driver or safety operator, sits in a self-driving car, robotaxi or truck while the automated system drives. You watch the road and the system's behavior, take over manually whenever it is needed, and record disengagements and events for the engineering team. Shifts usually start with checks of the vehicle's cameras and sensors. Some roles alternate between manual driving and supervising autonomy, and some ride in the passenger seat to run test software.

What is the difference between a safety driver, an AV operator and an ADAS test driver?

Safety driver and AV operator usually name the same job: supervising an autonomous vehicle during testing or commercial service, ready to intervene. An ADAS test or data-collection driver drives a sensor-equipped car, mostly manually, along planned routes to record data or to evaluate driver-assistance features such as lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control and emergency braking, often on project assignments with travel. Autonomous-truck operators hold a commercial license and drive or supervise self-driving trucks.

Do you need a CDL or a special license?

Car and robotaxi roles usually ask for a standard driver's license held for several years and a clean driving record. Self-driving truck roles ask for a Class A commercial license: in listings checked in October 2026, Aurora asked for an interstate Class A CDL and at least three years of commercial truck driving, and Kodiak's safety-driver roles asked for a Class A CDL with a clean record. Some European and Asian test-driving projects also name manufacturer test-driver certifications, which the posting lists.

How much do autonomous vehicle operator jobs pay?

Pay is set by each employer, and many listings, especially outside the US, state no rate. Across the self-driving vehicle operator listings that do state an hourly rate, typical pay runs $25–$35 an hour and the median is $25 (61 distinct rates from 12 employers, refreshed daily). Advertised pay is not guaranteed earnings.

Can you work as an autonomous vehicle operator remotely?

Not in the vehicle roles listed here: in-vehicle operator and test-driver work happens in the car or truck, at a depot or on a test track. Remote assistance operators who help autonomous fleets from an operations center do a different job, listed under robot fleet operations.

What schedule and screening should you expect?

Expect shift work. Postings commonly list day, night, weekend and rotating shifts, and truck testing can mean long days (one October 2026 posting describes shifts of up to about 14 hours within DOT rules) and frequent travel. Employers typically check your driving record and background, safety-sensitive roles require drug testing, and some also require a DOT physical. Several roles are temporary or project-based, so check the contract length in each posting.

Drone & UAV pilot jobs →Get paid to record driving, from your own car or a data car →Robot fleet operations, including remote assistance →For driving schools, job centers and programs: a free weekly jobs list →

What these jobs pay

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The research behind this page

The figures here come from the same daily read of employers' job boards, and from sourced datasets, that our research reports publish with their method, their sources and a citation for every figure.

Newest facts in this research

  • Waymo said it was adding nearly 250 square miles of service territory over the following week across Los Angeles, Nashville, Orlando, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area.

    Source: Waymo · Robotaxi fleets · Waymo

  • inDrive, Nvidia and Pony.ai signed a memorandum of understanding on 23 October 2026 to evaluate offering Pony.ai Gen-7 robotaxis through the inDrive app, with Kazakhstan as the first test market; inDrive's CTO said testing would begin in Astana in the first half of 2027.

    Source: Pony.ai · Robotaxi fleets

  • Tesla's Q3 2026 results showed its Robotaxi service at nearly 2 million cumulative unsupervised miles by the end of the quarter, a month after Cybercab joined the Austin fleet.

    Source: Electrek · Robotaxi fleets · Tesla

  • Bolt said its planned fleet of at least 25,000 autonomous Lucid vehicles will run Nvidia's Alpamayo Stack software, starting with a data-collection program in Madrid in 2027 that still needs regulatory approval.

    Source: Electrek · Robotaxi fleets

  • Transdev says that since 2019 it has tested, deployed and operated Waymo's robotaxi fleets in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin, with over 1,000 operators supporting Waymo's technology validation and 24/7 commercial service.

    Source: Transdev North America · Robotaxi remote assistance · Transdev