Toyota scouts for automated driving software engineers for new facility in Tokyo

Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development (TRI-AD) is to open a spacious, state-of-the-art facility optimised for the development of production-quality software in a brand-new Nihonbashi office building in the heart of Tokyo. It is seeking passionate, talented candidates wishing to grow their career in a Silicon Valley-style workplace with English as the official language.

TRI-AD aims to build a robust pipeline between research and production in order to accelerate the development and deployment of automated vehicle technology. Launched in March 2018, TRI-AD is a partnership between Toyota, Aisin, Denso and the US-based Toyota Research Institute (TRI). The company’s mission is to leverage the cutting-edge research in artificial intelligence for automated driving created by TRI into real products that can have a substantial positive impact on mobility for the world. And TRI-AD is recruiting.

"Cars of the future will become more software than hardware," says Dr James Kuffner, TRI-AD’s new CEO. "Any car company that does not successfully evolve into a skilled software company will likely disappear. With automated driving software, we are talking about millions and millions of lines of code that requires an incredibly high level of robustness and reliability. The goal of TRI-AD is to create the best process in the world for writing software: nothing less than the equivalent of the Toyota Production System for software will suffice." Dr. Kuffner was a founding member of the automated driving program at Google and was previously Chief Technology Officer at TRI.

Dr. Gill Pratt, TRI CEO and Fellow for Advanced Research and Development at Toyota Motor Corporation, will serve as chairman of TRI-AD’s Board of Directors. Dr Pratt is recognised as an eminent researcher in the fields of robotics and AI with experience in leading the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Robotics Challenge in the United States.

AD software development, from research to consumer products
TRI-AD will define and optimise the software development process from research to product. Specific development areas include:

Automated driving technology for Privately Owned Vehicles (POV) and Mobility as a Service (MaaS).
- Automated map generation technology for automated driving.
- Modern cloud-based tools and infrastructure for training data and machine learning.

In these areas, TRI-AD will engage in a wide range of development work, including:

- Strategy planning for automated driving.
- Safety-critical system design.
- Robust software development.
- Scalable cloud-based tools and infrastructure.
- Real vehicle testing on closed courses and public roads.
- Simulation tools for validation and verification.

Wanted: battle-ready software engineers
TRI-AD is recruiting engineers globally starting now, aiming to grow its team to over 1,000 employees, in partnership with seconded staff from Toyota, Denso, and Aisin. TRI-AD officially launched its recruitment website in June.

The company is seeking passionate and talented engineers wishing to accelerate the development of world-class automated driving technology. Engineers will utilize agile development techniques for rapid development. Specifically, those with experience in the following fields are invited to apply:

- Computer science,
- Computer vision and 3D perception,
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning,
- Automated driving systems architecture,
- Advanced safety systems and software,
- Business development.

TRI-AD’s working culture will be unique and promote innovation. Its Silicon-Valley work style will maximize individual capability and performance and blend with Japan’s tradition of nurturing talent via teamwork. “TRI-AD seeks to gather the world's best software engineers into an innovative, productive, and collaborative work environment,” says Kuffner. “Our engineers will have all of the resources they need and a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to creating game-changing technology and real-world products.”

Dr. Pratt adds: “This is a company that’s going to take the research results from TRI and develop them into meaningful products that Toyota will sell. It’s going to have an incredible impact on the world by making those results relevant to society.”

For more information or to apply, visit: https://www.tri-ad.global/