Autonomous Vehicles Lead

🫵 Role: Autonomous Vehicles Lead

📍 Location: Brussels (Ixelles)

📅 Deadline for applications: 17/07/2026, at midnight

Job Description

Want to help shape the future of autonomous mobility and ensure it delivers for climate, safety and society? Transport & Environment (T&E), Europe’s leading clean transport think tank and campaign group, is looking for a passionate and strategic senior expert to lead our work on autonomous vehicles (AVs).

As AV Lead, you will serve as our primary expert on the deployment and regulation of autonomous driving technologies in road transport and their implications for decarbonization, urban mobility, and the broader transport system. This is a unique opportunity to shape how automation contributes to (or hinders) Europe’s clean transport transition, engage with key policymakers and industry players, and push for responsible and sustainable deployment of AVs.

Key responsibilities

● Autonomous mobility strategy lead: Define and lead T&E's strategic positioning and vision for autonomous mobility, ensuring it aligns with broader goals on climate, road safety and public space.

● Industry and technology expert: Track and analyze global developments in autonomous vehicle technologies, deployment strategies, and market trends. Assess the environmental, safety, and societal impacts of AVs. Analyze business models, partnerships, and investment trends, including the role of software, AI, and data in the automotive value chain.

● Policy and regulatory leadership: Develop and implement advocacy strategies to shape EU policy on autonomous vehicles, including type approval, safety frameworks, data governance, and urban mobility regulation.

● Stakeholder engagement and representation: Act as the voice of T&E on AV by representing T&E in external forums, building relationships with policymakers, industry, academia, and civil society.

● Strategic advisory: Provide expert briefings to Brussels and national teams, translating complex technical and regulatory developments into clear advocacy positions.

● Project coordination: Lead and coordinate projects on AVs and automation, working across internal teams, T&E members, and external experts.

● Scoping and innovation: Identify emerging issues (e.g. robotaxis, freight automation, AI governance, induced demand) and develop new workstreams, including commissioning and delivering impactful research.

Essential requirements:

● At least 5-7 years of relevant experience in automotive, mobility, technology, or policy fields related to autonomous vehicles.

● Domain expertise: strong understanding of AV technologies, regulatory frameworks, and/or the automotive or tech ecosystem (e.g. OEMs, suppliers, software companies).

● Policy understanding: familiarity with how regulation shapes innovation and deployment (e.g. safety, liability, data, urban mobility).

● Analytical & strategic thinking: ability to grasp complex technical and systemic issues and translate them into actionable recommendations.

● Stakeholder engagement skills: ability to work effectively with policymakers, industry experts, and NGOs.

● Project management skills: experience in managing projects across multiple teams.

● Excellent communication skills: ability to explain complex topics to a range of audiences.

● Enjoys working in a team environment.

● Proactive and comfortable scoping and developing new projects.

Nice to have:

● Experience working directly on autonomous driving technologies, AI, or mobility services

● Experience coordinating multi-stakeholder coalitions or projects

● Knowledge of urban mobility systems, digitalisation, or transport decarbonisation

The position will be primarily based in Brussels but other locations will be considered. The position will involve occasional travel. The deadline for applications is the 17/07/2026. To apply, please submit your application via jobs.transportenvironment.org.

About Us

Transport & Environment is Europe’s leading clean transport think tank and campaign group. We combine the power of robust evidence and a deep understanding of the transport sector with compelling communications and impactful advocacy.

T&E is committed to your professional development and will invest in training from your first day. Our team works across Europe, with offices in Brussels, Rome, Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Warsaw, and London.

⚠️ IMPORTANT SECURITY NOTICE FOR APPLICANTS

Protecting Your Personal Data against Recruitment Scams: T&E takes digital data privacy and information security seriously. Please note that all legitimate communication from our talent acquisition team will exclusively originate from an official corporate domain ending in @transportenvironment.org (or cleancitiescampaign.org) or directly via secure automated channels on our managed applicant tracking platform.

• No Unverified Communication: T&E does not authorize external recruitment agencies or headhunters to contact candidates using unverified, generic webmail accounts such as @gmail.com, @yahoo.com, or @outlook.com.

• No Charging or Fees: T&E will never request sensitive financial information, banking credentials, passport copies, or any form of payment at any stage of our recruitment process.

• Verification Protocol: All legitimate T&E vacancies are listed on our 2 websites https://jobs.transportenvironment.org/ or https://cleancitiescampaign.org/vacancies/

If you receive a suspicious solicitation and wish to verify its legitimacy, please cross-reference the vacancy on our 2 websites or forward the communication directly to the HR team at hrsupport@transportenvironment.org before sharing any personal documentation.