Laura Major is the Chief Technology Officer of Motional, where she leads hundreds of engineers in the development of revolutionary driverless technology systems.
She began her career as a Cognitive Engineer for Draper Laboratory, where she combined her psychology and engineering skills to design decision-making support devices for U.S. astronauts and soldiers. After 12 years with the company, Major served as Division Leader for the Information and Cognition Division. During this time, she was recognized by the Society of Women Engineers as an emerging leader in 2014.
Major also spent time at Aria Insights (formerly known as CyPhy Works), a U.S.-based drone manufacturer that specialized in developing highly advanced drones. She served as VP of engineering, and then Chief Technology Officer, working on the development of autonomous aerial vehicles. Major is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is an accomplished writer and co-author of the book What To Expect When You’re Expecting Robots: The Future of Human-Robot Collaboration.