I'm not convinced Uber hires anyone into a long-term position. This project can be expected to stick around for awhile, but only in the sense that it's complicated enough to justify long time investment; once the machines are reliable enough (or Uber loses interest or funding in this avenue of R&D), expect these researchers to be out on the pavement.

It'd be wise for them to consider this, if anything, a side-move (but a side-move with a 3x salary bonus, so definitely take that money and bank it!).