Director, Autonomous Vehicles Platform (Santa Clara)

The era of AI is here — and it's transforming how machines learn, reason, and interact with the world. Today, AI-powered autonomous vehicles can navigate rural roads at night, understand dynamic environments, and make real-time driving decisions. Behind this capability lies a robust software stack — and VAL/SAL (Vehicle & Sensor Abstraction Layers) are the critical interfaces that make it all possible.In this role, you’ll lead the architecture and development of the abstraction layers that bridge our autonomous driving software with the physical world — from low-level sensor inputs and actuator commands to scalable integration with real-world hardware. You’ll be a key force behind enabling real-time autonomy at scale. This is more than just an engineering role — it’s a chance to craft the future of robotics and self-driving technologyWhat you will be doing:Lead the VAL and SAL teams, designing and developing optimal software abstractions and plugin frameworks to interface with real-world vehicle and sensor systems, consistently exceeding customer expectations.Build efficient and user-friendly mechanisms to improve software integration across a wide range of vehicles and sensor configurations.Work on core areas such as component abstraction layers, sensor and actuator interfacing, and inter-process data sharing and communication, enabling reliable and scalable autonomous driving solutions.Solidify existing frameworks and software components, validating improvements through extensive real-world and synthetic testing to enhance computational performance and system utilization.Perform in-vehicle tests, collect and analyze sensor and vehicle data, and support the completion of autonomous drive missions.Develop unit tests and documentation for key features, evaluate software quality, and propose corrective actions in alignment with industry best practices.Develop highly efficient, production-quality C++ code, demonstrating parallel computing capabilities through GPGPU (CUDA) to accelerate processing workloads.Follow industry safety and quality standards, including MISRA and other automotive-grade software development practices.What we need to see:MS or higher in Computer Engineering, Computer Science or related Engineering fields (or equivalent experience).15+ overall years of relevant industry experience and 8+ years of managing a team.Excellent C and C++ programming skills.Experience developing and debugging multithreaded/distributed applications like multimedia systems, game engines, etc.Strong knowledge of programming and debugging techniques, especially for parallel and distributed architectures.Strong knowledge on Linux, Android, and/or other real-time operating systems.Experience with frameworks for robotics such as ROS and/or for multimedia such as GStreamer.Thrive on writing low latency, highly performant code.Phenomenal communication and analytical skills.Self-motivated and a great teammateWays to stand out from the crowd:Understanding of embedded architectures and developing software in heterogeneous architectures, including GPUs.Knowledge of automotive systems, notably ADAS applications, AUTOSAR and drive by wire systems.Software development for modern OpenGL (Core Profile) and Linux.Experience with version control systems GIT and build system like CMake/BazelBe hands-on and work well within a team of algorithm, software and hardware engineers, with a significant level of detail orientation and a penchant for data organization and presentationNVIDIA is widely considered to be one of the technology world’s most desirable employers with some of the most forward-thinking and dedicated people in the world working here. If you want to help make robotics progress in challenging contexts, we want to hear from you!Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and the pay of employees in similar positions. The base salary range is 320,000 USD - 488,750 USD.You will also be eligible for equity and benefits.Applications for this job will be accepted at least until July 26, 2026.This posting is for an existing vacancy. NVIDIA uses AI tools in its recruiting processes.NVIDIA is committed to fostering an inclusive work environment and proud to be an equal opportunity employer. As we highly value diversity in our current and future employees, we do not discriminate (including in our hiring and promotion practices) on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status or any other characteristic protected by law.SummaryLocation: US, CA, Santa ClaraType: Full time