Staff Software Engineer - Embedded Software Platform

General Motors; Markham; Hybrid; CAD 203,000 - 271,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare benefits

Hybrid work model

Job summary

General Motors in Markham/Oshawa area seeks a Staff Software Engineer to shape and scale embedded software platforms for software-defined vehicles. You will lead a major capability across teams, defining architecture, roadmaps, and standards while keeping hands-on involvement for tough technical problems.

You will influence the direction beyond your team, coordinate with validation, cloud, cybersecurity, and supplier stakeholders, and coach others to raise engineering effectiveness and product

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering, electrical engineering, or a related field.
• 15+ years of experience developing, integrating, deploying, or validating software systems.
• Experience delivering high-quality embedded software for safety-critical or mission-critical systems.

Responsibilities

• Define target-state architecture, roadmaps, and priorities for the assigned platform.
• Lead architecture reviews and cross-functional alignment across teams.
• Identify bottlenecks and deliver production‑quality software and tooling.
• Create standards and reusable patterns to improve speed and quality.
• Establish ownership criteria, operational expectations, and exception-handling.
• Use data to drive improvements in reliability and developer productivity.
• Coach senior engineers and grow technical leadership across the organization.
• Collaborate with embedded software, vehicle integration, validation, cloud, and program teams.

Skills

Embedded software architecture

Cross-team leadership

Problem-solving

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering, electrical engineering, or related field

Tools

Kubernetes

Terraform

Python

Git

Linux

Job description

Job Description Vacancy Status: This posting is not for an existing vacancy within the organization and is open to new applications.

AI Disclosure: As part of the application process, Artificial Intelligence will be used in the hiring process for this role

Work Arrangement: Hybrid: This role is categorized as hybrid. This means the successful candidate is expected to report to Markham or Oshawa office three times per week, at minimum.

The Role: General Motors is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to shape and scale the engineering platforms that build, test, integrate, validate, and deliver embedded software for software-defined vehicles. This role is for a hands‑on technical leader who can turn ambiguous, cross‑team problems into durable architecture, practical standards, and measurable improvements in engineering effectiveness, release confidence, and product quality. The successful candidate will lead a major capability across multiple teams, influence technical direction beyond their immediate organization, and connect software, tooling, infrastructure, test, and release activities into a coherent engineering system. The role may align to one or more of the four specialization areas below.

Expectations and Impact: Own the architecture, technical roadmap, and execution strategy for a significant platform capability or a set of related initiatives. Lead high‑impact, multi‑team technical efforts from problem definition through adoption and operationalization. Establish reusable patterns, standards, quality controls, and developer experiences that improve consistency and speed across teams. Make sound architectural decisions in complex embedded, real‑time, cloud, simulation, test, and release environments. Use engineering data and operational signals to prioritize improvements in reliability, feedback time, quality, and developer productivity. Influence without relying on direct authority; align engineering, validation, cybersecurity, cloud, quality, program, and supplier stakeholders. Remain hands‑on in the most difficult technical problems while enabling others through coaching, mentoring, documentation, and technical leadership. Communicate tradeoffs, risks, progress, and recommendations clearly to senior engineering and program leaders.

Specialization Areas

• 1. Virtualization and CI infrastructure Define and evolve the platform used to build, test, and deploy virtualized vehicle software across embedded, simulation, and cloud environments. Work may include enterprise CI/CD architecture, GitOps delivery on Kubernetes, Terraform and infrastructure‑as‑code patterns, progressive delivery and rollback, artifact flows, security and compliance integration, and observability for pipelines and simulation workloads. Virtualization‑specific basic qualifications Experience designing or delivering CI/CD platforms for embedded, simulation, or cloud workloads. Hands‑on experience with Kubernetes, Terraform or comparable infrastructure‑as‑code practices, and production cloud environments. Experience with embedded or simulation workflows such as vECUs, SIL, FMU, or SSP. Ability to translate platform architecture into reusable automation, standards, and operational practices.
• 2. Continuous integration and quality gating Architect traceable delivery flows that safely move software and related inputs from pull request through component, system, virtual, physical, and release validation. Work may include GitHub Enterprise workflows, artifact promotion, dependency and configuration management, mainline protection, tiered quality gates, test‑evidence policy, embedded and vehicle‑level compatibility checks, release readiness, and pipeline‑health metrics. CI‑specific basic qualifications Experience architecting or implementing end‑to‑end CI/CD and quality‑gating workflows for embedded software. Experience with GitHub Enterprise or comparable source‑control and pipeline platforms, artifact repositories, and automated test evidence. Understanding embedded and vehicle‑system integration across ECUs, MCUs, SoCs, containers, networks, configuration, or calibration. Experience incorporating static analysis, security scanning, coverage, integration testing, simulation, or hardware‑based validation into delivery controls.
• 3. Test‑system modernization Modernize large‑scale embedded test systems so standardized, headless, automated testing can run repeatedly across virtual and physical environments. Work may include test execution architecture, configuration and variation management, change‑impact analysis, risk‑based regression selection, test‑result schemas and APIs, Databricks‑enabled analytics, diagnostics, failure triage, and integration with CI/CD, test management, and issue‑management workflows. Specialization‑specific basic qualifications Experience architecting embedded test automation and build‑to‑test pipelines across virtual or physical environments. Experience with configuration and variation management, change‑impact analysis, or risk‑based regression testing. Experience modeling test results and integrating test execution with APIs, analytics platforms such as Databricks, diagnostics, or issue‑management workflows. Proficiency with engineering automation tools such as Linux, Git, Python, Bash, Robot Framework, containers, or infrastructure as code.
• 4. Build‑system modernization Modernize embedded build and test infrastructure by creating scalable, reproducible, secure, and developer‑friendly workflows. Work may include transitioning legacy Make or shell orchestration to Bazel, developing reusable rules, macros, toolchains, platforms, and repository standards, migrating firmware and generated code, integrating build systems with CI/CD and release processes, improving caching and parallelism, and evaluating AI‑assisted engineering workflows with measurable outcomes. Build System‑specific basic qualifications Experience building and maintaining production software systems, with proficiency in Python and at least one additional engineering‑tooling language. Experience in automotive, embedded, safety‑related, calibration, or systems‑engineering environments. Experience migrating Make or shell‑based build orchestration to Bazel or a comparable scalable build system. Experience with embedded cross‑compilation, toolchains, generated code, firmware, build reproducibility, or CI/CD integration.

What You’ll Do

• Define target‑state architecture, phased roadmaps, and implementation priorities for the assigned capability.
• Lead architecture reviews, technical working sessions, design decisions, and cross‑functional alignment.
• Identify manual handoffs, duplicated work, late integration points, unreliable signals, and other systemic sources of delay or quality escape.
• Deliver or guide production‑quality software, automation, platform components, and integrations.
• Create standards and reusable patterns that make the preferred engineering path the easiest path for product teams and suppliers.
• Establish clear ownership, entry and exit criteria, operational expectations, and exception‑management practices.
• Instrument the platform and use data to identify root causes, guide investment, and demonstrate measurable improvement.
• Partner with teams responsible for embedded software, vehicle integration, validation, developer experience, cloud, cybersecurity, artifact management, and program delivery.
• Coach senior engineers and help grow technical leadership across the organization.

Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications)

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, software engineering, systems engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience. Typically, 15 or more years of experience developing, integrating, deploying, or validating software systems. Deep understanding of embedded and real‑time software architecture and experience delivering high‑quality safety‑critical or otherwise mission‑critical products. Demonstrated success leading complex technical initiatives across multiple teams or organizations. Strong problem‑solving, analytical, communication, and prioritization skills in an action‑oriented environment. Production experience with engineering tools and systems; proficiency in Python and at least one additional language used in software or engineering‑tooling environments. Experience in at least one of the four specialization areas described above, with the ability to collaborate across the others. Experience with relevant technologies such as Linux, Git, containers, CI/CD, cloud platforms, infrastructure as code, test automation, artifact repositories, or data and API platforms, as applicable to the selected specialization.

What Will Give You a Competitive Edge (Preferred Qualifications)

Experience in automotive, aerospace, defense, industrial, or another embedded, real‑time, regulated, or safety‑critical environment. Knowledge of functional safety, ISO 26262, cybersecurity engineering, ASPICE, MISRA, AUTOSAR, or related engineering practices. Experience with virtual and hardware‑based validation, including SIL, CoSIM, vECU, HIL, benches, or system‑level testing. Experience establishing platform products, reusable templates, developer self‑service, engineering standards, or reliability objectives. Advanced degree in a related technical field.

Measures of Success

Improved build, test, integration, release, and developer feedback speed without compromising quality. More reproducible, traceable, secure, and observable engineering workflows. Earlier detection and faster resolution of integration defects, pipeline failures, and invalid quality signals. Strong adoption of common platforms, standards, and automation by product teams and suppliers. Measurable gains in release confidence, mainline stability, test effectiveness, and engineering productivity.

Compensation

The salary range for this role is $147,000 to $196,300. The actual base salary a successful candidate will be offered within this range will vary based on factors relevant to the position.

GM DOES NOT PROVIDE IMMIGRATION‑RELATED SPONSORSHIP FOR THIS ROLE. DO NOT APPLY FOR THIS ROLE IF YOU WILL NEED GM IMMIGRATION SPONSORSHIP NOW OR IN THE FUTURE.

Benefits Overview

• Paid time off including vacation days, holidays, and supplemental benefits for pregnancy, parental and adoption leave;
• Healthcare, dental, and vision benefits;
• Life insurance plans to cover you and your family;
• Company and matching contributions to a Defined Contribution Pension plan to help you save for retirement;
• GM Vehicle Purchase Plan for you and your family

About GM

Our vision is a world with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion and we embrace the responsibility to lead the change that will make our world better, safer and more equitable for all.

Why Join Us

We believe we all must make a choice every day – individually and collectively – to drive meaningful change through our words, our deeds and our culture. Every day, we want every employee to feel they belong to one General Motors team.

Non‑Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunities

General Motors is committed to being a workplace that is not only free of unlawful discrimination, but one that genuinely fosters inclusion and belonging. We strongly believe that providing an inclusive workplace creates an environment in which our employees can thrive and develop better products for our customers.

Accommodations

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Learn more about: Our Company Our Culture How we hire Our diverse team of employees bring their collective passion for engineering, technology and design to deliver on our vision of a world with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion. We are looking for adventure‑seekers and imaginative thought leaders to help us transform mobility. Explore our global locations We are determined to lead change for the world through technology, ingenuity and harnessing the creativity of our diverse team.

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