Staff Systems Engineer - AV Platform

General Motors; Markham; Hybrid; CAD 219,000 - 361,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading automotive company is seeking a Staff Systems Engineer to lead systems engineering efforts for embedded autonomous vehicles. The role involves defining system-level requirements and managing architecture, optimizing resources, and collaborating with software and hardware teams. The ideal candidate has over 8 years of experience and a strong background in embedded systems engineering. This position offers a hybrid work model, requiring in-office presence a few times a week.

Benefits

Health and wellbeing benefits

Tuition assistance programs

GM vehicle discounts

Qualifications

• 8+ years of systems engineering experience, ideally within embedded systems.
• Proven track record of leading system architecture design.
• Strong expertise in system performance analysis.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end systems engineering for embedded AV and ADAS platforms.
• Define and manage system-level requirements and architectures.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams for system design.

Skills

Systems engineering

Collaboration

Resource optimization

Technical documentation

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related

Master’s or PhD preferred

Tools

Simulation tools

Requirements management frameworks

Embedded Linux or RTOS

Job description

Summary

At General Motors, we are building on our long‑standing legacy of innovation and leadership in advanced driving technologies, exemplified by our industry‑leading hands‑off driving system, Super Cruise®. Our Autonomous Vehicles (AV) program is driven by a bold ambition to deliver expanded product portfolios that push the boundaries of safe, reliable autonomous and assisted driving experiences. Central to this mission is our Architecture and System Design team, a critical hub that operates at the intersection of requirement definition, architecture and system design, integration, and validation across the AV organization. This team ensures a cohesive and robust system architecture that enables seamless integration of our AV technologies and delivers the high standards of safety and performance our customers expect.

We are seeking an experienced Staff Systems Engineer to lead systems engineering efforts for our embedded AV/ADAS platform. You will be responsible for defining and managing system‑level requirements and architectures, optimizing resource allocation across computational and networking subsystems, and working closely with software and hardware teams to ensure seamless integration of vehicle platform components. This role is highly collaborative, strategic, and technical, influencing platform roadmaps and long‑term technical direction.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the end‑to‑end systems engineering for embedded autonomous vehicle (AV) and advanced driver‑assist­ence systems (ADAS) platforms.

• Define, document, and manage system‑level requirements, ensuring traceability and alignment with product and safety goals.

• Develop and maintain system architecture, balancing trade‑offs in compute resources (CPU, GPU, NPU), memory (RAM), and communication bandwidth (Ethernet).

• Perform system resource allocation, profiling, and optimization to meet performance, power, latency, and reliability targets.

• Collaborate cross‑functionally with software architecture, firmware, hardware, validation, and vehicle integration teams to ensure cohesive system design and implementation.

• Drive technical roadmap planning and contribute to strategic decisions on future platform capabilities and scalability.

• Identify risks and develop mitigation strategies related to system integration and performance.

• Mentor junior engineers and foster a culture of technical excellence and innovation within the team.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, or a related technical discipline. Master’s or PhD preferred.

• Minimum 8+ years of systems engineering experience, ideally within embedded systems, automotive, robotics, or related industries.

• Proven track record of leading system architecture design and resource allocation for complex embedded platforms.

• Deep understanding of AV/ADAS domain including embedded computing platforms, sensor integration, and real‑time constraints.

• Strong expertise in system performance analysis and optimization, including CPU/GPU/NPU architectures, memory hierarchies, and network bandwidth management.

• Experience with platform systems engineering: device power management, I/O, internal & external communication.

• Experience with edge compute SoC and MCU architectures.

• Hands‑on experience with system modeling, simulation tools, and requirements management frameworks.

• Experience working with Ethernet‑based automotive networks (e.g., Automotive Ethernet, TSN).

• Familiarity with safety standards and practices (ISO 26262, ASPICE) is a plus.

• Excellent communication skills and demonstrated ability to work effectively in cross‑disciplinary teams.

• Proven ability to navigate and solve problems characterized by high ambiguity.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (MS or PhD) with a focus on embedded systems, systems engineering, or related fields.

• Experience with embedded Linux or RTOS environments in automotive or robotics applications.

• Knowledge of AV software stacks, middleware, and sensor data processing pipelines.

• Familiarity with system‑level debugging, profiling, and telemetry tools.

• Prior experience at a leading AV company or tier 1 automotive supplier.

• Strong leadership skills with experience mentoring engineers and leading technical projects.

• Understanding of power management and thermal constraints in embedded platforms.

• Experience contributing to strategic technical roadmaps and platform evolution.

Hybrid

This role is categorized as hybrid. This means the successful candidate is expected to report to the Warren Technical Center in Warren, MI or the Sunnyvale Technical Center in Sunnyvale, CA three times per week, at minimum.

Remote

This role is based remotely but if you live within a 50‑mile radius of [Atlanta, Austin, Detroit, Warren, Milford, Sunnyvale or Mountain View], you are expected to report to that location three times per week, at minimum.

Compensation

The compensation information is a good faith estimate only. It is based on what a successful applicant might be paid in accordance with applicable state laws. The compensation may not be representative for positions located outside of New York, Colorado, California, or Washington.

• The salary range for this role is $157,100 and $258,500. The actual base salary a successful candidate will be offered within this range will vary based on factors relevant to the position.

• Bonus Potential: An incentive pay program offers payouts based on company performance, job level, and individual performance.

Benefits

GM offers a variety of health and wellbeing benefit programs. Benefit options include medical, dental, vision, Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Accounts, retirement savings plan, sickness and accident benefits, life insurance, paid vacation & holidays, tuition assistance programs, employee assistance program, GM vehicle discounts and more.

Company Vehicle

Upon successful completion of a motor vehicle report review, you will be eligible to participate in a company vehicle evaluation program, through which you will be assigned a General Motors vehicle to drive and evaluate. Note: program participants are required to purchase/lease a qualifying GM vehicle every four years unless one of a limited number of exceptions applies.