Principal Software Engineer - Media Video Driver

Arm Limited; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading technology company is seeking an experienced VPU Technical Lead to spearhead a high-performing engineering team focused on video codec technologies. The role involves mentoring engineers, developing software components for Video Processing Units, and contributing to open source projects. Candidates should have in-depth knowledge of video compression standards and be skilled in multimedia frameworks such as V4L2, GStreamer, and FFmpeg.

Qualifications

• Strong experience in leading and mentoring engineering teams in the domain of video or media software.
• Deep knowledge of video compression technologies such as H.264, HEVC, AV1, VP9.
• Excellent communication, teamwork, and multi-functional collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to a team of engineers working on VPU firmware.
• Drive the design, development, and optimization of video codec software.
• Collaborate across teams to ensure a robust and scalable video solution.

Skills

Leadership

Video Codec Standards

Open Source Contributions

Communication

Tools

V4L2

FFmpeg

GStreamer

Job description

Job Overview:

We are seeking an experienced and driven VPU Technical Lead to lead a high-performing engineering team focused on video codec technologies and open source software development. In this strategic role, you will be at the forefront of architecting, developing, and optimizing software for Video Processing Units, enabling advanced media processing capabilities!

You will guide a team of engineers responsible for building software components that interact with hardware, open source drivers, and multimedia frameworks. The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in video codec standards (e.g., H.264, HEVC, AV1, VP9), strong technical leadership, and a proven track record of contributing to or leading open source projects in the media domain.

Responsibilities:

• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to a team of engineers working on VPU firmware, drivers, and media frameworks
• Drive the design, development, and optimization of video codec software (encode and decode) for various multimedia stacks (e.g., V4L2, FFmpeg, GStreamer).
• Guide the integration of VPU support into Linux kernel drivers and userspace libraries
• Collaborate across teams including hardware design, platform software, and open source communities to ensure a robust and scalable video solution.
• Represent the team and organization in upstream open source communities, advocating for feature inclusion, resolving issues, and driving standards compliance.
• Collaborate with the team to integrate backend and frontend components.

Required Skills and Experience:

• Strong experience in leading and mentoring engineering teams in the domain of video or media software.
• Deep knowledge of video compression technologies such as H.264, HEVC, AV1, VP9, and related media standards.
• Experience working with Linux-based multimedia frameworks such as V4L2, GStreamer, or FFmpeg.
• Track record of contributing to or maintaining open source software projects
• Excellent communication, teamwork, and multi-functional collaboration skills

“Nice To Have” Skills and Experience:

• Solid understanding of hardware-software co-design and performance-critical multimedia systems.
• Familiarity with camera and ISP pipelines, rendering and display systems in addition to VPU.
• Engagement in standards bodies or open source governance groups (e.g., Linaro, Khronos, AOMedia).

In Return:

Arm is an equal opportunity employer, committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal opportunities are available to all applicants and colleagues. We are a diverse organization of dedicated and innovative individuals, and don’t discriminate on the basis of any characteristic

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Accommodations at Arm

At Arm, we want to build extraordinary teams. If you need an adjustment or an accommodation during the recruitment process, please email [e-mail]. To note, by sending us the requested information, you consent to its use by Arm to arrange for appropriate accommodations. All accommodation or adjustment requests will be treated with confidentiality, and information concerning these requests will only be disclosed as necessary to provide the accommodation. Although this is not an exhaustive list, examples of support include breaks between interviews, having documents read aloud, or office accessibility. Please email us about anything we can do to accommodate you during the recruitment process.

Hybrid Working at Arm

Arm’s approach to hybrid working is designed to create a working environment that supports both high performance and personal wellbeing. We believe in bringing people together face to face to enable us to work at pace, whilst recognizing the value of flexibility. Within that framework, we empower groups/teams to determine their own hybrid working patterns, depending on the work and the team’s needs. Details of what this means for each role will be shared upon application. In some cases, the flexibility we can offer is limited by local legal, regulatory, tax, or other considerations, and where this is the case, we will collaborate with you to find the best solution. Please talk to us to find out more about what this could look like for you.

Equal Opportunities at Arm

Arm is an equal opportunity employer, committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal opportunities are available to all applicants and colleagues. We are a diverse organization of dedicated and innovative individuals, and don’t discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.