Director, Vehicle Integration (AV Platform Engineering)

Atoms

San Francisco (CA)

On-site

USD 185,000 - 254,000

Full time

6 days ago

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Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision

401(k)

Equity

Paid Holidays

Job summary

Atoms is seeking a Director of Vehicle Integration to lead hardware-in-the-loop validation, integration architecture, and on-vehicle bring-up for autonomous vehicle platforms. You will manage senior engineers and technicians, shaping reusable platform solutions across programs.

The role requires a hands-on leader capable of coordinating hardware, software, and supplier teams, with five-days-on-site in San Francisco and travel to test sites as needed.

Qualifications

Degree in a relevant engineering field with 3+ years of leadership experience.
Ownership of vehicle integration from architecture to fleet deployment.
Hands-on depth with vehicle networks, drive-by-wire, and hardware interfaces.
Experience on automated driving programs or production ADAS is preferred.
Ability to work onsite in San Francisco five days a week with travel as needed.

Responsibilities

Own the hardware-in-the-loop and bench validation for software releases against real vehicle interfaces.
Own the autonomy integration architecture for the development fleet, including electrical architecture and sensor placement.
Lead on-vehicle bring-up, calibration procedures, and production scripts.
Collaborate with robotics, vehicle operations, hardware engineering, and OEM/supplier partners.

Skills

Leadership

Vehicle integration ownership

Cross-functional collaboration

Onsite work

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Computer Engineering, CS, Robotics, or related field

Tools

CAN/CAN FD/LIN

Automotive Ethernet

Hardware-in-the-loop

NVIDIA DRIVE platforms (Orin/Thor)

Drive OS / QNX familiarity

Job description

Director, Vehicle Integration (AV Platform Engineering)

Who we are

Atoms is building the machines that power the next era of progress.

Over the last decade, software has transformed the digital world. But the physical world, where food is made, minerals are mined, goods are moved, and industries are run, remains far less intelligent, far less efficient, and far more constrained. We’re changing that.

Atoms builds Physical AI— real-world robots for the industries that move civilization forward, starting with food, mining, and transport. Our systems are designed to understand, predict, and control the real world with precision, turning complex physical operations into something more reliable, more scalable, and more productive.

This work requires more than robotics. It requires deep integration across hardware, software, AI, operations, manufacturing, and real estate. We don’t just build machines in a lab. We deploy them into real environments, operate them, learn from them, and improve them until they work at scale.

We are roboticists, engineers, operators, and builders. We believe the next great technology companies will not only transform information, but the physical systems that shape everyday life.

If you want to work on hard problems with real-world impact, join us.

About the role

We are hiring a Director of Vehicle Integration to lead the group that makes it possible to develop and test our vehicle platforms. The group owns the hardware-in-the-loop and bench capability our autonomy software is validated against, the bring-up and commissioning that take a vehicle from kit to fleet. When a problem cannot be resolved in the field, this group is the engineering backstop.

One platform will serve more than one vehicle program, and we expect the hardware to be re-spun as we learn from deployment. What we intend to control is that any re-spin is cheap, fast, and testable off the vehicle, which makes modularity the governing design constraint on what this group builds in the lap. This is a player-coach role: hands‑on leading senior engineers and technicians who are doing this work alongside the open positions you will create and fill.

What you’ll do

Off-vehicle validation. Own the hardware-in-the-loop and bench capability that validates a software release against real vehicle interfaces, including where bench behavior and vehicle behavior diverge. Build it modular, so later configurations reuse the harness breakouts, power, sensor interfaces, and logging paths.
Integration architecture. Own the autonomy integration on the development fleet: electrical architecture, harnesses, mounting, sensor and compute placement, power, and the drive‑by‑wire and actuation interface to the base vehicle, including fault handling and degraded‑mode behavior.
On‑vehicle bring‑up and commissioning. Own the build instructions, drawings, calibration procedures, and production scripts that development vehicle builds and retrofits run against, and make commissioning into a gate.
Cross‑functional interfaces. Work with robotics on the release interface, with vehicle operations on availability and field issues, with hardware engineering and manufacturing on build and retrofit execution, and with OEM and supplier partners.

What we’re looking for

Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechanical, or Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics, or a related field is required, with 3+ years of relevant experience including 3+ leading engineers. Equivalent hands‑on experience will be considered in place of the degree.
Ownership of vehicle integration from architecture through fleet deployment, with personal accountability for how the system was installed, validated, and supported on the road.
Hands‑on depth in experience in: vehicle networks (CAN, CAN FD, LIN, Automotive Ethernet); drive‑by‑wire and actuation integration; electrical and harness architecture; embedded compute and sensor integration; hardware‑in‑the‑loop and bench validation.
Experience converting bespoke, per‑vehicles bring up engineering into a repeatable process, with documentation an engineer who did not build it can work from.
Experience on an L3 or L4 automated driving program, or a production ADAS program at L2+.
Ability to work onsite five days a week in San Francisco, with travel to test and deployment sites. The role requires lifting up to 50 lbs and working at roof level and under vehicles, with or without reasonable accommodation, and a valid driver's license with a clean driving record.

Nice to have

High‑voltage and EV platform integration.
Bring‑up experience on automotive compute platforms such as NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Orin or Thor, DRIVE OS, or QNX.
Familiarity with functional safety practice for automated driving, including ISO 26262 and ISO 21448, and the evidence a safety case depends on.
Experience standing up a lab, bench, or test function from 0 to 1

At Atoms, you’ll work on one of the defining challenges of our time—bringing automation into the physical world to drive real, lasting impact. We exist to uncover valuable unknown truths and turn them into progress, which means constantly pushing beyond what’s known and building what doesn’t yet exist. The work is ambitious and often challenging, but it’s grounded in a shared sense of purpose and a team committed to seeing it through together. Our work only matters if it serves others, and we know that meaningful progress depends on the trust of the people we serve and the strength of our team—so we invest in both, creating an environment where you can do your best work and grow.

What else you need to know

This role is based in our San Francisco office. Atoms is a company driven by invention and continuous change - we are constantly reimagining our industries, building new products, and refining how we operate. We do our best work together. That’s why all of our office-based teams work onsite, five days a week.

The base salary range for this role is $185,000 - $254,000 per year.

Actual compensation will be determined on an individual basis and may vary depending on experience, skills, and qualifications.

Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package. You may also be eligible for equity awards.

Benefits Summary (USA Full-Time Exempt Employees):