Distinguished Engineer, Embedded Vehicle Software

Wayve; Sunnyvale (CA); Hybrid; USD 348,000 - 438,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Relocation support

Hybrid working

Learning budget

Health insurance

Job summary

Wayve, Sunnyvale, CA, seeks a Distinguished Engineer for Vehicle Software to define architecture and lead technical direction of the embedded stack for autonomous driving. You will collaborate with automotive manufacturers, NVIDIA, Qualcomm and silicon partners to deliver production-ready solutions.

You’ll guide architecture decisions, mentor senior engineers, and shape the development practices across Vehicle Software, AI, hardware and OEM programmes, while maintaining a hands-on influence on

Qualifications

• 15+ years of professional software development experience
• Expertise in embedded systems applied to robotics or autonomous systems
• Experience delivering complex embedded systems into production at scale
• Strong programming experience in C, C++, Python or Rust
• Experience with systems performance analysis, optimization and tuning
• Led or influenced large-scale technical programs with many engineers

Responsibilities

• Define embedded software architectures for autonomous driving systems
• Shape OS, middleware and hardware-abstraction roadmaps
• Improve system architecture, performance, reliability and scalability
• Evaluate and integrate embedded compute platforms from NVIDIA, Qualcomm and partners
• Mentor senior engineers and shape technical direction across teams
• Represent Wayve as a senior technical leader with OEMs and silicon partners

Skills

Embedded systems

C/C++

Python

Rust

Systems performance analysis

Technical leadership

Tools

NVIDIA Drive

DriveOS

DriveWorks

Job description

Before the detail, here's the challenge you'd help us solve.

We build the embodied intelligence that moves real vehicles safely, and the ecosystem a billion machines will run on in the future. Very few people in AI can say this. Every role here, whatever the team, plugs into that.

Here’s what this particular role covers.

Distinguished Engineer, Vehicle Software

Sunnyvale, California, USA

About our Engineering Teams

Wayve’s Vehicle Software organization builds the embedded software foundations that connect our AI Driver to production vehicle hardware.

As a Distinguished Engineer in Vehicle Software, you’ll define the architecture and provide technical leadership for the next generation of Wayve’s vehicle software stack. You’ll work with advanced embedded compute platforms from NVIDIA, Qualcomm and other technology partners, shaping our operating-system and automotive-middleware roadmap to support state-of-the-art AI systems for autonomous driving.

This is a highly senior technical leadership role centered on architecture, hands-on technical judgement and broad influence. You’ll work across internal engineering teams, global automotive manufacturers and silicon partners to turn complex requirements into scalable, production‑ready systems.

Your day-to-day

You’ll establish the technical vision for Wayve’s embedded vehicle software and guide major architectural decisions affecting teams across the organization.

You’ll remain close to the technology—reviewing designs, exploring critical technical problems and helping teams make sound decisions across operating systems, middleware, performance, reliability and hardware integration.

You’ll also represent Wayve in strategic technical discussions with automotive manufacturers, NVIDIA, Qualcomm and other partners. Internally, you’ll mentor senior engineers, influence engineering leadership and help establish the development practices, tools and architectural principles needed to scale.

What you’ll be working on

• Defining embedded software architectures for advanced autonomous‑driving systems
• Shaping the operating‑system, middleware and hardware‑abstraction roadmap for Wayve’s next‑generation autonomy platform
• Improving system architecture, performance, reliability and scalability
• Evaluating and integrating advanced embedded compute platforms from NVIDIA, Qualcomm and other partners
• Collaborating across Vehicle Software, AI, hardware, systems, safety and OEM programme teams
• Working directly with automotive customers and external technology partners to deliver production‑ready solutions
• Representing Wayve in technical discussions with OEM software and hardware architects
• Serving as Wayve’s senior technical representative in discussions with silicon partners
• Advocating for best‑in‑class software‑development processes, architecture practices and engineering tools
• Mentoring senior engineers and helping shape the technical direction of the Vehicle Software organisation
• Leading complex, cross‑functional technical programmes spanning multiple teams and organisations

You should apply if

• You have at least 15 years of professional software‑development experience
• You are an expert in embedded systems applied to robotics, autonomous systems or similarly complex products
• You have successfully delivered complex embedded systems into production at scale
• You have strong software‑development experience in one or more of C, C++, Python or Rust
• You have professional experience with systems‑performance analysis, optimisation and tuning
• You have led or significantly influenced complex technical programmes involving approximately 100 or more engineers, including contributors outside your direct reporting structure
• You can establish technical direction and influence senior engineering and business leadership
• You are comfortable working directly with external stakeholders, including automotive manufacturers and technology partners
• You can represent Wayve as the primary technical leader in discussions with OEM software, hardware and chipset architects
• You can translate complex technical constraints into clear architectural decisions and bring multiple teams with you

The following experience would be useful but is not required:

• Automotive software or vehicle‑platform development
• NVIDIA Drive platforms, including Orin, DriveOS or DriveWorks
• Automotive software frameworks such as AUTOSAR

Not ticking every box? That’s totally okay.

Not ticking every box? That’s totally okay. If you’re passionate about autonomy and keen to learn, we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every requirement.

More about Wayve

Wayve is building the leading AI platform for autonomous driving. We are pioneering an end‑to‑end AI approach that enables vehicles to learn directly from real‑world experience, developing the ability to adapt, generalise and improve at scale.

Instead of relying on hand‑coded rules or pre‑mapped environments, our AI Driver learns to drive by understanding the world around it. The result is technology that navigates complex urban environments with intelligence, precision and natural flow, unlocking meaningful advances in both safety and efficiency.

We believe autonomy represents a once‑in‑a‑generation transformation in how people and goods move, comparable to the shift from horses to cars and from human‑driven vehicles to intelligent machines.

Our ambition is to make autonomy universal. Wayve’s mapless and hardware‑agnostic AI platform integrates with global OEM partners, enabling continuous software evolution and unlocking advanced levels of automation from L2+ through to L4 as our core AI model scales.

In a race increasingly defined by intelligence and real‑world learning, Wayve is taking a distinct approach: building generalisable driving intelligence that can power any vehicle, anywhere. By combining embodied AI with scalable deployment, we are creating technology that can be shaped to each OEM brand and driver experience, accelerating the transition to a safer and more intelligent future of mobility.

How we work—location and flexible working

This is a full‑time role based in our Sunnyvale office.

Our main hubs are in London, Sunnyvale, Yokohama, Herzliya, Vancouver and Leonberg. We operate a hybrid working model that combines in‑person collaboration in our dedicated offices and workshops with focused time working remotely.

We also operate core working hours, allowing you to determine the schedule that works best for you and the teams you support. This gives our teams the connection and energy of working together alongside the flexibility to do their best work.

The interview process

• Initial recruiter conversation
• Hiring manager conversation
• Competency Interviews
• Technical interviews
• Final interview — mission and values alignment

We’ll explain each format in advance and work around your availability.

What’s in it for you?

Benefits vary by location.

• Salaries benchmarked against the market annually
• Meaningful equity, sharing in the ownership and long‑term success of Wayve
• Relocation support and visa sponsorship where applicable
• Hybrid working, core hours and opportunities to work hands‑on in vehicle workshops and labs
• Learning and development budgets, with support for training, conferences and professional growth
• Comprehensive benefits, including health insurance, dental coverage, enhanced maternity and paternity leave, retirement support where applicable, access to therapists, wellbeing partnerships, team socials and more

This role is a full‑time role based in Sunnyvale, CA (hybrid) and the reasonably estimated salary for this role ranges from $347,500 to $437,900, plus a competitive equity package. Actual compensation is based on the candidate's skills, qualifications, and experience.

A quick, honest note before you apply.

Wayve is not a mature, fully‑structured place with the playbook already written. Much of how we work is still being written, and if you join, you’ll help write it. That suits people who want real ownership more than people who need a settled structure from day one.

If that sounds like the kind of problem you want to spend your time on, we’d really like to hear from you. At Wayve we're committed to creating a diverse, fair and respectful culture that is inclusive of everyone based on their unique skills and perspectives, and regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, citizenship, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding) or any other basis as protected by applicable law.

For more information visit Careers at Wayve. To learn more about what drives us, visit Values at Wayve

DISCLAIMER: We will not ask about marriage or pregnancy, care responsibilities or disabilities in any of our job adverts or interviews. However, we do look to capture information about care responsibilities, and disabilities among other diversity information as part of an optional DEI Monitoring form to help us identify areas of improvement in our hiring process and ensure that the process is inclusive and non‑discriminatory.