Principal Process Architect, Automotive Software

NVIDIA Corporation; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 272,000 - 431,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Benefits

Job summary

NVIDIA seeks a Senior Process Architect to consolidate DriveOS development processes for autonomous mobility software. You will define risk-based tailoring, establish quality gates, and translate lifecycle expectations into actionable workflows and templates for distributed engineering teams.

With 15+ years in safety-critical product development and expertise in Automotive SPICE and ISO standards, you will drive governance, traceability, and AI/ML safety integration, delivering scalable,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in engineering, computer science, systems engineering, quality, or related field.
• 15+ years of experience in automotive or safety-critical product development, including process architecture, engineering quality, systems engineering, or technical program leadership.
• Deep understanding of Automotive SPICE and how base practices translate into evidence.
• Strong understanding of software/systems lifecycle (requirements to release management).
• Hands-on experience with automotive functional safety, cybersecurity, and AI/ML safety requirements (ISO 26262, ISO/SAE 21434, ISO 8800).
• Experience building risk-based tailoring, quality gates, and balancing compliance with program realities.

Responsibilities

• Lead the canonical DriveOS process architecture across engineering and program management.
• Develop and govern a risk-based tailoring framework with defined acceptance criteria.
• Establish process maturity, release-readiness, and quality-gate criteria.
• Translate lifecycle expectations into workflows, templates, guidance for development teams.
• Partner with domain leads to align plans, evidence, dependencies, and handoffs across variants.
• Convert defects and release insights into durable process improvements.
• Drive process automation and AI-assisted workflows to reduce risk and cycle time.
• Serve as independent technical authority for process coherence and accountability.

Skills

Process architecture

Risk-based tailoring

Quality gates

Cross-functional leadership

Written communication

Data-driven decisions

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Automotive SPICE

ISO 26262

AI/ML safety tooling

Job description

NVIDIA is harnessing the power of AI and high-performance computing to build the future of mobility. DriveOS is the software platform behind autonomous vehicles and other intelligent machines, combining system software, virtualization, and accelerated computing capabilities for demanding, safety-critical applications. We are seeking a Senior Process Architect to make the system of work behind that platform coherent, practical, and scalable. This role combines automotive process engineering with first-principles judgment: enabling teams to deliver evidence that is fit for product risk, not process for its own sake. You will help a globally distributed organization turn quality, safety, cybersecurity, and AI/ML safety expectations into a coordinated, executable development model.

What You'll Be Doing

• Lead the canonical DriveOS process architecture, terminology, roles and interfaces across engineering, program management, quality, functional safety, and cybersecurity.
• Develop and govern a risk-based tailoring framework that defines variant applicability, decision rights, acceptance criteria, and traceable approvals before execution begins.
• Establish process maturity, release-readiness, and quality-gate criteria that surface risk early and support predictable, first-pass acceptance.
• Translate internal lifecycle expectations and applicable industry standards into clear, verifiable workflows, templates, guidance, and mentorship for development teams.
• Partner with domain leads, program managers, assessors, and tool owners to align plans, evidence, dependencies, and handoffs across product variants.
• Convert recurring defects, assessment observations, and release takeaways into durable improvements to the common process, measurements, and training.
• Drive process automation and AI-assisted workflows where they demonstrably reduce risk, rework, or cycle time while preserving governance, traceability, and engineering judgment.
• Serve as an independent technical authority for process coherence and efficiency, raising gaps with a clear statement of product impact, accountable owner, recovery plan, and date.

What We Need To See

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in engineering, computer science, systems engineering, quality, or a related field.
• 15+ years of experience in automotive or other safety-critical product development, including process architecture, engineering quality, systems engineering, or technical program leadership.
• Deep understanding of Automotive SPICE, including how process capability, base practices, and generic practices translate into effective engineering behavior and assessable evidence!
• Strong understanding of the software and systems development lifecycle, including requirements, architecture, implementation, verification, validation, configuration, change, and release management.
• Hands‑on experience with automotive functional safety, cybersecurity, and AI/ML safety requirements, including ISO 26262, ISO/SAE 21434, and ISO 8800.
• Proven track record to build risk-based tailoring, establish quality gates, and balance compliance needs with program realities in a complex, multi-variant product environment.
• Excellent written communication, facilitation, and influence skills; able to make process requirements actionable for engineers and decision‑ready for senior leaders.
• Experience using data, workflow tooling, and AI‑assisted capabilities to improve engineering processes without weakening accountability or traceability.

Ways To Stand Out From The Crowd

• Proven success implementing or modernizing an automotive quality‑management system or development process across multiple teams or product variants.
• Experience with hardware engineering process models, including HW SPICE, or with the interaction of system, software, and hardware engineering in autonomous‑driving programs.
• Participation in relevant standards bodies or working groups, such as intacs, VDA QMC, ISO TC22/SC32, or comparable industry forums.
• Experience building process tooling, traceability models, measurements, or controlled AI‑assisted workflows for safety‑or security‑critical development.
• Credentials or demonstrated proficiency in Automotive SPICE, functional safety, cybersecurity, or AI/ML safety.

Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and the pay of employees in similar positions.

The base salary range is 272,000 USD - 431,250 USD.

You will also be eligible for equity and benefits.

Applications for this job will be accepted at least until August 22, 2026.

This posting is for an existing vacancy.

NVIDIA uses AI tools in its recruiting processes.

NVIDIA is committed to fostering an inclusive work environment and proud to be an equal opportunity employer. As we highly value diversity in our current and future employees, we do not discriminate (including in our hiring and promotion practices) on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status or any other characteristic protected by law.

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