Principal Process Architect, Automotive Software

NVIDIA; Washington; On-site; USD 272,000 - 431,000; Full time

Job summary

NVIDIA is seeking a Senior Process Architect in Washington to harmonize the DriveOS development model for safety-critical autonomous systems. You will define canonical processes, interfaces, and governance that enable teams to deliver verifiable evidence while meeting regulatory requirements.

You will partner with engineering, quality, safety, cybersecurity and program management to tailor practices, establish maturity gates, and drive AI-enabled workflows that reduce risk and rework.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in engineering or related field.
• 15+ years in automotive or safety-critical product development.
• Deep Automotive SPICE knowledge and practices.
• Strong lifecycle software and systems understanding.
• Experience with ISO 26262, 21434, and 8800.

Responsibilities

• 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.

Skills

Automotive SPICE

Process architecture

Quality gates

Risk management

Stakeholder influence

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Workflow tooling

AI-assisted 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'll 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.

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.