Principal Software Engineer, Robot Software

Wayve; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Wayve in Sunnyvale, California is seeking a Principal Software Engineer - Robot Software to lead the architectural integrity and performance of our AI platform for autonomous vehicles. You will partner with leadership to define a comprehensive technical roadmap and mentor engineering talent within a collaborative environment.

The ideal candidate possesses deep expertise in robotics, excels in C++ and Python, and is skilled in debugging complex systems. This is a full-time role with a hybrid working model.

Qualifications

• Deep experience in Robotics Middleware and Real-Time Systems.
• Strong mastery of C++ with focus on memory management and concurrency.
• Exceptional communication skills for technical explanation.

Responsibilities

• Define a 12-24 month technical roadmap.
• Lead the design of cross-functional complex systems.
• Set standards for code quality and testing rigor.

Skills

Robotics Middleware (ROS2, Cyber RT, or custom IPCs)

C++ (17/20)

Python

Real-Time Systems

Problem Solving

Leadership

Education

Proven track record of shipping complex autonomous systems

Job description

About Us

Founded in 2017, Wayve is the leading developer of Embodied AI technology. Our advanced AI software and foundation models enable vehicles to perceive, understand, and navigate any complex environment, enhancing the usability and safety of automated driving systems. Our vision is to create autonomy that propels the world forward. Our intelligent, mapless, and hardware‑agnostic AI products are designed for automakers, accelerating the transition from assisted to automated driving. In our fast‑paced environment big problems ignite us—we embrace uncertainty, leaning into complex challenges to unlock groundbreaking solutions. We aim high and stay humble in our pursuit of excellence, constantly learning and evolving as we pave the way for a smarter, safer future. At Wayve, your contributions matter. We value diversity, embrace new perspectives, and foster an inclusive work environment; we back each other to deliver impact.

The role

As the Principal Software Engineer - Robot Software, you will be a technical partner to the Head of Robot Software within the broader Vehicle Software department. This is a high‑visibility role where you will influence the roadmap for Embodied AI platform (e.g. an autonomous vehicle) capabilities and mentor the next generation of technical leaders. You will be responsible for the architectural integrity, scalability, and highly‑reliable performance of the software stacks that power our vehicles. Your success in this role is defined by the business success built upon your technical roadmaps, the team's success and consistent alignment during their execution, and the adoption and impact of your processes and guidance by the team.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

• Technical Strategy & Vision: Partner with leadership to define a 12‑24 month technical roadmap. Chart a course to align, upgrade, and enhance existing systems to meet customer demands and improve internal efficiency. Identify emerging technologies that will keep the company ahead of the curve. Balance the organization’s technical debt against new feature velocity.
• System Architecture: Lead the design of complex, cross‑functional systems. You will ensure that the "Robot" layer integrates seamlessly with the broader Embodied AI algorithms (e.g. driving) while maintaining safety and performance constraints.
• Engineering Excellence: Set the bar for code quality, testing rigor, and observability. You’ll lead design reviews for critical components of the stack and "unblock" teams facing deep‑seeded architectural debt. You will observe common challenges across disparate workstreams (e.g., latency spikes or data serialization bottlenecks) and champion centralized, reusable solutions that benefit the entire Robot Software organization.
• Cross‑Functional Partnership: Act as the technical bridge between Robot Software and neighboring departments like Hardware, Production Software, Simulation, Application Software, Data Platform, and DevOps to ensure hardware‑software parity and efficient data flywheels. Identify dependencies and risks that live in the "seams" between projects ensuring, e.g. that the impacts from a change in the sensor drivers is proactively understood and cascaded by joint analysis with the behaviors and simulation teams.
• Technical Mentorship: Cultivate a culture of excellence. You won't just manage tasks; you will grow Senior and Staff engineers through high‑level coaching and by modeling principled decision‑making.
• Variable Depth Engagement: Demonstrate the "T-shaped" leadership required to oversee a diverse portfolio of initiatives. This ranges from providing high‑level directional steering on long‑term R&D projects to performing "deep‑dive" investments on critical path blockers. You will calibrate the level of oversight based on project risk, providing "light‑touch" architectural consulting for mature systems while embedding deeply with teams launching "zero‑to‑one" capabilities.

About You

In order to set you up for success as a Principal Software Engineer - Robot Software at Wayve, we’re looking for the following skills and experience.

Essential

• Domain Expertise: Deep experience in Robotics Middleware (ROS2, Cyber RT, or custom IPCs) and Real‑Time Systems.
• Languages: Mastery of C++ (17/20) with a focus on memory management and concurrency. Proficiency in Python.
• Architectural Depth: Proven track record of shipping complex autonomous systems, distributed systems, or safety‑critical embedded software.
• Problem Solving: Ability to debug "impossible" problems across the boundary of hardware and software.
• Leadership: Exceptional communication skills; ability to explain complex technical trade‑offs to non‑technical stakeholders.
• Safety Above All: Understands that in the world of self‑driving, "moving fast and breaking things" isn't an option.

What Sets Top Candidates Apart

• Anticipates Failure: Thinks three steps ahead e.g. about how a change in one sub‑system might break the integration of a parallel roadmap six months from now.
• Simplify Complexity: Can take a messy, monolithic codebase and guide the team toward a clean, modular architecture without stopping feature development.

This is a full‑time role based in our office in Sunnyvale, California. At Wayve we want the best of all worlds so we operate a hybrid working policy that combines time together in our offices and workshops to fuel innovation, culture, relationships and learning, and time spent working from home.

Inclusive Interview Experience

Wayve is committed to creating an inclusive interview experience. If you require any accommodations or adjustments to participate fully in our interview process, please let us know. We understand that everyone has a unique set of skills and experiences and that not everyone will meet all of the requirements listed above. If you’re passionate about self‑driving cars and think you have what it takes to make a positive impact on the world, we encourage you to apply.

EEO Statement

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. 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.