Senior System Software Engineer— Autonomous Driving Context Fusion

2100 NVIDIA USA; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 184,000 - 357,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Job summary

NVIDIA in Santa Clara, CA, seeks a Software Optimization Engineer for the DRIVE Road Structure / Online Mapping / Context Fusion team. You will optimize perception, map, and localization data pipelines to meet strict CPU, memory, and latency limits on automotive platforms.

You will profile complex software, identify bottlenecks, and implement reproducible improvements while preserving algorithm behavior and output quality. Collaboration with algorithm and platform teams is essential.

Qualifications

• PhD (4+ years) or MS (6+ years) or BS (8+ years) in CS/CE or related field.
• Strong proficiency in modern C++ and performance-sensitive software.
• Experience profiling CPU, memory, and latency.
• Understanding of data structures, algorithms, memory management, concurrency.

Responsibilities

• Optimize context fusion software that integrates perception, map, and localization data to represent the driving environment.
• Design and refine software architecture, interfaces, and data flows to meet CPU, memory, and latency requirements on automotive platforms.
• Profile complex software pipelines, identify performance bottlenecks, and implement improvements backed by reproducible measurements.
• Work with algorithm teams to improve computational efficiency while preserving algorithm behavior, output quality, and correctness.
• Develop benchmarks and performance regression tests to track improvements and prevent regressions.
• Partner with perception, mapping, localization, and platform engineers to resolve system-level performance issues.
• Write reliable, maintainable code and contribute to code reviews, testing, and the safety and quality expectations of autonomous driving software.

Skills

Modern C++

Performance profiling

Concurrency & multithreading

Memory management

Data structures & algorithms

Profiling tools

APIs design

SIMD/vectorization

Education

PhD

MS

BS

Job description

We are looking for a Software Optimization Engineer to join our DRIVE Road Structure / Online Mapping / Context Fusion team. In this role, you will improve the efficiency and real-time performance of software that brings together perception, map, and localization data to build a consistent model of the driving environment. You will work closely with algorithm and platform engineers to identify bottlenecks, optimize software architecture and data flows, and deliver measurable improvements in CPU utilization, memory usage, and latency on automotive platforms. Your work will help advanced autonomous driving capabilities run reliably within demanding compute and timing constraints.

What you’ll be doing:

• Optimize context fusion software that integrates perception, map, and localization data to represent the driving environment.
• Design and refine software architecture, interfaces, and data flows to meet CPU, memory, and latency requirements on automotive platforms.
• Profile complex software pipelines, identify performance bottlenecks, and implement improvements backed by reproducible measurements.
• Work with algorithm teams to improve computational efficiency while preserving algorithm behavior, output quality, and correctness.
• Develop benchmarks and performance regression tests to track improvements and prevent regressions.
• Partner with perception, mapping, localization, and platform engineers to resolve system-level performance issues.
• Write reliable, maintainable code and contribute to code reviews, testing, and the safety and quality expectations of autonomous driving software.

What we need to see:

• A PhD with 4+ years, an MS with 6+ years, or a BS (or equivalent experience) with 8+ years of relevant experience in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Strong proficiency in modern C++ and extensive experience designing and developing performance-sensitive software.
• Demonstrated ability to profile and optimize CPU utilization, memory consumption, and end-to-end latency.
• A strong understanding of data structures, algorithms, memory management, concurrency, and their impact on software performance.
• Experience using profiling tools and benchmarks to diagnose bottlenecks and validate improvements under representative workloads.
• A systematic approach to debugging and optimization, with a focus on preserving correctness and reliability.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively across algorithm, software, and platform teams.

Ways to stand out from the crowd:

• Experience optimizing real-time software on embedded or automotive platforms.
• Familiarity with context fusion, map fusion, localization, perception pipelines, state estimation, or related ADAS and autonomous driving systems.
• Experience with cache-aware data layouts, memory allocation optimization, multithreading, or SIMD/vectorization.
• Experience designing efficient APIs and reusable software frameworks for complex systems.
• A track record of delivering measurable performance improvements in production software while preserving correctness, output quality, and reliability.

#AutonomousVehicles

Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and other objective job-related factors. The expected base salary ranges for this position are: 184,000 USD – 287,500 USD for Level 4; and 224,000 USD – 356,500 USD for Level 5. You will also be eligible for equity and benefits.

Applications for this job will be accepted at least until November 7, 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. NVIDIA pioneered accelerated computing. Today, our AI infrastructure powers global intelligence, transforming every industry. Learn more about NVIDIA.