Staff Software Engineer - AV Performance - AV Labs

United States Digital Space LLC; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 232,000 - 258,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus program

Equity award

401(k) plan

Benefits

Job summary

United States Digital Space LLC in Sunnyvale, CA is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to architect AV performance frameworks and drive high-velocity data pipelines for autonomous driving research.

You will lead automated evaluation frameworks, optimize data throughput, and develop multi-modal metrics that benchmark autonomous software against safety standards across road and simulation environments. Strong distributed systems and C++/Python skills are essential.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience in large-scale data systems or autonomous software stacks.
• Strong expertise in software architecture and distributed computing.
• Proficiency in C++ or Python, and Linux environments, with high-performance software development.
• Ability to employ AI tools and champion efficiency.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement automated software frameworks for benchmarking autonomous systems.
• Architect and optimize high-velocity data pipelines and software stack throughput.
• Develop multi-modal software metrics to benchmark autonomous software against safety standards across road and simulation environments.
• Communicate benefits and limitations of new models and metrics to partner teams.

Skills

Large-scale data systems

Distributed computing

C++ or Python

Linux environments

AI tools

Software architecture

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Computer Science/Software Engineering

Tools

AWS

GCP

CI/CD pipelines

Linux

Job description

About the Role

the company is launching AV Labs to accelerate the autonomous technology ecosystem. We're building out a high-velocity team of multi-disciplinary experts to turn real-world operations into high-quality data for our autonomous partners. This team is focused on the hardest problem in AV today: unlocking real-world, long-tail driving data. Autonomy is now a data race-and the company has an edge: We collect rare, real-world driving data at a scale and capital efficiency no one else can match.

As a Staff Software Engineer, you will be at the forefront of Physical AI, architecting the AV performance frameworks that support fast iteration on high-performance standards for the autonomous industry. You will drive the development of high-velocity driving performance and validation pipelines, move beyond solving isolated bugs to building collaborative system software designs, and establish innovative automated methodologies that empower our partners to accelerate the safe, reliable, and scalable deployment of autonomous vehicles across global markets.

What the Candidate Will Do

• Software-Driven Evaluation Frameworks: Lead the design and implementation of automated software frameworks for benchmarking autonomous system capabilities. Audit partner software performance against the company AV Labs' safety and efficiency KPIs using high-throughput data analysis.
• Data Pipeline Optimization: Architect and optimize high-velocity data pipelines and software stack throughput. Ensure that autonomous stacks meet rigorous software interface, processing latency, and data fidelity requirements within our collection fleet.
• Advanced Driving Behavior Metrics: Develop multi-modal software metrics to independently benchmark autonomous software performance against human capabilities and internal safety standards across both road and simulation environments.
• Cross Team Collaboration: Communicate benefits and limitations of new models and metrics to partner teams

Basic Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, specifically in developing large-scale data systems or autonomous software stacks.
• Strong expertise in software architecture, distributed computing, and the ability to decompose complex capability challenges into scalable software solutions.
• Proficiency in C++ or Python, and Linux environments, with experience in high-performance software development.
• Ability to employ AI tools and champion efficiency.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with large-scale distributed systems, cloud infrastructure (e.g., AWS/GCP), and optimizing software for low-latency performance.
• Hands-on experience developing evaluation metrics, data mining tools, and automated validation software for autonomous vehicles.
• Proven track record of defining software release processes, automated safety criteria, and CI/CD pipelines for safety-critical systems.

For Sunnyvale, CA-based roles: The base salary range for this role is USD $232,000 per year - USD $258,000 per year.

You will be eligible to participate in the company's bonus program, and may be offered an equity award & other types of comp. All full-time employees are eligible to participate in a 401(k) plan. You will also be eligible for various benefits. Ready to Ride? This isn't the kind of place where you follow a playbook - it's where you help write one. If you're driven by impact, energized by challenge, and ready to shape how the world moves - we'd love to hear from you. You may be eligible for bonuses, equity, and other compensation, as well as a range of benefits. Explore our benefits. Offices remain key to collaboration and the company's culture. Unless approved for full remote work, employees must spend at least 50% of their time in-office. Some roles, like those at greenlight hubs, require full-time in-office presence.

The company is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.

If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know by completing this form.