Staff Software Engineer - Multimedia (Video Pipeline)

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies; Palo Alto (CA); Hybrid; USD 186,000 - 256,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity RSUs

Health coverage

Retirement plan

Job summary

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies seeks a Staff Software Engineer to advance the architecture of its in-vehicle video pipeline. You will own the end-to-end path from camera sensors to display, driving low-latency, high-throughput multimedia on embedded hardware.

Lead design across teams, optimize codecs and streaming, and integrate frameworks like GStreamer, FFmpeg, and libcamera. This hybrid role is based in Palo Alto, CA.

Qualifications

• Expert in modern C++ (C++17+) on Linux/embedded systems.
• Hands-on experience building production video pipelines (capture, codecs, streaming).
• Deep experience with GStreamer and FFmpeg; Linux graphics primitives.
• Hardware optimization for embedded CPU/GPU/VPU/DSP; zero-copy paths.
• Experience leading architecture for complex multimedia systems.

Responsibilities

• Video Pipeline Architecture: Define and own the camera-to-display pipeline with low latency.
• Codec & Streaming Development: Implement hardware-accelerated encode/decode (H.264/H.265/AV1) and streaming features.
• Performance Optimization: Optimize pipelines for real-time performance across CPU/GPU/VPU/DSP.
• Framework & Platform Integration: Build multimedia stack with GStreamer, V4L2, libcamera, FFmpeg; integrate with OS and displays.
• Technical Leadership: Set standards, review designs, mentor engineers, align on video interfaces.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work with product, hardware, camera/ISP, perception, and platform teams.
• Quality & Diagnostics: Establish video quality metrics and latency telemetry; trace frame issues.
• Advanced Prototyping: Iterate on pipeline designs and codec configs to solve latency issues.

Skills

C++

Multithreading

Real-time systems

Video pipelines

Linux/Embedded

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in CS/CE

Tools

GStreamer

FFmpeg

libcamera

V4L2

DMA-BUF

DRM/KMS

Job description

About Us

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is a joint venture between two industry leaders with a clear vision for automotive’s next chapter. From operating systems to zonal controllers to cloud and connectivity solutions, we’re addressing the challenges of electric vehicles through technology that will set the standards for software‑defined vehicles around the world.

Role Summary

We are seeking a highly skilled Staff Software Engineer to join our team, focusing exclusively on the architecture and advancement of our in‑vehicle video pipeline. You will own the end‑to‑end path from camera sensors and ISP through capture, encoding, streaming, recording, and display, setting the technical direction for how video is acquired, processed, and delivered across the platform. The ideal candidate has deep expertise in C++ and a proven track record of designing and optimizing low‑latency, high‑throughput multimedia systems on embedded heterogeneous hardware. This role primarily focuses on embedded systems development for high‑performance applications and carries technical leadership responsibility across multiple teams. This is a hybrid role based out of our Palo, Alto, CA office.

Responsibilities

• Video Pipeline Architecture: Define and own the architecture of the camera‑to‑display video pipeline, including capture, ISP integration, color conversion, scaling, encoding/decoding, streaming, recording, and rendering, with minimal latency and high power efficiency.


• Codec & Streaming Development: Design, develop, implement and integrate hardware‑accelerated video encode/decode (H.264/H.265/AV1) and streaming/recording features (RTSP, RTP, WebRTC, MP4/MKV containers), ensuring robustness and scalability.


• Performance Optimization: Analyze and optimize video pipelines for real‑time performance and glass‑to‑glass latency across CPU, GPU, VPU/hardware codecs, ISP, and DSP, using zero‑copy buffer sharing (DMA‑BUF, GBM) and efficient memory management.


• Framework & Platform Integration: Build and maintain the multimedia stack on frameworks such as GStreamer, V4L2, libcamera, FFmpeg, and vendor SDKs, and integrate it with the OS, display server, and downstream consumers (CV/AI, HMI, telematics).


• Technical Leadership: Set standards, review designs and code, mentor engineers, and drive cross‑team alignment on video interfaces, buffer formats, and quality/latency targets.


• Cross‑Functional Collaboration: Work closely with product, hardware, camera/ISP, perception, and platform teams to bring new camera and video features into the final product.


• Quality & Diagnostics: Establish video quality metrics (PSNR/SSIM/VMAF), latency measurement, and telemetry/tracing to detect and resolve frame drops, tearing, A/V sync, and stability issues in production.


• Advanced Prototyping: Rapidly prototype and iterate on new pipeline designs and codec configurations to solve challenging latency, bandwidth, and image‑quality problems.

Minimum Qualifications

• Programming Expertise: Expert proficiency in modern C++ (C++17 or later) on Linux/embedded systems; strong multithreading and real‑time systems skills.


• Video Pipeline Proficiency: Extensive hands‑on experience building production video pipelines, including camera capture (V4L2/libcamera), ISP tuning integration, hardware codecs (H.264/H.265/AV1), and streaming protocols (RTSP/RTP/WebRTC).


• Multimedia Frameworks: Deep experience with GStreamer (including custom plugin/element development) and/or FFmpeg, and with Linux graphics/memory primitives (DMA‑BUF, DRM/KMS, Wayland, EGL).


• Hardware Optimization: Demonstrated experience implementing and optimizing media workloads on embedded heterogeneous hardware (CPU, GPU, VPU, ISP, DSP), including zero‑copy data paths and power/thermal‑aware design.


• Technical Leadership: Experience leading architecture for complex multimedia systems, mentoring engineers, and influencing roadmaps across teams.


• Foundational Knowledge: Strong understanding of algorithms, data structures, software architecture, and video fundamentals (color spaces, chroma subsampling, rate control, GOP structure, timestamps/synchronization).


• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, with 10+ years of relevant experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with automotive camera systems (GMSL/FPD‑Link, surround view, digital mirrors, dashcam/sentry recording)


• Functional‑safety or security requirements for video


• Computer vision/AI integration (OpenCV, on‑device inference)


• Visual computing/parallel programming frameworks (OpenCL, OpenGL ES, Vulkan)

Total Rewards

• Competitive base salary


• Full‑time positions may be eligible to participate in our annual company performance bonus program


• Payments are discretionary and not guaranteed; actual amounts depend on company results and the terms of the plan in effect, and require active employment at the time of payout


• Eligible for equity in the form of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), subject to board approval and the terms of our equity incentive plans, including applicable vesting requirements


• Health coverage


• Retirement savings


• Time off


• Family planning programs

Equal Opportunity

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information or characteristics, physical or mental disability, marital/domestic partner status, age, military/veteran status, medical condition or any other characteristic protected by law. We are also committed to ensuring compliance with all applicable fair employment practice laws regarding citizenship and immigration status.

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is committed to ensuring that our hiring process is accessible for persons with disabilities. If you have a disability or limitation, such as those covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, that requires accommodations to assist you in the search and application process, please email us at [e-mail].

Candidate Data Privacy

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies may collect, use and disclose your personal information or personal data (within the meaning of the applicable data protection laws) when you apply for employment and/or participate in our recruitment processes (“Candidate Personal Data”). This data includes contact, demographic, communications, educational, professional, employment, social media/website, network/device, recruiting system usage/interaction, security and preference information. Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies may use your Candidate Personal Data for the purposes of (i) tracking interactions with our recruiting system; (ii) carrying out, analyzing and improving our application and recruitment process, including assessing you and your application and conducting employment, background and reference checks; (iii) establishing an employment relationship or entering into an employment contract with you; (iv) complying with our legal, regulatory and corporate governance obligations; (v) record keeping; (vi) ensuring network and information security and preventing fraud; and (vii) as otherwise required or permitted by applicable law.

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies may share your Candidate Personal Data with (i) internal personnel who have a need to know such information in order to perform their duties, including individuals on our People Team, Finance, Legal, and the team(s) with the position(s) for which you are applying; (ii) Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies affiliates; and (iii) Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies’ service providers, including providers of background checks, staffing services, and cloud services.

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies may transfer or store internationally your Candidate Personal Data, including to or in the United States, Canada, and the European Union and in the cloud, and this data may be subject to the laws and accessible to the courts, law enforcement and national security authorities of such jurisdictions.

If you provide a mobile telephone number as part of your application or during the recruitment process, Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies may use that number to contact you via SMS text message for recruitment-related purposes, including scheduling, logistics, and status updates. Message and data rates may apply. You may opt out of SMS communications at any time by replying STOP to any text message you receive from us. Consent to receive SMS messages is not a condition of applying for or being considered for employment.

Please see our Candidate Data Privacy Notice (English) and Candidate Data Privacy Notice (Serbian) for more information.

Compensation Range: $186,000 - $255,750