Staff Software Engineer - Platform Integration, Robot Software

Wayve; Sunnyvale (CA); Hybrid; USD 210,000 - 320,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Relocation support

Equity

Job summary

Wayve in Sunnyvale is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to lead Platform Integration, shaping integration architecture across vehicle programmes and driv‑by‑wire interfaces.

You will mentor engineers, define interfaces, and work with embedded compute, sensors, and vehicle software drivers to bring up new variants.

This role combines hands-on software development with strategic roadmap work in a hybrid setting.

Qualifications

• Experience leading integration architecture across vehicle programmes and software/hardware boundaries.
• Strong software development skills in C++ and Rust on Linux-based embedded platforms.
• Hands-on with vehicle bring-up, multi-platform integration and diagnostics.

Responsibilities

• Lead integration architecture and author design documents defining interfaces and trade-offs.
• Shape technical roadmap with Engineering Manager, balancing delivery and maintainability.
• Unblock complex integration challenges across software, middleware, OS, networks and hardware.
• Mentor engineers through design reviews and hands-on debugging to raise technical standards.
• Represent Platform Integration in cross-team discussions on interfaces and ownership.
• Develop and review production software with patterns to improve reuse and reduce bespoke work.
• Lead bench/HiL/vehicle investigations to validate designs.

Skills

Integration architecture

C++

Rust

Linux

ROS2

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in CS/EE

Tools

ROS2

HiL

Linux tooling

Job description

Before the detail, here's the challenge you'd help us solve.

We build the embodied intelligence that moves real vehicles safely, and the ecosystem a billion machines will run on in the future. Very few people in AI can say this. Every role here, whatever the team, plugs into that.

Here’s what this particular role covers.

About our Engineering Teams

Wayve is building embodied AI that can drive any vehicle, anywhere. Within Robot Software, the Platform Integration team brings together the software and interfaces that enable our AI Driver to operate on new development platforms.

The team owns early vehicle software integration, drive‑by‑wire and the vehicle‑facing software drivers. We work across software, hardware, controls and operations to bring up new vehicle variants, improve their reliability and establish repeatable processes for validation and handover.

As a Staff Software Engineer, you’ll bring deep experience in software, hardware, robotics and autonomous vehicle integration. You’ll lead the team’s integration architecture, mentor engineers and help resolve its most complex technical challenges. You’ll work with the Engineering Manager on the technical roadmap and with other leads across Robot Software on system design and integration decisions, while staying hands‑on with software development and vehicle bring‑up.

Your day-to-day

• Lead integration architecture and author design documents that define interfaces, evaluate trade‑offs and guide implementation across vehicle programmes.

• Partner with the Engineering Manager to shape the technical roadmap, balancing programme delivery with improvements to architecture, tooling and maintainability.

• Unblock the most complex integration challenges, diagnosing problems across application software, middleware, operating systems, networks and hardware.

• Mentor engineers through design discussions, code reviews and hands‑on debugging, building the team’s technical judgement and independence.

• Represent Platform Integration in technical discussions across Robot Software, aligning with other technical leads on interfaces, dependencies and ownership.

• Develop and review production software, establishing patterns that reduce bespoke integration work and improve reuse.

• Lead targeted bench, HiL and vehicle investigations where hands‑on work is needed to resolve uncertainty or validate a design.

• Turn lessons from bring‑up and field issues into better diagnostics, integration practices, documentation and validation.

What you’ll be working on

• Integration architecture for new vehicle programmes across embedded compute, sensors, vehicle interfaces, networks and software services.

• Shared vehicle‑facing components and abstractions that support multiple hardware configurations without duplicating integration logic.

• System‑level integration of Linux‑based robotic and automotive platforms with multi‑process and distributed architectures.

• Sensor integration, calibration, synchronisation and data validation, working with the teams that own those capabilities.

• Vehicle communication and control interfaces, including CAN, Automotive Ethernet and drive‑by‑wire systems.

• Integration across automotive compute platforms such as NVIDIA DRIVE and Qualcomm Snapdragon Ride.

• Bench, HiL and vehicle validation strategies that identify integration problems early and provide evidence of platform readiness.

• Diagnostics and tooling that make complex robot systems easier to understand, debug and support.

You should apply if

• You bring substantial experience integrating autonomous vehicles or similarly complex robotic systems, with deep practical understanding of how software, compute, sensors, networks and actuators interact.

• You have led architecture and delivery for complex integration work, making sound technical decisions across software and hardware boundaries.

• You have strong software‑development skills in C++, Rust or comparable systems languages, and experience delivering production‑quality software on Linux‑based robotic, embedded or automotive platforms.

• You can turn ambiguous requirements into clear designs, interfaces and implementation plans that other engineers can execute.

• You have a track record of resolving difficult system‑level problems through systematic investigation, on‑target testing and a strong understanding of the underlying technology.

• You understand ROS2 or similar middleware, distributed‑system integration and the practical realities of vehicle bring‑up.

• You have raised the technical capability of a team through mentoring, design reviews and engineering standards.

• You can influence technical decisions across teams and work with engineering management to connect architecture, delivery priorities and long‑term investment.

Experience delivering integrations across multiple vehicle or compute platforms, working with OEMs or hardware suppliers, and developing reusable integration frameworks would be particularly valuable. Experience with drive‑by‑wire, HiL testing, functional safety and fleet reliability would also be useful.

More about Wayve:

Wayve is building the leading AI platform for autonomous driving. We are pioneering an end to end AI approach that enables vehicles to learn directly from real world experience, developing the ability to adapt, generalise and improve at scale. Instead of relying on hand coded rules or pre mapped environments, our AI Driver learns to drive by understanding the world around it. The result is technology that navigates complex urban environments with intelligence, precision and natural flow, unlocking meaningful advances in both safety and efficiency. We believe autonomy represents a once in a generation transformation in how people and goods move, comparable to the shift from horses to cars, and from human driven vehicles to intelligent machines.

Our ambition is to make autonomy universal. Wayve’s mapless and hardware agnostic AI platform integrates with global OEM partners, enabling continuous software evolution and unlocking advanced levels of automation from L2 plus through to L4 as our core AI model scales. In a race increasingly defined by intelligence and real world learning, Wayve is taking a distinct approach, building a generalisable driving intelligence that can power any vehicle, anywhere. By combining embodied AI with scalable deployment, we are creating technology that can be shaped to each OEM brand and driver experience, accelerating the transition to a safer, more intelligent future of mobility.

How we work - Locations & Flexible Working:

Our main hubs are in London, Sunnyvale, Yokohama, Herzliya, Vancouver and Leonberg. We operate a hybrid working model that combines in-person collaboration in our dedicated office spaces with focused time working remotely. This gives our teams the connection and energy of working together, alongside the flexibility to do their best work in a way that fits their lives.

The Interview Process:

Our process is clear and respectful of your time:

• Initial recruiter screen — 25 mins

• Competency Interviews — Programming and technical domain interviews (2 hours)

• Deep‑dive technical interviews — Software design, technical teadership and hiring‑manager/team fit interviews (3 hours)

• Final interview: Mission & values alignment (45 mins)

We’ll always explain the format and work around your availability.

What’s in it for you (Location dependant):

• Salaries benchmarked against the market annually

• Meaningful equity, sharing in the ownership and long term success of Wayve

• Relocation support and visa sponsorship where applicable

• Hybrid working, core hours and the chance to work hands on in vehicle workshops and labs

• Learning and development budgets with support for training, conferences and growth

• Comprehensive benefits including health insurance, dental, enhanced maternity and paternity leave, retirement or pension where applicable, access to therapists, wellbeing partnerships, team socials and more

A quick, honest note before you apply.

Wayve is not a mature, fully-structured place with the playbook already written. Much of how we work is still being written, and if you join, you’ll help write it. That suits people who want real ownership more than people who need a settled structure from day one.

If that sounds like the kind of problem you want to spend your time on, we’d really like to hear from you. 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.

To learn more about what drives us, visit Careers at Wayve. To learn more about what drives us, visit Values at Wayve.

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.