Senior Manager, Abstraction Layer Engineering – Autonomous Platform

Details

The era of AI is here — and it’s transforming how machines learn, reason, and interact with the world. Today, AI-powered autonomous vehicles can navigate rural roads at night, understand dynamic environments, and make real-time driving decisions. Behind this capability lies a robust software stack — and VAL/SAL (Vehicle & Sensor Abstraction Layers) are the critical interfaces that make it all possible.

In this role you will lead the architecture and development of the abstraction layers that bridge autonomous driving software with the physical world — from low-level sensor inputs and actuator commands to scalable integration with real-world hardware. You will enable real-time autonomy at scale through efficient, safe, and production-quality software.

Responsibilities

• Lead the VAL and SAL teams, designing and developing software abstractions and plugin frameworks to interface with vehicle and sensor systems.
• Build efficient and user-friendly mechanisms to improve software integration across a wide range of vehicles and sensor configurations.
• Work on component abstraction layers, sensor and actuator interfacing, and inter-process data sharing and communication for reliable and scalable autonomous driving solutions.
• Solidify existing frameworks and software components; validate improvements through real-world and synthetic testing to enhance computational performance and system utilization.
• Perform in-vehicle tests, collect and analyze sensor and vehicle data, and support the completion of autonomous drive missions.
• Develop unit tests and documentation for key features, evaluate software quality, and propose corrective actions aligned with industry best practices.
• Develop highly efficient, production-quality C++ code and demonstrate parallel computing capabilities using GPGPU (CUDA) to accelerate processing workloads.
• Follow industry safety and quality standards, including MISRA and other automotive-grade software development practices.

Requirements

• MS or higher in computer engineering, computer science, or a related engineering field (or equivalent experience).
• 12+ years of overall relevant industry experience and 8+ years of managing a team.
• Excellent C and C++ programming skills.
• Experience developing and debugging multithreaded/distributed applications (e.g., multimedia systems, game engines).
• Strong knowledge of programming and debugging techniques for parallel and distributed architectures.
• Strong knowledge of Linux, Android, and/or other real-time operating systems.
• Experience with robotics frameworks such as ROS and/or multimedia frameworks such as GStreamer.
• Strong focus on writing low-latency, high-performance code.
• Excellent communication and analytical skills; self-motivated and a collaborative teammate.

Ways to Stand Out

• Understanding of embedded architectures and developing software for heterogeneous architectures, including GPUs.
• Knowledge of automotive systems (ADAS applications, AUTOSAR, drive-by-wire systems).
• Experience with modern OpenGL (Core Profile) and Linux development.
• Experience with version control systems (GIT) and build systems like CMake or Bazel.
• Hands-on collaboration with algorithm, software, and hardware engineers; strong attention to detail and data presentation skills.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base salary range: 272,000 USD - 425,500 USD (determined by location, experience, and internal pay equity).
• Eligible for equity and company benefits. See NVIDIA benefits for details.

Other

• Applications accepted at least until October 27, 2025.
• NVIDIA is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion.