Senior Applications Software Engineer, Perception and Sensor Fusion

NVIDIA is hiring a Senior Applications Software Engineer, Perception and Sensor Fusion in Santa Clara, United States. It pays $152k-$242k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on NVIDIA.

Level's read on this job

Level rates this software engineer role Works on AI ●●●○: the daily work is on AI products, without building the model.
Level classifies it as a senior role.
Level lists 2,700+ other open roles at NVIDIA.

AI in this role

Join the NVIDIA's Solutions Engineering team that is reshaping the future of driving! Our goal is to build and deploy scalable solutions for autonomous vehicles and as a result, create safer and more efficient roads. Our team is hands-on, passionate about practical results, and values diversity.

You will help craft the application software architecture by working closely with external partners developing on our platform and on collaborations across multiple teams within NVIDIA working on autonomous vehicles. You will also advance and refine the overall drivability of our solution, focusing on integration challenges and using your deep analytical skills to tease through the complexity of the system to find effective solutions. NVIDIA is widely considered to be one of the technology world’s most desirable employers, and is committed to fostering a diverse work environment and proud to be an equal opportunity employer. If you are passionate in bringing autonomous vehicles into the world and see the solution come together, we would like to hear from you!

What you'll be doing:

Shape the application architecture internally, with a focus on perception & sensor fusion, by collaborating closely with architecture and software development teams.
Integrate and adapt NVIDIA solutions in target vehicles, ensuring that both perception and sensor fusion are adapted and tuned to meet the desired driving performance and functionality.
Lead bring-up activities and provide technical support to resolve functional and perception & sensor fusion related issues.
Perform and leverage in-vehicle and simulation test drives for functional and performance analysis on the recorded data.
Work with our partners to efficiently integrate hardware and software components, understand the system architecture, profile performance, identify bottlenecks, and drive optimization
Collaborate with our global engineering teams in our US, APAC, and Europe locations to deploy solutions to our customers.

What we need to see:

5+ years of work related experience in software development related to deep learning and/or autonomous driving technologies.
Experience developing and deploying deep learning-based perception solutions across diverse sensor modalities, including cameras, lidars, ultrasonics, and radar
Familiar with data flywheel for scaling deep learning-based perception solutions
Solid grasp on sensor processing pipelines and their lifecycle.
BS/MS in computer science, robotics, electrical engineering, or related technical field (or equivalent experience).
Excellent C/C++ development skills with good knowledge of Python.
Ability to adapt to fast paced development lifecycles and multi-functional organizations, new technologies and platforms.
Strong analytical skills, strive for innovative solutions, with outstanding attention to details.

Ways to stand out from the crowd:

Experience with automotive design processes and standards (e.g. ISO 26262 FuSa, ISO 21448 SOTIF, ASPICE), including in-vehicle testing, simulation and development guided by measurable outcomes.
Familiarity of NVIDIA DRIVE platform and NVIDIA GPU hardware and CUDA programming.
Software development experience on QNX or equivalent RTOS.
Contributions to or ownership of open-source project and mentorship experience.

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:
152,000 USD – 241,500 USD for Level 3; and 184,000 USD – 287,500 USD for Level 4.

You will also be eligible for equity and benefits.

Applications for this job will be accepted at least until November 3, 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.

How we rate this

Senior Applications Software Engineer, Perception and Sensor Fusion at NVIDIA rates 63 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Works on AI (AI Level 3 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Works on AI. The daily work is on AI products, without building the model.

●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
●○○○ Little AI0 to 39

Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.

Key facts

Senior Applications Software Engineer, Perception and Sensor Fusion is an open job at NVIDIA.
Level rates this role AI Level 3 of 4: Works on AI.
The listed salary is $152k-$242k a year.
The role is based in US, CA, Santa Clara.
The job was posted on September 21, 2026.
Seniority: senior.
Applications are handled by NVIDIA. Apply on NVIDIA