Senior Localization and Planning Engineer - Autonomous Vehicles

NVIDIA is hiring a Senior Localization and Planning Engineer - Autonomous Vehicles in Santa Clara, United States. It pays $184k-$288k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on NVIDIA.

Level's read on this job

Little AI ●○○○ is how Level rates this role: aI is not part of the work.
Level classifies it as a senior role.
Level lists 2,700+ other open roles at NVIDIA.

AI in this role

We are looking for Localization and Planning Engineers to join us. Navigation maps are an essential piece of autonomous driving systems, providing rich driving context, including road level and lane level information. In this role, you will work on localizing, perception-map association, and lane selection with navigation maps to enable advanced features for autonomous vehicles.

What you'll be doing:

Design and implement systems using standard navigation maps, e.g. Google maps, to help navigate the car along a route on a lane level.
Ensure algorithms perform effectively across large-scale real-world and synthetic datasets in diverse environments..
Write safe, highly efficient code in C++.
Productize all software for real-world deployment to consumer cars, follow automotive quality and safety standards (MISRA, ISO26262).

What we need to see:

BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science or related fields (or equivalent experience).
8+ years of proven experience.
Strong algorithmic design background.
Outstanding communication and teamwork skills, as this project requires both cross-team collaboration and work in a tightly-knit team.
Meticulous craftsmanship of software in modern C++, using RAII and the best exception safe coding practices.

Ways to stand out from the crowd:

Prior industrial experience with navigation maps, online mapping, or lane planning.

We believe that realizing self-driving cars will be a defining contribution of our generation (e.g. traffic accidents cause ~1.25 million deaths per year world-wide). We have the funding and scale, but we need your help on our team. NVIDIA is widely considered to be one of the technology world’s most desirable employers with some of the most forward-thinking and hardworking people in the world working here. If you're creative and autonomous, we want to hear from you!

#AutonomousVehicles

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:
184,000 USD – 287,500 USD for Level 4; and 224,000 USD – 356,500 USD for Level 5.

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.

#deeplearning

How we rate this

Senior Localization and Planning Engineer - Autonomous Vehicles at NVIDIA rates 20 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Little AI. AI is not part of the work.

●●●● 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 Localization and Planning Engineer - Autonomous Vehicles is an open job at NVIDIA.
Level rates this role AI Level 1 of 4: Little AI.
The listed salary is $184k-$288k a year.
The role is based in US, CA, Santa Clara.
The job was posted on August 29, 2026.
Seniority: senior.
Applications are handled by NVIDIA. Apply on NVIDIA