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NVIDIA

Senior System Software Engineer— Autonomous Driving Context Fusion

NVIDIA is hiring a Senior System Software Engineer— Autonomous Driving Context Fusion 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 software engineer role: aI is not part of the work.
  • The listed pay starts 10% above the typical software engineer posting on Level.
  • Tools and skills the posting cites include C, software optimization and autonomous driving.
  • Level lists 2,700+ other open roles at NVIDIA.
  • The role was posted in the last few days.

AI in this role

Senior System Software Engineer to optimize real-time performance and efficiency for autonomous driving context fusion software.

c
software-optimizationautonomous-drivingperformance-profilingconcurrency

We are looking for a Software Optimization Engineer to join our DRIVE Road Structure / Online Mapping / Context Fusion team. In this role, you will improve the efficiency and real-time performance of software that brings together perception, map, and localization data to build a consistent model of the driving environment. You will work closely with algorithm and platform engineers to identify bottlenecks, optimize software architecture and data flows, and deliver measurable improvements in CPU utilization, memory usage, and latency on automotive platforms. Your work will help advanced autonomous driving capabilities run reliably within demanding compute and timing constraints.


What you’ll be doing:

  • Optimize context fusion software that integrates perception, map, and localization data to represent the driving environment.
  • Design and refine software architecture, interfaces, and data flows to meet CPU, memory, and latency requirements on automotive platforms.
  • Profile complex software pipelines, identify performance bottlenecks, and implement improvements backed by reproducible measurements.
  • Work with algorithm teams to improve computational efficiency while preserving algorithm behavior, output quality, and correctness.
  • Develop benchmarks and performance regression tests to track improvements and prevent regressions.
  • Partner with perception, mapping, localization, and platform engineers to resolve system-level performance issues.
  • Write reliable, maintainable code and contribute to code reviews, testing, and the safety and quality expectations of autonomous driving software.

What we need to see:

  • A PhD with 4+ years, an MS with 6+ years, or a BS (or equivalent experience) with 8+ years of relevant experience in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.
  • Strong proficiency in modern C++ and extensive experience designing and developing performance-sensitive software.
  • Demonstrated ability to profile and optimize CPU utilization, memory consumption, and end-to-end latency.
  • A strong understanding of data structures, algorithms, memory management, concurrency, and their impact on software performance.
  • Experience using profiling tools and benchmarks to diagnose bottlenecks and validate improvements under representative workloads.
  • A systematic approach to debugging and optimization, with a focus on preserving correctness and reliability.
  • Strong communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively across algorithm, software, and platform teams.

Ways to stand out from the crowd:

  • Experience optimizing real-time software on embedded or automotive platforms.
  • Familiarity with context fusion, map fusion, localization, perception pipelines, state estimation, or related ADAS and autonomous driving systems.
  • Experience with cache-aware data layouts, memory allocation optimization, multithreading, or SIMD/vectorization.
  • Experience designing efficient APIs and reusable software frameworks for complex systems.
  • A track record of delivering measurable performance improvements in production software while preserving correctness, output quality, and reliability.


#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 7, 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 System Software Engineer— Autonomous Driving Context Fusion at NVIDIA rates 35 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.

  1. ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
  2. ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
  3. ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
  4. ●○○○ 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.

Prepare for this job

Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

Software OptimizationAutonomous DrivingPerformance ProfilingConcurrencyC

Also common in software engineer jobs at this level

Pay

This job starts at
$184k
Typical software engineer job
$168k

This posting starts 10% above the typical software engineer job. See software engineer jobs

Questions you could be asked

  1. Tell me about a project where software optimization was part of your work. What did you do?
  2. Tell me about a project where autonomous driving was part of your work. What did you do?
  3. Tell me about a project where performance profiling was part of your work. What did you do?
  4. Tell me about a project where concurrency was part of your work. What did you do?
  5. Walk me through how you've used C in your day-to-day work.

Adapt your resume

  • List these exact terms on your resume: Software Optimization, Autonomous Driving, Performance Profiling, Concurrency, and C. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
  • Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.

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