Principal System Software Engineer, AV Platform

Nvidia

Confirmed live yesterday High trust

Quick summary

Work type: On-site
Location: Santa Clara, CA
Salary: $272,000–$431,250 / yr
Employment: Full-time
Posted: 59 days ago
Freshness: Confirmed live yesterday
Nearby: 99+ roles within 25 mi

Market check

Salary context

Above market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $202k

This role $352k

$108k $466k

below market most similar roles pay here above market

This role pays more than 99% of similar roles. Most pay $169,550–$235,000 — the blue band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $352k versus about $202k for comparable roles.

Based on 240 similar postings.

Employer

About Nvidia

Nvidia is a leading designer of graphics processing units (GPUs) and system-on-chip units, powering gaming, professional visualization, data centers, and artificial intelligence workloads. Industry: Semiconductors & AI Computing

Nvidia currently has 1623 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $184,000–$287,500 across 1110 roles with salary data.

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At a glance

TL;DR · Principal System Software Engineer, AV Platform

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The Principal System Software Engineer - AV Platform joins the team to drive next-generation innovations in automotive platform software, system architecture, and performance engineering. This technical leadership role involves designing, developing, and debugging low-level system software including kernels, drivers, middleware, runtime frameworks, and platform services. You will lead performance optimization initiatives across CPU, GPU, memory, storage, networking, and platform subsystems to improve reliability and determinism. The role requires deep expertise in Linux system internals, device drivers, and multi-core system architectures. You will utilize C/C++ and Python to solve complex bottlenecks in heterogeneous computing systems. The work focuses on building scalable, safety-critical software for automotive compute platforms, specifically addressing challenges in ADAS, autonomous driving systems, and GPU-accelerated computing within a centralized vehicle compute environment.

What does a System Software Engineer earn in California?

Median $235750 from 70 postings across 4 companies.

See salary data

Skills

C C++ Python Linux Kernel Device Drivers Embedded Linux RTOS Virtualization AI/ML Software ISO 26262 AUTOSAR ASPICE System Architecture Performance Engineering Middleware

What you'll do

Drive system software architecture and technical direction for next-generation automotive compute platforms.
Lead performance optimization initiatives across CPU, GPU, memory, storage, networking, and platform subsystems.
Design, develop, debug, and optimize low-level system software including kernel, drivers, and middleware.
Analyze complex system bottlenecks to improve performance, reliability, determinism, and efficiency.
Drive software bring-up, profiling, debugging, and performance tuning for new automotive platforms.
Contribute hands-on to critical software development, architecture reviews, and system optimization efforts.
Mentor engineers to drive a culture of technical excellence and innovation.

What we're looking for

Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience).
15+ years of substantial hands-on experience in systems software, embedded systems, platform software, kernel development, or performance engineering.
Deep expertise in Linux system internals, kernel architecture, device drivers, and low-level system software development.
Strong programming skills in C/C++ with experience in Python or scripting languages.
Proven experience debugging and optimizing complex distributed or heterogeneous computing systems.
Strong background in performance analysis and optimization across CPU, GPU, memory, storage, and interconnect subsystems.
Experience with embedded Linux, RTOS, virtualization technologies, or multi-core system architectures.
Experience with automotive software platforms, ADAS, or autonomous driving systems (preferred).

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