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Salary: USD 347,500 - 437,900 / annual
Wayve is building an end-to-end AI platform for autonomous driving that enables vehicles to learn directly from real-world experience. The company is pioneering an approach where AI drivers adapt, generalize and improve at scale without relying on hand-coded rules or pre-mapped environments.
As Distinguished Engineer in Vehicle Software, you will define the technical architecture and provide leadership for the next generation of Wayve's embedded vehicle software stack. This is a highly senior technical leadership role centered on architecture, hands-on technical judgment, and broad influence across the organization.
Your responsibilities will include:
- Establishing the technical vision for Wayve's embedded vehicle software and guiding major architectural decisions
- Remaining close to the technology by reviewing designs, exploring critical technical problems, and helping teams make sound decisions across operating systems, middleware, performance, reliability and hardware integration
- Defining embedded software architectures for advanced autonomous-driving systems
- Shaping the operating-system, middleware and hardware-abstraction roadmap for the next-generation autonomy platform
- Improving system architecture, performance, reliability and scalability
- Evaluating and integrating advanced embedded compute platforms from NVIDIA, Qualcomm and other partners
- Collaborating across Vehicle Software, AI, hardware, systems, safety and OEM programme teams
- Working directly with automotive customers and external technology partners to deliver production-ready solutions
- Representing Wayve in technical discussions with OEM software and hardware architects and silicon partners
- Mentoring senior engineers and helping shape the technical direction of the Vehicle Software organization
- Leading complex, cross-functional technical programmes spanning multiple teams and organizations
- Advocating for best-in-class software-development processes, architecture practices and engineering tools
Wayve operates from multiple hubs including London, Sunnyvale, Yokohama, Herzliya, Vancouver and Leonberg. The company offers a hybrid working model with core working hours, allowing flexibility in schedule while maintaining in-person collaboration.
QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS:
- Minimum 15 years of professional software-development experience
- Expert-level knowledge in embedded systems applied to robotics, autonomous systems or similarly complex products
- Proven track record of successfully delivering complex embedded systems into production at scale
- Strong software-development experience in one or more of C, C++, Python or Rust
- Professional experience with systems-performance analysis, optimization and tuning
- Experience leading or significantly influencing complex technical programmes involving approximately 100 or more engineers, including contributors outside direct reporting structure
- Ability to establish technical direction and influence senior engineering and business leadership
- Comfort working directly with external stakeholders, including automotive manufacturers and technology partners
- Ability to represent Wayve as the primary technical leader in discussions with OEM software, hardware and chipset architects
- Ability to translate complex technical constraints into clear architectural decisions and bring multiple teams along
Desirable but not required:
- Automotive software or vehicle-platform development experience
- Experience with NVIDIA Drive platforms (Orin, DriveOS, DriveWorks)
- Knowledge of automotive software frameworks such as AUTOSAR
