Staff Software Engineer – Secondary Driving System

Description

At General Motors our Embodied AI teams are redefiningwhatspossible in driverassistanceand automated driving combining humancentered design with cuttingedge robotics optimization and machine learning to build systems that are both intelligent and trustworthy.

The Secondary Driving System (SDS) is an independentperception planning andcontrolsstack that keeps the vehicleoperatingsafely for a limited time if the primary driving system becomes unavailable. SDS requests driver takeover and when needed executes a Minimal Risk Maneuver (MRM) to bring the vehicle to a safe stop.

We are looking for aStaff Software Engineerto provide technical leadership for theSecondary Driving Systemas a whole.This is ageneralist software engineering rolefocused on building robust productionquality C software across the SDS stack (perception tracking prediction planning controls and system integration). Depth inperception tracking prediction or planning ishighly preferred but we are primarily looking for strong engineering and systems skills with the flexibility to work where the team and product need you most.

Role

As a Staff Software Engineer on the Secondary Driving System team within Embodied AI you will:

• Serve as atechnical lead for SDS softwareacross multiple components of the stack setting direction for algorithms architectures and system interfaces across features and releases.

• Own theendtoend technical strategyfor key SDS behaviors and features spanning perception/prediction integration planning controls and systemlevel interactions.

• Balance handson technical work with crossteam leadership: you will still design and implement critical components in modern C while also guiding other senior and midlevel engineers to deliver at scale.

• Collaborate closely with experts inperception tracking prediction state estimation localization mapping planning controls systems engineering and safety to deliver robust failoperational behaviors for Super Cruise and future products.

Whatyoullbe doing

• Define technical vision & architecture

• Set the technical direction for SDS software components with a focus on correctness robustness and predictable runtime behavior under tight latency and compute budgets.

• Architect scalable modularmultisensorperceptionpipelinesfor camera radar and lidar including detection classification lane/road feature extractionfreespace/occupancy and environmental context.

• Establish and evolveinterfaces and contractsbetween perception/prediction and upstream/downstream components (state estimation localization mapping planning controls autonomy management).

• Lead highimpact projects

• Lead design and delivery ofmultiobject trackingsystems (e.g. Kalman/extended/unscented filters IMM probabilistic data association track lifecycle management) that provide stable highquality tracks under realworld noise and edge cases.

• Drive development and integration ofshorthorizon motion predictionfor vehicles VRUs and other actors using a mix of analytical models and MLbased forecasting including uncertainty modeling that enables conservative failoperational decisions.

• Evaluate tradeoffs betweentraditional computer vision/roboticsandMLbasedapproaches choosing the right tool for the problem and ensuring solutions are productionready under latency and compute constraints.

• Handson technical excellence

• Design and implement critical components inmodern C(C17 or later) with careful attention to memory management concurrency and realtime behavior; use Python for tooling data analysis and ML experimentation.

• Set and upholdhigh standardsfor software quality: clean welldocumented APIs; rigorous code reviews; automated and regression testing; continuous integration; and rich logging and observability for onroad incidents.

• Profile andoptimizeSDS components to meet strictruntime performance determinism and resourceusagerequirements using offline and onlineevaluation frameworks and metricsto guide iteration regression detection and performance tuning.

• Crossfunctional and safety alignment

• Work with state estimation localization mapping and autonomy management partners to ensure SDSperceptionand prediction behavior supports reliable engagement and MRM in response to primary stack failures.

• Partner with Safety and Systems Engineering to ensure designs and implementations align withfunctional safety redundancy and MRM requirements for failoperational eyesoff features.

• Represent SDSperceptionand prediction incrossorg technical forums ensuring alignment with broader autonomy platform and hardware roadmaps.

• Leadership & mentorship

• Providetechnical mentorshipto other engineers from onboarding to growing senior and stafflevel talent in perception/tracking/prediction and modern C.

• Lead andfacilitatedesign reviews incident postmortems and crossteam technical deep dives raising the bar for clarity robustness and execution speed.

• Help build a healthy engineering culture: pragmatic datadriven decisionmaking; strong ownership; and a focus on safety reliability and customer experience.

Qualifications

• BS MS or PhD inComputer Science Robotics Electrical/Mechanical Engineering or a related field; or equivalent practical experience.

• 8 yearsof professional software engineering experience building production systems in robotics autonomous vehicles or other complex realtime/control systems includingsignificant experienceinperceptionand/or prediction.

• Strongproficiencyinmodern C(e.g. C14/17 or later) in large multicontributor codebases; experience usingPythonfor tooling data analysis and ML experimentation.

• Demonstrated experienceleading technical design and deliveryofperception tracking or prediction systems in realtime environments including:

• Multisensor fusion across camera radar and/or lidar (e.g. objectlevel fusion occupancy/freespacefusion early/late fusion architectures)

• Classical computer vision and geometric algorithms (feature extraction multiview geometry stereoSfM SLAM/visual odometry)

• Multiobject tracking (Kalman/extended/unscented filters tracktotrack fusion track lifecycle management)

• Motion prediction for road users (analytical kinematic models maneuverbased prediction or learned trajectory forecasting models)

• Proventrack recordof deliveringreliable highqualityrobotics or autonomous driving software to production including:

• Testing strategies (simulation HIL scenariobased testing regression suites)

• Robust metrics and dashboards for monitoring perception/prediction performance

• Performance tuning under strict latency and compute budgets

• Strong communicationand collaboration skills with the ability to:

• Drive clarity in ambiguous technical spaces

• Influence engineers and leaders across ML systems platform hardware and safety

• Document and communicate complex technical concepts to diverse audiences

• Passion for automated driving and robotics and for building systems that measurably improve safety and driver experience.

Bonus points

• Experience building or leadingcamera/radar/lidarperceptionand fusionfor autonomous driving or advanced driverassistancesystems in production.

• Deepexpertiseintracking and predictionfor autonomous vehicles or robotics (e.g. interactionaware prediction occupancy forecasting scenelevel prediction).

• Handson experience withGPU/acceleratorbased ML inference model deployment and performance optimization (e.g.TensorRT ONNX Runtime custom accelerators).

• Experience withsafetycritical softwareor working closely with functional safety teams on requirements architectures safety cases and validation for failoperational features.

• Background inROSor similar robotics middleware and familiarity with realtime or embedded platforms and constraints.

Compensation:The compensation information is a good faith estimate only. It is based on what a successful applicant might be paidin accordance withapplicable state laws. The compensation may not be representative for positionslocatedoutside of New York Colorado California or Washington.

• The salary range for this role is $218800-$335300. The actual base salary a successful candidate will be offered within this range will vary based on factors relevant to the position.

• Bonus Potential: An incentive pay program offers payouts based on company performance job level and individual performance.

• Benefits: GM offers a variety of health and wellbeing benefit programs. Benefit options include medical dental vision Health Savings Account Flexible Spending Accounts retirement savings plan sickness and accident benefits life insurance paid vacation & holidays tuition assistance programs employee assistance program GM vehicle discounts and more.

Benefits:

• Benefits: GM offers a variety of health and wellbeing benefit programs. Benefit options include medical dental vision Health Savings Account Flexible Spending Accounts retirement savings plan sickness and accident benefits life insurance paid vacation & holidays tuition assistance programs employee assistance program GM vehicle discounts and more.

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