Automotive System Engineer
Wayve · Sunnyvale, California
Before the detail, here's the challenge you'd help us solve.
We build the embodied intelligence that moves real vehicles safely, and the ecosystem a billion machines will run on in the future. Very few people in AI can say this. Every role here, whatever the team, plugs into that.
Here’s what this particular role covers.
THE ROLE
As automotive system engineer, you will be responsible for designing the L2/L3 automotive grade system based on our AV2.0 approach. This includes the strategy and the concept of how to embed our fundamentally new autonomy solution in future OEM vehicle infrastructures. You will also engage with our customers and represent our approach and our company in the planning of collaboration projects.
You will grow with the company and be critical in establishing how we design our system closely with software engineering leads. Our stack includes base software for sensor data processing, neural network execution and diagnostics and robotic functions for vehicle control.
You will also act as a coach to others towards an automotive grade, requirement based development mindset to help teams deliver automotive grade software.
Key responsibilities:
REQUIREMENT DEFINITION:
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- Define clear, actionable system requirements for assigned products, whether focused on L2+, L3 automated driving, or ADAS functionalities.
- Collaborate with product managers, software developers, and hardware teams to ensure requirements align with customer and business needs.
- Ensure traceability and alignment of requirements throughout the product lifecycle.
1. Data Driven Development:
- Create comprehensive scenarios that the system must handle, ensuring it performs reliably in various real-world conditions. Support for selecting and creating such testing scenarios from data corpus and for ensuring that data-driven insights guide system development and testing processes.
- Ensures that scenario definitions are validated and refined through collaboration with multiple teams, aligning with overall business and customer needs.
2. Support Implementation:
- Work closely with software developers to align on data collection requirements, scenarios, KPIs and behaviour specifications
- Work closely with the solutions and architecture teams to develop the system architecture based on the system requirements and customer constraints.
- Oversee and support the integration of solutions into vehicles, ensuring seamless functionality and compatibility.
3. Hands-On Testing:
- Actively test and validate systems in vehicles to gain direct experience and provide firsthand feedback.
- Analyze performance in real-world scenarios, identifying strengths and areas for improvement.
- Define test specifications at the system-level (working with the HIL team) and the vehicle-level integration.
4. Problem Resolution:
- Serve as the first line of support for problem resolution, diagnosing and addressing system issues.
- Collaborate across teams to escalate and resolve complex issues, ensuring timely solutions.
5. Continuous Improvement:
- Provide input on process enhancements and system optimizations based on testing and user feedback.
- Contribute to the continuous evolution of Wayve’s L2+/L3 and ADAS technologies.
ABOUT YOU
In order to set you up for success as a Systems Engineer at Wayve, we’re looking for the following skills and experience.
Essential
- Experience:
- 5+ years of experience in system engineering, automotive development, or related fields.
- Proven experience in defining and managing requirements for complex systems, preferably in ADAS or automated driving domains.
- Proficiency in requirements management (e.g., Jama, DOORS) and system engineering tools (e.g., MATLAB/Simulink, Enterprise Architect)
- Technical Skills:
- Strong understanding of automotive systems, including sensors (cameras, radars, etc.), software integration, and vehicle dynamics.
- Experience with system validation and troubleshooting in real-world conditions.
- Soft Skills:
- Excellent problem-solving skills, with the ability to diagnose and resolve issues effectively.
- Strong communication and collaboration skills, with a proactive and hands-on approach.
- A forward-thinking mindset and experience in implementing disruptive technologies using traditional automotive processes.
- Education:
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Systems Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
- Familiarity with automotive safety standards (e.g., ISO 26262, SOTIF) is a plus.
Desirable
- Knowledge of AI and machine learning frameworks and experience with data and test driven development, incl. KPI generation and tracking
- Experience with software development for automotive applications, including experience in C/C++ and/or Python.
- Experience with system-level validation of AI components, including edge-case scenario testing and robustness assessment.
This role is a full-time role based in Sunnyvale, CA (hybrid) and the reasonably estimated salary for this role ranges from $209,700 to 311,400, plus a competitive equity package. Actual compensation is based on the candidate's skills, qualifications, and experience. At Wayve we want the best of all worlds so we operate a hybrid working policy that combines time together in our offices and workshops to fuel innovation, culture, relationships and learning, and time spent working from home.
A quick, honest note before you apply.
Wayve is not a mature, fully-structured place with the playbook already written. Much of how we work is still being written, and if you join, you’ll help write it. That suits people who want real ownership more than people who need a settled structure from day one.
If that sounds like the kind of problem you want to spend your time on, we’d really like to hear from you.