Staff Software Engineer, Simulation
General Motors · Sunnyvale, California, United States of America ·
- Seniority
- Staff
- Category
- Software engineering
- Experience
- 7+ years
Job Description
The Role:
General Motors is a global leader in advanced driver assistance. With Super Cruise hands-free technology in more than 500,000 Super Cruise-equipped vehicles on the road, and over 700 million hands‑free miles driven, GM is proving that automation can be trusted, intuitive, and helpful. GM has the global reach to bring cutting‑edge advances to everyday drivers at an unprecedented scale. Join us to help deliver the next generation of safe and delightful personal autonomous vehicle experiences.
About the Organization:
The Simulation team, part of the Autonomous Vehicle organization, is responsible for developing and advancing the simulation ecosystem that enables the growth and maturity of GM’s autonomous driving technology. We develop scalable tools, workflows, and analysis capabilities that enable data-driven decisions across AV development, testing, and validation. Partnering with Autonomy, Systems, Safety, and other cross-functional teams, we provide the simulation foundation needed to assess system behavior, improve development velocity, and support end-to-end AV quality. We own large-scale scenario libraries, test and evaluation pipelines, and core infrastructure that support virtual testing, data analysis, model development, and validation within a unified framework. By joining this team, you will help shape GM’s core simulation platforms, turn complex system behavior into actionable insights, and accelerate the development of safe, scalable autonomous vehicles.
What You’ll Do:
Architect large-scale test infrastructure and evaluation pipelines that enable and quantify the accuracy, reliability, and efficiency of simulation tests used for autonomous vehicle software validation.
Lead cross-functional initiatives with Autonomy, Systems Engineering, Simulation, and Data teams to tightly integrate team-owned test operations and evaluation products into regular development workflows and release decision processes.
Invent novel methodologies and deliver implementation to quantify and characterize the trustworthiness and effectiveness of simulation test and evaluation products at scale.
Drive technical roadmaps and strategic priorities while partnering cross-functionally to integrate new simulation technologies aligned with AV goals.
Own and refine key simulation evaluation metrics and KPIs used for readiness and safety decisions; synthesize and present results and tradeoffs to stakeholders; make insights readily available to partner teams through interactive dashboards.
Maintain a high technical standard through architectural design, design reviews, and code reviews, setting patterns and best practices for the broader team.
Your Skills and Abilities (Required Qualifications)
7+ years of applied experience developing complex evaluation, simulation, or test frameworks.
Proficient in developing Python for production systems, including unit testing, code review, performance tradeoffs, and reliability best practices.
Proven cross-team technical leadership, including defining strategies adopted by multiple teams and influencing system and architecture decisions.
Strong written and verbal communication, driving decisions, communicating risk, and giving constructive feedback to diverse stakeholders.
Bachelor’s or higher degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience.
What Will Give You a Competitive Edge (Preferred Qualifications)
Experience in autonomous driving or high-stakes field robotics; designing, running, and interpreting large-scale simulation and field experiments.
Experience working on test strategies and validation for safety-critical products.
A strong, data-driven curiosity to investigate anomalies and systematically root-cause discrepancies.
Familiarity with SQL, time-series data analysis, performance monitoring tools and dashboarding systems (e.g., Looker, Streamlit).
Hybrid/Remote:
This role can be based remotely but if you live within a 50-mile radius of Sunnyvale or Mountain View you are expected to report to that location three times per week.
*This job may be eligible for relocation benefits if you are interested in relocating to the bay area.
Compensation
The salary range for this role is $160,200 - $246,300. 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.
Company Vehicle
Upon successful completion of a motor vehicle report review, you will be eligible to participate in a company vehicle evaluation program, through which you will be assigned a General Motors vehicle to drive and evaluate. Note: program participants are required to purchase/lease a qualifying GM vehicle every four years unless one of a limited number of exceptions applies.
About GM
Our vision is a world with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion and we embrace the responsibility to lead the change that will make our world better, safer and more equitable for all.
Why Join Us
We believe we all must make a choice every day – individually and collectively – to drive meaningful change through our words, our deeds and our culture. Every day, we want every employee to feel they belong to one General Motors team.
Benefits Overview
From day one, we're looking out for your well-being–at work and at home–so you can focus on realizing your ambitions. Learn how GM supports a rewarding career that rewards you personally by visiting Total Rewards resources.
Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunities (U.S.)
General Motors is committed to being a workplace that is not only free of unlawful discrimination, but one that genuinely fosters inclusion and belonging. We strongly believe that providing an inclusive workplace creates an environment in which our employees can thrive and develop better products for our customers.
All employment decisions are made on a non-discriminatory basis without regard to sex, race, color, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, disability, pregnancy or maternity status, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran or protected veteran, or any other similarly protected status in accordance with federal, state and local laws.
We encourage interested candidates to review the key responsibilities and qualifications for each role and apply for any positions that match their skills and capabilities. Applicants in the recruitment process may be required, where applicable, to successfully complete a role-related assessment(s) and/or a pre-employment screening prior to beginning employment. To learn more, visit How we Hire.
Accommodations
General Motors offers opportunities to all job seekers including individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation to assist with your job search or application for employment, email us or call us at 1-800-865-7580. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.