Staff Software Engineer – Secondary Driving System

Description

At General Motors, our Embodied AI teams are redefiningwhat’spossible in driverassistanceand automated driving, combining human‑centered design with cutting‑edge 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, production‑quality 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 theend‑to‑end technical strategyfor key SDS behaviors and features, spanning perception/prediction integration, planning, controls, and system‑level interactions.

• Balance hands‑on technical work with cross‑team leadership: you will still design and implement critical components in modern C++, while also guiding other senior and mid‑level 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, fail‑operational behaviors for Super Cruise and future products.

Whatyou’llbe 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, modularmulti‑sensorperceptionpipelinesfor camera, radar, and lidar, including detection, classification, lane/road feature extraction,freespace/occupancy, and environmental context.

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

• Lead high‑impact projects

• Lead design and delivery ofmulti‑object trackingsystems (e.g., Kalman/extended/unscented filters, IMM, probabilistic data association, track lifecycle management) that provide stable, high‑quality tracks under real‑world noise and edge cases.

• Drive development and integration ofshort‑horizon motion predictionfor vehicles, VRUs, and other actors using a mix of analytical models and ML‑based forecasting, including uncertainty modeling that enables conservative, fail‑operational decisions.

• Evaluate trade‑offs betweentraditional computer vision/roboticsandML‑basedapproaches, choosing the right tool for the problem and ensuring solutions are production‑ready under latency and compute constraints.

• Hands‑on technical excellence

• Design and implement critical components inmodern C++(C++17 or later), with careful attention to memory management, concurrency, and real‑time behavior; use Python for tooling, data analysis, and ML experimentation.

• Set and upholdhigh standardsfor software quality: clean, well‑documented APIs; rigorous code reviews; automated and regression testing; continuous integration; and rich logging and observability for on‑road incidents.

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

• Cross‑functional 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 fail‑operational, eyes‑off features.

• Represent SDSperceptionand prediction incross‑org technical forums, ensuring alignment with broader autonomy, platform, and hardware roadmaps.

• Leadership & mentorship

• Providetechnical mentorshipto other engineers, from onboarding to growing senior and staff‑level talent in perception/tracking/prediction and modern C++.

• Lead andfacilitatedesign reviews, incident post‑mortems, and cross‑team technical deep dives, raising the bar for clarity, robustness, and execution speed.

• Help build a healthy engineering culture: pragmatic, data‑driven decision‑making; 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 real‑time/control systems, includingsignificant experienceinperceptionand/or prediction.

• Strongproficiencyinmodern C++(e.g., C++14/17 or later) in large, multi‑contributor codebases; experience usingPythonfor tooling, data analysis, and ML experimentation.

• Demonstrated experienceleading technical design and deliveryofperception, tracking, or prediction systems in real‑time environments, including:

• Multi‑sensor fusion across camera, radar, and/or lidar (e.g., object‑level fusion, occupancy/freespacefusion, early/late fusion architectures)

• Classical computer vision and geometric algorithms (feature extraction, multi‑view geometry, stereo,SfM, SLAM/visual odometry)

• Multi‑object tracking (Kalman/extended/unscented filters, track‑to‑track fusion, track lifecycle management)

• Motion prediction for road users (analytical kinematic models, maneuver‑based prediction, or learned trajectory forecasting models)

• Proventrack recordof deliveringreliable, high‑qualityrobotics or autonomous driving software to production, including:

• Testing strategies (simulation, HIL, scenario‑based 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., interaction‑aware prediction, occupancy forecasting, scene‑level prediction).

• Hands‑on experience withGPU/accelerator‑based ML inference, model deployment, and performance optimization (e.g.,TensorRT, ONNX Runtime, custom accelerators).

• Experience withsafety‑critical softwareor working closely with functional safety teams on requirements, architectures, safety cases, and validation for fail‑operational features.

• Background inROSor similar robotics middleware, and familiarity with real‑time 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 paid in accordance with applicable state laws. The compensation may not be representative for positions located outside of New York, Colorado, California, or Washington.  

• The salary range for this role is $218,800-$335,300. 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. 

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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