Engineering Group Leader - Autonomous Interface Abstraction

Job Description

The Role:

The Engineering Group Manager – Autonomous Interface Abstraction is responsible for building and leading a software engineering team that delivers a reusable, low-latency abstraction layer between autonomous/SDV platforms and underlying vehicle domains (body, chassis, propulsion, and related subsystems).

This leader will guide a team to design and own platform APIs that simplify how autonomous features request and orchestrate vehicle capabilities, while maintaining safety, performance, and architectural discipline. This is a hybrid role based out of our Mountain View office in California.

What You’ll do:

Technical & Product Leadership

• Own the Autonomous Interface Abstraction (AIA) platform strategy and roadmap, aligning with SDV2, Ultifi, and autonomous program milestones.
• Define and evolve a common interface model and API contracts that expose vehicle capabilities (body, chassis, propulsion, perception-related actuators, etc.) to autonomous and SDV applications in a consistent, scalable way.

Ensure the abstraction layer:

• Simplifies integration for new autonomous and SDV features.
• Reduces net system complexity and duplication across domains.
• Preserves or improves end-to-end latency and determinism for safety- and UX-critical paths.

Drive architectural decisions in partnership with:

• Domain teams (Body Controls, Chassis, Propulsion, Diagnostics, etc.).
• Enterprise/embedded architecture and Ultifi platform teams.
• Autonomous feature and motion-planning teams (e.g., AV controls, perception/decision layers).
• Champion platform thinking: design for reuse across programs and generations, not one-off program solutions.

Delivery & Execution

Lead the full software lifecycle for the AIA platform: Requirements and blueprints (in partnership with systems engineering).

• Software design, implementation, and integration.
• Testing in isolation, CoSim, bench, and in-vehicle environments.
• Release readiness and support to program teams.

Establish and track clear execution metrics, such as:

• Latency and performance budgets by use case.
• Defect escape rate and rework.
• API reuse and footprint across programs.
• On-time delivery vs. SDV/AV milestones.

Ensure robust quality, safety, and security practices, including:

• Alignment to functional safety expectations where applicable.
• Compliance with internal software processes and automation requirements.
• Design choices that support diagnosability and observability.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Act as the primary technical and leadership interface between:

• Interface manager, chassis, propulsion, supercruise / ADAS and diagnostics leaders.
• SDV platform, and enterprise architecture teams.
• Vehicle program leadership and ART/Core PDTs.

Align stakeholders on:

• Scope boundaries between abstraction layer, domain software, and application layers.
• Ownership of arbitration, sequencing, and customization logic.
• Roadmaps and release content for major milestones (e.g., SDV2 BT1YL % events, key AV releases).

Scope & Interfaces

The AIA EGM’s scope includes:

Functional domains:

• Interfaces for autonomous control of closures, lighting, thermal comfort, seating/occupant positioning, and other body functions via abstraction.
• Interfaces to chassis and propulsion abstractions as needed to support AV features and modes.

Layers & platforms:

• Abstraction at the Ultifi / SDV platform layer, coordinating with domain-specific SWCs and lower-level drivers.
• Consistent patterns for request/response, events, and state management across domains.

Use cases:

• Autonomy-driven behaviors (e.g., automated ingress/egress, maneuvering, charging flows).
• Complex modes that combine multiple domains and require centralized orchestration.

Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications)

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical/Computer Engineering, or related field
• Significant experience (typically 8+ years) in embedded or distributed automotive software with a focus on:
• Real-time controls, safety-critical or latency-sensitive systems.
• Platform/abstraction layer or API design across multiple components or domains.
• Demonstrated success leading technical teams (people leadership and/or strong technical leadership roles) delivering complex software in production.
• Define and drive architecture across multiple stakeholder teams.
• Manage conflicting requirements (safety vs UX vs