Software Engineer Lead - Middleware Must have Android AOSP; Kotlin; Embedded SW Development

Worldwide, the Volkswagen Group has a long tradition of dramatic innovations. The Volkswagen Group with its headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany is one of the world’s leading automobile manufacturers and the largest carmaker in Europe. The Group comprises twelve brands from seven European countries: Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Audi, SEAT, ŠKODA, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Ducati, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Scania and MAN.

Role Responsibilities

Middleware Architect and Development Design – (60%)

• Design, develop, and maintain scalable and robust communication middleware for distributed embedded systems.
• Collaborate with systems engineers and application developers to define middleware interfaces and APIs.
• Lead middleware performance profiling, debugging, and tuning.
• Contribute to the development of communication frameworks that support inter-process and inter-device data exchange.
• Guide the integration of middleware into OS-level services (e.g., Linux, real-time operating systems).
• Contribute to the development and product launch of functions and ECUs, overseeing all steps of the process and coordination with product/design/contract manufacturers.
• Contribute to the hardware specification and design of electronic control units for automotive systems.
• Design and optimize communication stacks (e.g., SOME/IP, DDS, MQTT, gRPC, CAN, LIN, Ethernet AVB/TSN).
• Develop and maintain APIs and SDKs for internal and third-party application integration.
• Lead the integration of middleware with AUTOSAR (Classic and Adaptive) platforms.
• Ensure compliance with ISO 26262, ASPICE, and cybersecurity standards (ISO/SAE 21434).
• Implement diagnostics and logging frameworks (UDS, DoIP, DLT).
• Drive performance benchmarking, memory optimization, and latency reduction strategies.
• Collaborate with DevOps teams to enable CI/CD pipelines for embedded software using tools like Jenkins, Yocto, Docker, and BitBake.
• Work with internal customers to understand and specify application requirements and deliverables.,
• Work with component or chipset suppliers to select and support hardware as well as solutions.

 

Team Coordination, Mentoring and Resource Management (20%)

• Helps to strategically organize personnel around Embedded SW and HW core competencies.
• Coordinate the team and mentor junior engineers
• Provides research, design, and engineering skill development opportunities for group members.
• Manages internal/external project budget and resources for the projects

 

Operational Management - (20%)

• Be the interface between VWAG Engineering teams and Development partners for Middleware development topics.
• Lead/participate in VWAG Engineering and Development partner meetings, workshops and decision rounds related to middleware topics. Bring escalation topics to VWAG management for timely attention and propose technical solutions.
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to internal knowledge-sharing initiatives.
• Represent middleware engineering in cross-domain feature integration (e.g., infotainment, ADAS, telematics, V2X).
• Coordinate with cybersecurity teams to implement secure boot, secure communication, and key management protocols.

Brief Role Description

At the Innovation & Engineering Center California (IECC), we represent the Volkswagen Group in applied research and development. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, we create bold new ideas for the Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti and Porsche brands. We’re a team of engineers, designers, scientists, and psychologists looking to develop innovations for future generations of cars, and to transfer technologies from many industries and research institutions into the automotive domain. Our mission is to drive change which means we are not only impacting one of the world’s largest car makers, but also the lives of millions of people. Are you ready to join us?

 

Lead Software Engineer – Middleware

The Software Engineer Lead - Middleware will be part of a core engineering team leading new product developments for VW Group. They will contribute to the design of embedded systems, networking protocols, and middleware platforms enabling efficient data exchange across diverse hardware and software environments. This is a high-impact role that requires technical leadership, strong software architecture skills, and the ability to work cross-functionally with system architects, platform teams, and product engineering.

 

This role is the primary point of contact and accountability for IT data and middle