Staff Simulation Software Engineer

Reposted Yesterday
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San Jose, CA, USA
In-Office
164K-212K Annually
Senior level
Automotive
The Role
Design and implement scalable inference systems for AI models, optimizing performance across various platforms while ensuring software quality and integration with hardware teams.
Summary Generated by Built In

JOB DESCRIPTION

About NIO

NIO is a pioneer and a leading company in the premium smart electric vehicle market. Founded in November 2014, NIO’s mission is to shape a joyful lifestyle. NIO aims to build a community starting with smart electric vehicles to share joy and grow together with users.

NIO designs, develops, jointly manufactures and sells premium smart electric vehicles, driving innovations in next-generation technologies in autonomous driving, digital technologies, electric powertrains and batteries. NIO differentiates itself through its continuous technological breakthroughs and innovations, such as its industry-leading battery swapping technologies, Battery as a Service, or BaaS, as well as its proprietary autonomous driving technologies and Autonomous Driving as a Service, or ADaaS.

NIO’s product portfolio consists of the ES8, a six-seater smart electric flagship SUV, the ES7 (or the EL7), a mid-large five-seater smart electric SUV, the ES6, a five-seater all-round smart electric SUV, the EC7, a five-seater smart electric flagship coupe SUV, the EC6, a five-seater smart electric coupe SUV, the ET7, a smart electric flagship sedan, and the ET5, a mid-size smart electric sedan.

We are building the next-generation ECU simulation platform that powers software-defined vehicle development across multiple vehicle programs. Using state-of-the-art CPU, GPU, and NPU simulation / emulation / virtualization technologies, our team enables hyper-realistic, high-throughput, and scalable simulation environments that dramatically accelerate vehicle software validation, integration, and deployment.
As a Staff Simulation Software Engineer, you will design and deliver the foundational low-level software that makes this possible — working at the intersection of hypervisor technology, hardware architecture, and automotive real-time systems. This is a high-visibility, high-impact role with direct influence on vehicle programs that will shape the future of mobility.
Roles and Responsibilities:
Own the end-to-end design and delivery of low-level emulation and virtualization software for high-performance, high-throughput ECU simulation across multiple cross-platform vehicle initiatives, ensuring industry-leading reliability, scalability, and efficiency.
Architect and optimize CPU, GPU, NPU simulation / emulation / virtualization technologies continuously pushing the boundaries of functionality, performance, efficiency, and reliability.
Deliver production-grade simulation components that precisely meet product definitions, customer specifications, and vehicle platform requirements, maintaining full traceability to requirements.
Design and implement high-performance Linux guest drivers and libraries for CPU, GPU, NPU, and peripheral components, enabling seamless virtualized hardware access in a virtualized environment.
Partner closely with application and system development, validation, and integration teams to translate real-world automotive constraints into robust, high-quality simulation solutions that accelerate vehicle product SW development, validation, and integration.
Drive high-quality, on-time delivery of software deliverables across multiple vehicle programs while championing best practices in testing strategies, traceability, and continuous improvement.
Qualifications:
• 7+ years of hands-on experience building complex, high-performance software systems (embedded systems, virtualization, or large-scale simulation preferred).
• 3+ years of deep expertise in QEMU or similar simulation / emulation / virtualization software development on Linux (KVM experience highly valued).
• Strong architectural background in CPU, GPU, and NPU architectures, modern SoC designs, software stacks, and virtualization technologies (including virtualization extensions and performance optimization techniques).
• Solid mastery of Linux kernel internals, embedded / real-time operating systems (real-time OS), and low-level driver development.
• Proven experience with ARM platform bring-up and bare-metal / low-level software development.
• BS / MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver high-quality, production-grade code on aggressive timelines, with excellent technical documentation and communication skills.
• Organized mindset and a passion for delivering high-quality software in a collaborative environment.
Preferred Qualifications:
• Deep expertise in QEMU or simulator architecture and development (contributor or maintainer experience is a strong plus).
• Hands-on experience with Linux hypervisors and virtualized driver stacks in environments such as QEMU, KVM, VMware, VirtualBox, or Xen.
• Familiarity with Linux hypervisor, middleware, and application frameworks.
• Experience in automotive platforms (AUTOSAR, functional safety ISO 26262, or vehicle virtualization frameworks) is a significant advantage.
• Exposure to cloud computing, databases, and logging techniques for large-scale simulation/validation pipelines is a plus.

Compensation:

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $163,500.00 - $212,400.00.
  • Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

  • Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only. It does not include discretionary bonus, equity, or benefits.

Benefits:

Along with competitive pay, as a full-time NIO employee, you are eligible for the following benefits on the first day you join NIO:

  • Anthem Blue Cross, HSA, and Kaiser HMO medical plans with $0 for Employee Only Coverage.  

  • Dental (including orthodontic coverage) and vision plan.  Both provide options with a $0 paycheck contribution covering you and your eligible dependents.

  • Company Paid HSA (Health Savings Account) Contribution when enrolled in the High Deductible Anthem Blue Cross medical plan

  • Healthcare and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)

  • 401(k) with Brokerage Link option

  • Company paid Basic Life, AD&D, short-term and long-term disability insurance

  • Employee Assistance Program

  • Sick and Vacation time

  • 13 Paid Holidays a year

  • Paid Parental Leave for first 8 weeks at full pay (eligible after 90 days of employment with NIO)

  • Paid Disability Leave for first 6 weeks at full pay (eligible after 90 days of employment with NIO)

  • Voluntary benefits including: Voluntary Life and AD&D options for you, your spouse/domestic partner and dependent child(ren), pet insurance

  • Commuter benefits

  • Mobile Cell Phone Credit

  • Free lunch and snacks

  • Onsite gym

  • Employee discounts and perks program

Skills Required

  • 5+ years of hands-on software development experience in building and optimizing AI inference systems at scale
  • Direct experience in LLM/VLM model internals, including Transformer-based architectures and optimization techniques
  • Strong expertise in performance engineering: kernel development, parallelism strategies, memory optimization, and distributed inference systems
  • Proficiency with GPU/NPU programming (CUDA, or vendor-specific SDKs), compiler toolchains, and deep learning frameworks (PyTorch, or TensorFlow)
  • Strong programming skills in C/C++, with a track record of delivering high-performance, production-grade software
  • Solid foundation in computer architecture, systems programming (CPU/GPU pipelines, memory hierarchy, scheduling), and embedded systems
  • BS/MS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related technical field

NIO Compensation & Benefits Highlights

The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about NIO and has not been reviewed or approved by NIO.

  • Fair & Transparent Compensation Pay and benefits are rated highly in at least one cited source, and the provided figures position total compensation as competitive within tech/EV roles. The package appears stronger for senior and specialized roles given the upper-end salary ranges shown.
  • Equity Value & Accessibility A stock ownership plan is described as covering all employees, indicating broad access to equity participation. This design links employee rewards to company performance through shared ownership.
  • Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits Workplace perks include flexible hours, catered lunch, unlimited PTO in older accounts, and lifestyle supports such as free snacks/drinks and fitness stipends. These benefits add day-to-day value beyond base pay.

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The Company
San Jose, CA
2,732 Employees
Year Founded: 2014

What We Do

NIO’s mission is to shape a joyful lifestyle by offering premium smart electric vehicles and providing the best user experience. NIO was founded in November 2014 as a global electric vehicle company. The company has over 7,000 employees working across world-class research and development, design and manufacturing centers in Shanghai, Beijing, San Jose, Munich, London and six other locations. In 2015, NIO was the title sponsor for the Drivers’ Championship winning team during the inaugural ABB FIA Formula E season. In 2016, NIO unveiled one of the fastest electric cars in the world, the EP9. The EP9 set the lap record for an electric vehicle at the Nürburgring Nordschleife and three other world-renowned tracks. In 2017, NIO unveiled its vision car EVE and announced that the NIO EP9 set a new world speed record for an autonomous vehicle at the Circuit of the Americas. NIO officially began deliveries of the ES8, the high-performance electric flagship SUV, on June 28, 2018. NIO was listed on the New York Stock Exchange on September 12, 2018. NIO officially launched the high-performance long-range electric SUV, NIO ES6, at NIO Day on December 15, 2018. On May 28, 2019, the first production model ES6 rolled off the line at the JAC NIO Advanced Manufacturing Center. NIO officially began deliveries of the ES6 on June 18, 2019. NIO officially launched the EC6, a 5-seater smart premium electric coupe SUV, in December 2019 and began deliveries of the EC6 on September 2020. On January 9, 2021, NIO ET7, the smart electric flagship sedan and NIO’s first autonomous driving model, was officially launched.

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