NVIDIA

Lead Design Engineer - Autonomous Vehicles

US, CA, Santa Clara Full time

NVIDIA has been transforming computer graphics, PC gaming, and accelerated computing for more than 25 years. It’s a unique legacy of innovation that’s fueled by great technology—and amazing people. Today, we’re tapping into the unlimited potential of AI to define the next era of computing. An era in which our GPU acts as the brains of computers, robots, and self-driving cars that can understand the world. Doing what’s never been done before takes vision, innovation, and the world’s best talent. As an NVIDIAN, you’ll be immersed in a diverse, supportive environment where everyone is inspired to do their best work. Come join the team and see how you can make a lasting impact on the world.

Our team takes pride in working on innovative assisted and autonomous driving technologies and products. In this role, you are at the forefront to create and design innovative solutions to common problems arising with ambitious requests around the implementation of our automotive technologies in benches and vehicles. These can be challenges around electrical, mechanical or thermal topics, that require out of the box thinking paired with experience and constant striving for excellence and cover schematics, BOMs, mechanical designs, harness designs and similar. You strive in planning and engineering automotive/vehicle/bench setups with excellence and dedication from early ideas to prototypes and in the end scalable solutions.

What you'll be doing:

  • Design the routing and retention of harnesses, cables, and connectors to ensure ease of assembly, serviceability, and robust functionality

  • Develop BOMs, wire, and material specifications

  • Create and manage CAD (3D models, assemblies, 2D drawings) using eg SolidWorks and Altium (LV, HV, high-speed vehicle interconnects, mechanical brackets, templates)

  • Conceptualise with prototyping to find innovative solutions for our autonomous vehicle setups including compute and sensor technologies (LiDAR/RADAR/cameras)

  • Working with OEMs, vendors and partners (current and potential) to identify the best engineering solution for Nvidia’s vehicle platform

  • Regularly provide leadership team with project status reports

  • Drive priorities to ensure we meet expectations of our requestors with our engineering builds

What we need to see:

  • BS, MS, or PhD Engineering degree or equivalent experience

  • 5+ years of relevant experience

  • Proven experience in automotive wire harness design, mechanical designs and thermal solutions (eg IPC/WHMA-A-620 standard)

  • Ability to source, manage, and maintain relationships with vendors & suppliers for manufacturing & materials

  • Strong manufacturing and R&D background and Knowledge of project management techniques and tools

  • Capability to quick learn, understand, communicate and integrate technical concepts and issues

Ways to stand out from the crowd:

  • Deep understanding of technology and passionate about what you do

  • Strong collaborative and social skills, and ability to effectively guide and influence within a dynamic, multifaceted environment

  • Successfully delivering products from concept through launch

  • Deep understanding of product development processes, including fundamentals of automotive electronics, sensors and software

Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and the pay of employees in similar positions. The base salary range is 136,000 USD - 212,750 USD for Level 3, and 168,000 USD - 258,750 USD for Level 4.

You will also be eligible for equity and benefits.

Applications for this job will be accepted at least until March 8, 2026.

This posting is for an existing vacancy. 

NVIDIA uses AI tools in its recruiting processes.

NVIDIA is committed to fostering a diverse work environment and proud to be an equal opportunity employer. As we highly value diversity in our current and future employees, we do not discriminate (including in our hiring and promotion practices) on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status or any other characteristic protected by law.