Staff Software Engineer – Vehicle Security

Job Description

The Role

GM’s Product Cybersecurity Team safeguards the security and integrity of our vehicle platforms, embedded systems, and connected services across the entire product lifecycle. Our mission is to proactively defend GM products against evolving cyber threats by engineering cybersecurity into every phase — from concept and architecture through development, validation, production, and in-field operation. We seek product cybersecurity professionals with advanced expertise in secure system design, embedded and automotive security, and risk-based threat analysis, capable of driving security-by-design principles, ensuring compliance with global regulations and standards, and strengthening the resilience of GM’s vehicles and mobility ecosystems.

We are seeking a Staff Software Engineer to serve as a senior technical authority for Certificate Lifecycle Management (CLM) and vehicle security architecture.

In this highly impactful role, you will define and drive secure-by-design architecture for identity, key management, and certificate infrastructure spanning vehicle ECUs, connectivity platforms, and backend systems. This is a deep technical leadership position with broad architectural influence across multiple engineering teams — without direct people management responsibilities. You will directly shape the security foundation of next-generation software-defined vehicles. Your architectural decisions will protect vehicle identity, secure communications, and ensure compliance with global cybersecurity regulations. This is a high-visibility, high-impact opportunity to influence the future of automotive security at scale.

What You’ll Do

Lead Security Architecture & Technical Ownership

• Define and evolve end-to-end software security architecture for Certificate Lifecycle Management across vehicle and backend systems.
• Lead architecture design for security-critical vehicle domains including:
  • Certificate Lifecycle Management
  • Connectivity platforms
  • Charging systems
  • Central compute and gateway systems
• Design and drive system-level cryptographic architecture (PKI hierarchy, trust anchors, provisioning, certificate rotation, and revocation).
• Ensure alignment with global automotive cybersecurity standards, including:
  • ISO/SAE 21434
  • UNECE WP.29 R155 and R156

Drive Security-Critical Software Excellence

• Lead design and implementation reviews for:
  • Certificate Lifecycle Management
  • Secure boot and firmware validation
  • Secure diagnostics and protected services
  • Key provisioning and lifecycle services
  • Secure communications (TLS, SecOC)
  • Authentication and access control mechanisms
• Translate cybersecurity requirements into robust, testable, and traceable software designs.
• Establish and guide secure implementation patterns across vehicle programs.

Influence Across Platforms & Teams

• Embed security-by-design principles into platform roadmaps and system planning.
• Align embedded, cloud, and connectivity teams around unified trust and identity models.
• Review and guide supplier security architectures for compliance and robustness.
• Serve as the escalation point for complex cryptographic and architectural decisions.

Mentor & Elevate Engineering Capability

• Provide deep technical mentorship to engineers across vehicle and platform teams.
• Elevate secure coding practices and architectural rigor.
• Contribute reusable frameworks, libraries, and reference implementations.
• Improve security tooling, automation, and CI/CD validation processes.

Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications)

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience in embedded, systems, or platform software.
• Strong proficiency in C/C++ and at least one of: Python, Java, or Go.
• Hands-on experience with embedded or real-time systems, including:
  • AUTOSAR Classic and/or Adaptive
  • Embedded Linux
  • RTOS-based systems
• Deep understanding of vehicle communication protocols:
  • CAN, LIN, Ethernet
  • SOME/IP, UDS, DoIP
• Demonstrated experience implementing:
  • Cryptographic services and key management
  • Secure communications (TLS, IPsec)
  • Authentication and authorization mechanisms
• Experience working with Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) and secure elements.
• Strong background in threat modeling, secure coding practices, and code review processes.
• Proven ability to lead technical initiatives across distributed, cross-functional teams.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills, with the ability to clearly document and review technical designs.
• Ability to operate effectively in ambiguous environments and make sound architectural decisions with limited data.

GM does not provide immigration-related sponsorship for this role. Do not apply for this role if you will need GM immigration sponsorship now or in the future. This includes direct company sponsorship, entry of GM as the immigration employer of record on a government form, and any work authorization requiring a written submission or other immigration support from the company (e.g., H1-B, OPT, STEM OPT, CPT, TN, J-1, etc). This role is categorized as hybrid. This means the selected candidate is expected to report to a specific location at least 3 times a week {or other frequency dictated by their manager}. This job may be eligible for relocation benefits.

About GM

Our vision is a world with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion and we embrace the responsibility to lead the change that will make our world better, safer and more equitable for all.

Why Join Us 

We believe we all must make a choice every day – individually and collectively – to drive meaningful change through our words, our deeds and our culture. Every day, we want every employee to feel they belong to one General Motors team.

Benefits Overview

From day one, we're looking out for your well-being–at work and at home–so you can focus on realizing your ambitions. Learn how GM supports a rewarding career that rewards you personally by visiting Total Rewards resources.

Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunities (U.S.)

General Motors is committed to being a workplace that is not only free of unlawful discrimination, but one that genuinely fosters inclusion and belonging. We strongly believe that providing an inclusive workplace creates an environment in which our employees can thrive and develop better products for our customers.

All employment decisions are made on a non-discriminatory basis without regard to sex, race, color, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, disability, pregnancy or maternity status, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran or protected veteran, or any other similarly protected status in accordance with federal, state and local laws. 

We encourage interested candidates to review the key responsibilities and qualifications for each role and apply for any positions that match their skills and capabilities. Applicants in the recruitment process may be required, where applicable, to successfully complete a role-related assessment(s) and/or a pre-employment screening prior to beginning employment. To learn more, visit How we Hire.

Accommodations

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