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Full Time Autonomous Driving Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Nvidia

OR · On-site

$104K - $143K/yr

We are now looking for an extraordinary Senior Perception Engineer to develop and productize NVIDIA's autonomous driving solutions. As a member of our perception team, you will be driving E2E ...

Nvidia

OR

$104K - $143K/yr

We are now looking for an extraordinary Senior Perception Engineer to develop and productize NVIDIA's autonomous driving solutions. As a member of our perception team, you will be driving E2E ...

Nvidia

OR · On-site

At NVIDIA, we are seeking exceptional engineers to join our autonomous driving teamto design, implement, and deploy cutting-edge end-to-end autonomous driving systems, running on NVIDIA chips in mass ...

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Full Time Autonomous Driving Engineer information

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$59K

$137.3K

$196.5K

How much do full time autonomous driving engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Jun 7, 2026, the average yearly pay for full time autonomous driving engineer in the United States is $137,309.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $101,500.00 and $196,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Full Time Autonomous Driving Engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Full Time Autonomous Driving Engineer, you need strong expertise in computer science, robotics, and machine learning, typically supported by a degree in engineering or a related field. Familiarity with tools like ROS (Robot Operating System), C++, Python, and experience with sensor fusion, perception algorithms, and autonomous vehicle simulation systems is essential. Strong problem-solving skills, teamwork, and effective communication are crucial soft skills for success in this role. These skills ensure the development of safe, reliable, and innovative autonomous driving systems in a rapidly evolving industry.

What is the difference between Full Time Autonomous Driving Engineer vs Autonomous Vehicle Software Engineer?

AspectFull Time Autonomous Driving EngineerAutonomous Vehicle Software Engineer
Required CredentialsBachelor's or Master's in Computer Science, Robotics, or Electrical Engineering; experience in autonomous systemsSimilar credentials; focus on software development for autonomous systems
Work EnvironmentResearch labs, automotive companies, tech firms working on autonomous vehiclesSoftware development teams, automotive or tech companies, often in collaborative environments
Industry UsageUsed broadly in autonomous vehicle development projectsPrimarily in software development for autonomous systems within automotive industry

Both roles require similar educational backgrounds and work environments, focusing on autonomous vehicle technology. The main difference lies in scope: Full Time Autonomous Driving Engineers often oversee entire systems, while Autonomous Vehicle Software Engineers focus specifically on software components.

What are some of the main challenges faced by Full Time Autonomous Driving Engineers in ensuring the safety and reliability of self-driving systems?

Full Time Autonomous Driving Engineers often encounter challenges related to ensuring the safety and reliability of autonomous vehicles in unpredictable real-world conditions. This involves integrating complex sensor data, handling edge cases that are rare but critical, and maintaining robust testing and validation processes. Engineers must also collaborate closely with software, hardware, and testing teams to address issues like sensor calibration, perception errors, and decision-making logic. Staying updated with regulatory standards and adapting systems to new environments are additional ongoing challenges in this rapidly evolving field.

What does a Full Time Autonomous Driving Engineer do?

A Full Time Autonomous Driving Engineer designs, develops, and tests systems that enable vehicles to drive themselves safely and efficiently. Their work often involves integrating sensors, creating algorithms for perception and decision-making, and collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to ensure system reliability. They may also work on simulation, data analysis, and software updates to improve autonomous functionalities and comply with safety standards. The role requires strong skills in programming, robotics, and machine learning, as well as a deep understanding of automotive technologies.
More about Full Time Autonomous Driving Engineer jobs
What cities are hiring for Full Time Autonomous Driving Engineer jobs? Cities with the most Full Time Autonomous Driving Engineer job openings:
What are the most commonly searched types of Autonomous Driving Engineer jobs? The most popular types of Autonomous Driving Engineer jobs are:
What job categories do people searching Full Time Autonomous Driving Engineer jobs look for? The top searched job categories for Full Time Autonomous Driving Engineer jobs are:
Full Time Autonomous Driving Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Full Time Autonomous Driving Engineer job openings in the United States as of May 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% Internship, 5% As Needed, 5% Full Time, 88% Part Time, and 1% Temporary. Highlights an 87% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 10% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $137,309 per year, or $66 per hour.
AI Lead - Autonomous Driving/Reasoning/Vision Language Action Models

AI Lead - Autonomous Driving/Reasoning/Vision Language Action Models

Qualcomm

San Diego, CA • On-site

$108K - $143K/yr

Full-time

Posted 17 days ago

Qualcomm rating

9.6

Company rating: 9.6 out of 10

Based on 5 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

4th of 186 rated software companies

Job description

Company:
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
Job Area:
Engineering Group, Engineering Group > ADAS R&D Systems
General Summary:
Qualcomm's Autonomous Driving team is defining the future of safe, intelligent transportation. We are seeking an AI Lead, Autonomous Driving to lead the design and development of our next generation E2E Driving models (VLA, World model based,...) for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). AI systems that enable vehicles to perceive, reason, and act in complex real-world driving scenarios. This role combines cutting edge research with practical deployment on Qualcomm's advanced automotive-grade AI platforms.
What You'll Do
  • Research the latest trends in autonomous driving AI, End-to-End stack, World Models and VLA model development to inform Qualcomm's autonomous driving roadmap.
  • Design and develop e2e Driving Models for ADAS and autonomous driving applications.
  • Build and maintain training pipelines, datasets, and evaluation benchmarks for autonomous driving AI.
  • Establish metrics, evaluation frameworks, and simulation strategies for robust system validation (real-world + simulation).
  • Optimize models for real-time, on-device performance on Qualcomm automotive platforms (edge AI deployment, acceleration, efficiency).
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams across software, hardware, product, and partner ecosystems to deliver production-grade systems.
  • Mentor engineers and contribute to building a high-performing AI systems team.

Minimum Qualifications:
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field and 8+ years of Systems Engineering or related work experience.
OR
Master's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field and 7+ years of Systems Engineering or related work experience.
OR
PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field and 6+ years of Systems Engineering or related work experience.
Preferred Qualifications:
  • Master's degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, or related field (PhD preferred).
  • Strong experience in deep learning, autonomous driving stacks (transformers, VLMs, multimodal models) and autonomous driving AI system deployments.
  • Proficiency in Python and frameworks like PyTorch or TensorFlow.
  • Proven experience in system design and integration across complex AI stacks.
  • Experience deploying AI systems on embedded/edge platforms with real-time constraints.
  • Strong understanding of automotive software stacks, simulation environments, and validation workflows.
  • Background in vision-language models, policy learning, or autonomous driving foundation models.
  • Experience with autonomous driving dataset curation, sensor simulation, or sim-to-real transfer.
  • Knowledge of model compression techniques (quantization, distillation) for efficient deployment.
  • Strong communication skills and ability to work in a collaborative, fast-paced environment.

Why Join Us?
  • Work on cutting edge autonomous driving AI that bridges research and real-world impact.
  • Collaborate with worldclass teams building the next generation of intelligent autonomous vehicles and ADAS solutions.
  • Access to advanced hardware, simulation tools, and Qualcomm's AI acceleration technologies.

Qualcomm is an equal opportunity employer. If you are an individual with a disability and need an accommodation during the application/hiring process, rest assured that Qualcomm is committed to providing an accessible process. You may e-mail disability-accomodations@qualcomm.com or call Qualcomm's toll-free number found here. Upon request, Qualcomm will provide reasonable accommodations to support individuals with disabilities to be able participate in the hiring process. Qualcomm is also committed to making our workplace accessible for individuals with disabilities. (Keep in mind that this email address is used to provide reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. We will not respond here to requests for updates on applications or resume inquiries).
To all Staffing and Recruiting Agencies: Our Careers Site is only for individuals seeking a job at Qualcomm. Staffing and recruiting agencies and individuals being represented by an agency are not authorized to use this site or to submit profiles, applications or resumes, and any such submissions will be considered unsolicited. Qualcomm does not accept unsolicited resumes or applications from agencies. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, Qualcomm employees or any other company location. Qualcomm is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes/applications.
EEO Employer: Qualcomm is an equal opportunity employer; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, Veteran status, or any other protected classification.
Qualcomm expects its employees to abide by all applicable policies and procedures, including but not limited to security and other requirements regarding protection of Company confidential information and other confidential and/or proprietary information, to the extent those requirements are permissible under applicable law.
Pay range and Other Compensation & Benefits:
$211,900.00 - $317,900.00
The above pay scale reflects the broad, minimum to maximum, pay scale for this job code for the location for which it has been posted. Even more importantly, please note that salary is only one component of total compensation at Qualcomm. We also offer a competitive annual discretionary bonus program and opportunity for annual RSU grants (employees on sales-incentive plans are not eligible for our annual bonus). In addition, our highly competitive benefits package is designed to support your success at work, at home, and at play. Your recruiter will be happy to discuss all that Qualcomm has to offer - and you can review more details about our US benefits at this link.
If you would like more information about this role, please contact Qualcomm Careers.
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About Qualcomm

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

Qualcomm is enabling a world where everyone and everything can be intelligently connected. You interact with products and technologies made possible by Qualcomm every day, including 5G-enabled smartphones that double as pro-level cameras and gaming devices, smarter vehicles and cities, and the technology behind the smart, connected factories that manufactured your latest purchase. Our powerful connectivity solutions keep you connected—even in remote areas. Qualcomm 5G and AI innovations are the power behind the connected intelligent edge. You’ll find our technologies behind and inside the innovations that deliver significant value across multiple industries and to billions of people every day.

Industry

Technology, communication and media

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

San Diego, CA, US

Year founded

1985

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