Senior System Software Engineer - Robotics

Location: US, CA, Santa Clara

Time Type: Full time

Job Description

For two decades, NVIDIA has pioneered visual computing through the invention of the GPU, the engine of modern accelerated computing. Today, this foundation powers breakthroughs across gaming, film, scientific research, autonomous machines, and robotics. NVIDIA is building a robotics platform for the next generation of intelligent robots, including humanoid systems. NVIDIA’s Isaac Robotics Platform brings together high-fidelity physical and visual simulation, scalable system software, optimized robotics and algorithms, and powerful edge computing platforms to serve as the brain of intelligent machines.

We are now looking for a Senior System Software Engineer to join our Robotics Platform Team, with a strong focus on humanoid robots and embodied intelligence! In this role, you will work with experts in robotics, systems, AI, and simulation to enable real-world deployment of embodied AI in robots. You will also help develop how foundation models and learning-based policies are coordinated in production robotic systems.

What you'll be doing:

• Drive end-to-end integration of robotics software stacks, including perception, control, learning-based policies, and runtime systems on real robots.

• Enable and support the deployment of foundation models, embodied AI models, and reinforcement learning (RL) policies on humanoid platforms.

• Develop and implement robot validation, testing, and benchmarking workflows spanning simulation and real hardware.

• Measure and optimize critical system-level metrics including latency, determinism, throughput, reliability, and performance.

• Work closely with multi-functional teams (research, simulation, hardware, platform, and SQA teams) to bring up and harden humanoid robotic systems.

• Own issue management across integration, testing, deployment, and field validation.

• Deliver clear and accurate user documentation for internal teams and partners.

• Review code, guide architectural decisions, and uphold high standards for system software quality.

What we need to see:

• BS, MS, or PhD degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience).

• 5+ years of development experience in researching, designing, and prototyping robotic system software.

• Good understanding of real-time control systems, Linux kernel internal, various device driver models, arm architecture, and system design trade-offs.

• Good understanding of system-level architecture, such as interconnects, memory hierarchy, interrupts, and memory-mapped IO.

• Excellent programming and debugging skills in C, C++ and Python.

• Strong system software engineering skills combined with a strive to solve hard problems.

• Strong communication skills and ability to work across teams.

Ways to stand out from your crowd:

• Experience with ROS (middleware, ecosystem, development, debugging tools).

• Previous experience with CUDA.

• 2+ years of hands-on development and field experience with production robots.

Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and the pay of employees in similar positions. The base salary range is 152,000 USD - 241,500 USD for Level 3, and 184,000 USD - 287,500 USD for Level 4.Applications for this job will be accepted at least until February 13, 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.