Principal System Software Architect, NIO Vehicle Operating System (NVOS)

NIO is a global company with R&D offices in China, North America, Germany, and UK. NIO is the leader of intelligent Electronic Vehicle (EV) industry in China, which is the largest, fastest growing EV market in the world, and is also rapidly expanding its business worldwide.  The Digital Systems department at NIO is responsible for building highly reliable, secure, and scalable infrastructure and platforms for intelligent and fully autonomous driving vehicles, and its scope ranges from vehicle operating system software platform, central computer and SOA-based digital architecture, automation simulation test platforms, cyber security, vehicle cloud & connectivity.  A primary mission of Digital Systems North America R&D Center is to lead research and development of industry-leading operating systems for autonomous driving vehicles (NVOS – NIO Vehicle Operating System) from the ground up. This is an opportunity to solve a wide range of technical challenges, such as building a high-performance and secure OS based on microkernel architecture, deeply customized Linux and in-house hypervisor for automobile-grade safety, seamless app development on heterogeneous hardware chipsets, low-latency and high throughput data processing, powerful AI framework, and complete toolchains to supply Android-like development experiences.
The NIO Digital Systems team is seeking a seasoned System Software Architect for our North America R&D Center to bring and accelerate innovations to mass production for NVOS (NIO Vehicle Operating System).  This position can be based in San Jose, CA, Seattle, WA or Boise, ID. 

Responsibilities

• Lead the architectural designs of system software (including vehicle operating system and hypervisor), frameworks, and tools for the next generation central computing system of NIO's automotive platform.
• Lead the proof-of-concept development to evaluate the architectural designs in terms of functionality, performance, security, and dependability.
• Partner with engineering teams to understand real-world constraints and to support the high-quality implementation of the designs on mass-produced vehicles.
• Dissect and debate design alternatives and make rational decisions based on facts.
• Research key technologies related to software-defined vehicles, such as virtualization, redundant networking, robotic software frameworks.
• Define the evolution roadmap for system software.
• Deliver accurate technical documentations.
• Follow industry trends and study competitors’ technical stacks.

Qualifications

• 5+ years architecture experience in researching, designing, and prototyping system software.
• 15+ years development experience of building and evaluating dependable systems.
• A self-motivated researcher who enjoys exploring “undefined” territory, solving challenging problems, and building systems from the lowest level if needed.
• In-depth understanding of real-time and embedded systems, virtualization technology, kernel internals, Arm architecture, and system design trade-offs.
• Masters or PhD degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related technology degree.
• Great communication skills. Ability to influence and socialize technical ideas across the engineering organization. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Working experience with seL4 and other popular microkernels
• Experience in automotive, aerospace, medical or other safety critical applications 
• Experience with agile software development processes, and tools such as JIRA and Confluence 

About NIO    NIO Inc. is a pioneer in China’s 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, jointly manufactures, and sells smart premium electric vehicles, driving innovations in next-generation technologies in connectivity, autonomous driving, and artificial intelligence. Redefining the user experience, NIO provides users with comprehensive and convenient power solutions, innovative Battery as a Service (BaaS) program, and other user-centric services. NIO began deliveries of the ES8, a 7-seater flagship premium electric SUV, in China in June 2018, and its variant, the 6-seater ES8, in March 2019. NIO officially launched the ES6, a 5-seater high-performance premium electric SUV, in December 2018 and began deliveries of the ES6 in June 2019. NIO officially launched the EC6, a 5-seater premium electric coupe SUV, in December 2019 and began deliveries of the EC6 in September 2020.
Equal Employment Opportunity   NIO is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity. We recruit, employ, train, compensate, and promote without regard to race, color, age, sex, ancestry, marital status, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, present or past history of mental disability, genetic information or any other classification protected by state or federal law. NIO US is an E-Verify employer.