Principal Vehicle Integration Lead

Wayve
Sunnyvale
On-site

Who this role is best for

A natural match if you have experience in vehicle integration and autonomous driving hardware.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with hands-on experience in vehicle integration and hardware-software co-design
    — “Lead the electrical architecture, mechanical design, and vehicle integration of Wayve's autonomous driving hardware
  • Individuals who have managed integration from requirements through production readiness
    — “Own integration from early vehicle architecture and requirements through prototype builds, validation, production readiness, and deployment
  • Professionals with a systems engineering background and cross-functional leadership experience
    — “Provide technical direction while remaining close enough to the engineering to lead design decisions

Things to consider

  • This role involves extensive collaboration with OEMs and suppliers, requiring strong partner coordination skills
    — “Work directly with OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, upfitters, contract manufacturers, and integration partners
  • The position requires deep understanding of automotive networks and electrical interfaces
    — “Strong knowledge of CAN, LIN, Automotive Ethernet, and vehicle communications

How to stand out

  • Highlight experience with end-to-end integration of compute, sensors, and vehicle networks in your resume
    — “Lead integration of high-performance compute platforms, cameras, radar, lidar, GNSS, IMUs, and supporting sensors
  • Emphasize your ability to lead design reviews and make technical trade-offs across multiple constraints
    — “Lead architecture and design reviews, making technical trade-offs across performance, reliability, safety, packaging, manufacturability, cost, and schedule
  • Showcase your expertise in defining system requirements and interfaces for new vehicle platforms
    — “Define system requirements, interfaces, architecture, and integration strategies for new vehicle platforms
  • Demonstrate your experience with automotive product development and engineering change management
    — “Understanding of automotive product development, engineering change management, configuration management, and release processes
  • Include specific examples of electrical verification and validation strategies you have developed
    — “Develop verification and validation strategies to ensure systems meet performance, reliability, environmental, and safety requirements
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · HighDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • successful vehicle integration
  • reliable system performance
  • complex integration issue resolution
Typical background
electrical engineeringvehicle systems

Skills & requirements

Required

Electrical EngineeringVehicle IntegrationAutonomous Driving SystemsHardware And Software IntegrationValidation

Preferred

Electronic SystemsNetworksTroubleshooting

Stack & domain

Electrical ArchitectureIntegrationValidationDeliveryAutonomous Driving SystemsLeadershipCollaborationProblem SolvingAdaptabilityCreativityVehicle IntegrationAutonomous DrivingElectrical Engineering

About the role

Original posting from Wayve

About us   

Founded in 2017, Wayve is the leading developer of Embodied AI technology.  Our advanced AI software and foundation models enable vehicles to perceive, understand, and navigate any complex environment, enhancing the usability and safety of automated driving systems.

Our vision is to create autonomy that propels the world forward.  Our intelligent, mapless, and hardware-agnostic AI products are designed for automakers, accelerating the transition from assisted to automated driving. 

In our fast-paced environment big problems ignite us—we embrace uncertainty, leaning into complex challenges to unlock groundbreaking solutions. We aim high and stay humble in our pursuit of excellence, constantly learning and evolving as we pave the way for a smarter, safer future.

At Wayve, your contributions matter.  We value diversity, embrace new perspectives, and foster an inclusive work environment; we back each other to deliver impact.  

Make Wayve the experience that defines your career!  

The Role

Wayve is looking for an Vehicle Integration Lead to provide technical leadership for the electrical architecture, integration, validation, and delivery of our autonomous driving systems across vehicle platforms.

This role sits at the intersection of electrical and mechanical engineering, vehicle systems, autonomous driving hardware, software, and integration. You will lead the electrical integration of compute, sensing, power, communications, and supporting hardware into development and production-intent vehicles, ensuring systems perform reliably and safely in real-world environments.

You will work closely with Systems Engineering, Embedded Software, Autonomy, Safety, Vehicle Operations, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, OEM partners, and external suppliers. You will provide technical direction while remaining close enough to the engineering to lead design decisions, troubleshoot complex integration issues, and drive programs through validation and vehicle readiness.

What You’ll Do

Lead the electrical architecture, mechanical design, and vehicle integration of Wayve's autonomous driving hardware across multiple development vehicle platforms.

Own integration from early vehicle architecture and requirements through prototype builds, validation, production readiness, and deployment.

Lead integration of:

High-performance compute platforms

Cameras and other perception sensors

Radar, lidar, GNSS, IMUs, and supporting sensors

Power distribution and power management systems

ECUs and embedded electronic systems

CAN, LIN, Automotive Ethernet, and other vehicle networks

Wiring harnesses, connectors, and electrical interfaces

Custom electronics and PCBAs

Define system requirements, interfaces, architecture, and integration strategies for new vehicle platforms.

Partner with software, systems, autonomy, OEMs, and assembly partners to ensure hardware and software interfaces are clearly defined and validated.

Lead architecture and design reviews, making technical trade-offs across performance, reliability, safety, packaging, manufacturability, cost, and schedule.

Drive vehicle-level integration, bring-up, commissioning, and validation.

Lead troubleshooting and root-cause analysis of complex integration issues across vehicles, hardware, and software.

Develop verification and validation strategies to ensure systems meet performance, reliability, environmental, and safety requirements.

Identify technical risks early and drive mitigation plans through development and vehicle launch.

Partner with Functional Safety and Systems Engineering teams to ensure electrical architecture supports applicable safety requirements.

Work directly with OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, contract manufacturers, upfitters, and integration partners to establish technical requirements and resolve integration challenges.

Partner with Supply Chain and Manufacturing on component selection, supplier technical evaluations, production readiness, and engineering changes.

Support prototype and vehicle builds, including issue triage and resolution during critical integration and test activities.

Establish and continuously improve electrical engineering standards, design practices, documentation, and vehicle integration processes.

Mentor electrical engineers and provide technical guidance across programs.

What You’ll Bring

Significant experience in electrical and mechanical engineering, vehicle integration, autonomous vehicles, ADAS, robotics, or advanced mobility.

Deep understanding of vehicle electrical and electronic architectures.

Demonstrated experience integrating complex electrical systems into development or production vehicles.

Experience taking vehicle hardware from requirements and architecture through prototype integration, validation, and production readiness.

Strong knowledge of:

Vehicle power distribution and power management

Automotive compute and ECUs

Camera and perception sensor integration

CAN, LIN, Automotive Ethernet, and vehicle communications

Wiring harnesses, connectors, grounding, and electrical interfaces

PCBAs and electronic hardware

EMC/EMI, signal integrity, power integrity, grounding, and shielding

Electrical verification and validation

Strong hands-on debugging, bring-up, and root-cause analysis experience.

Ability to diagnose issues that cross electrical hardware, embedded software, mechanical systems, and vehicle networks.

Experience working with vehicle schematics, wiring diagrams, interface control documents, requirements, and diagnostic tools.

Experience working with OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, upfitters, contract manufacturers, or vehicle integration partners.

Understanding of automotive product development, engineering change management, configuration management, and release processes.

Experience with structured engineering methods such as DFMEA, DVP&R, requirements management, and design reviews.

Strong systems thinking and ability to balance technical requirements with program timelines and business objectives.

Demonstrated ability to lead technical work across multiple teams without relying solely on organizational authority.

Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to communicate effectively with engineers, suppliers, program leaders, and senior stakeholders.

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related technical discipline, or equivalent practical experience.

Nice to Have

Direct experience developing autonomous driving or ADAS vehicle platforms.

Experience integrating high-performance AI compute into vehicles.

Experience integrating cameras, radar, lidar, GNSS, IMUs, or other perception systems.

Knowledge of automotive functional safety, including ISO 26262.

Familiarity with automotive cybersecurity and secure vehicle architectures.

Experience with vehicle diagnostics, CAN tools, logging, telemetry, and automated validation.

Experience with automotive EMC/EMI and environmental qualification.

Experience transitioning vehicle systems from engineering prototypes into repeatable production builds.

Experience supporting vehicle fleets and diagnosing issues observed during real-world operation.

Experience working across multiple OEM vehicle architectures or adapting a common autonomous driving system to multiple vehicle platforms.

Leadership Profile

You are a hands-on technical leader who understands both engineering design and the realities of integrating complex technology into vehicles.

You can move comfortably between hardware architecture, vehicle-level systems thinking, design reviews, supplier discussions, and hands-on troubleshooting. When an issue occurs during vehicle bring-up, you can work across electrical, software, mechanical, and systems teams to isolate the problem, understand the root cause, and drive it to resolution.

You lead through technical credibility, sound judgment, and collaboration. You create clarity across disciplines, challenge assumptions constructively, and make thoughtful trade-offs while maintaining a high engineering bar.

Most importantly, you understand that successful autonomous vehicle integration requires the compute, sensors, power, communications, software, safety systems, and base vehicle to operate as one cohesive system.

This role is a full-time role based in Sunnyvale, CA and the reasonably estimated salary for this role ranges from $314,700 to 408,100, plus a competitive equity package. Actual compensation is based on the candidate's skills, qualifications, and experience. At Wayve we want the best of all worlds so we operate a hybrid working policy that combines time together in our offices and workshops to fuel innovation, culture, relationships and learning, and time spent working from home.   We operate core working hours so you can determine the schedule that works best for you and your team. 

Wayve is committed to creating an inclusive interview experience. If you require any accommodations or adjustments to participate fully in our interview process, please let us know.

We understand that everyone has a unique set of skills and experiences and that not everyone will meet all of the requirements listed above. If you’re passionate about self-driving cars and think you have what it takes to make a positive impact on the world, we encourage you to apply.

At Wayve we're committed to creating a diverse, fair and respectful culture that is inclusive of everyone based on their unique skills and perspectives, and regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, citizenship, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, pregnancy or related condition  (including breastfeeding) or any other basis as protected by applicable law.  

For more information visit Careers at Wayve. 

To learn more about what drives us, visit Values at Wayve 

For US candidates only, please visit E-Verify Notice and Participation and Right to Work

DISCLAIMER: We will not ask about marriage or pregnancy, care responsibilities or disabilities in any of our job adverts or interviews. However, we do look to capture information about care responsibilities, and disabilities among other diversity information as part of an optional DEI Monitoring form to help us identify areas of improvement in our hiring process and ensure that the process is inclusive and non-discriminatory.

Source: Wayve careers

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