> AI agents: this is one page of Nextmove’s FDE site, in Markdown. Nextmove is a job board and free career service for forward deployed engineers (FDEs). Each posting is classified from its text, not its title: the kind of work, how much of it is production code, pre-sales weight, time at customer sites, travel, remote arrangement, level and posted base pay. The site also publishes the aggregates: median pay by level, metro, company and kind of work, and which companies started hiring FDEs each week. Every page under https://nextmove.md/fde is served this way; the index of pages is https://nextmove.md/llms.txt. # Senior Applications Software Engineer, Perception and Sensor Fusion Canonical URL: https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/561089c546feb404 NVIDIA posts a senior FDE role to build what the customer runs in Santa Clara, CA, at $152,000–$287,500 base, above the senior FDE median of $190,000 across 1,863 postings with pay. Senior applications software engineer shaping application architecture and deployment for autonomous-vehicle perception and sensor-fusion systems. Read from the employer’s posting on November 6, 2026. - [NVIDIA](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/nvidia) Updated November 6, 2026 **$152,000–$287,500** *annualized* Santa Clara, CA Senior 6w ago Senior applications software engineer shaping application architecture and deployment for autonomous-vehicle perception and sensor-fusion systems. - [See roles that fit me](https://nextmove.md/sign-up?from=%2Ffde%2Fjobs%2F561089c546feb404&placement=top) - [View posting at NVIDIA](https://nvidia.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/NVIDIAExternalCareerSite/job/US-CA-Santa-Clara/Senior-Applications-Software-Engineer--Perception-and-Sensor-Fusion_JR2026097) Free for you. Upload your resume once, see which FDE postings fit you and why, and get introduced when you say so. We never share your profile with employers without your permission. ## At a glance ### Posted base pay $152K–$288K Above the median This job $152K to $288K. Typical senior FDE pay, the middle 50% of 1,863 postings: $160K to $220K, median $190K. ### The work Builds what the customer runs Balance 1. Mostly building 2. Mixed 3. Mostly pre-sales or support Project stages 1. Pre-sales (not covered) 2. Proof of concept (not covered) 3. Implementation 4. Operations (not covered) - **Coding**: Writes production code - **Builds for**: Both - **Level**: Senior - **Role**: Technical lead ### What they ask for Experience - **5+ years** Software development related to deep learning and/or autonomous driving technologies Background - **Software engineering** ### Do you meet what the posting states? The posting asks for 5+ years. How many do you have? The job is in Santa Clara, CA. Could you work there? Which of these have you used in production? Answer each one. Nothing is saved or sent. [What postings ask for, by background →](https://nextmove.md/fde/paths) ## More like this [Fulcrum](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/fulcrum) ### [Forward Deployed AI Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/93c0e9cb9ecf62ba) San Francisco, CA On-site 2mo ago $140,000–$300,000 [Intercom](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/intercom) ### [Forward Deployed Data Scientist](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/ff6db77760087781) San Francisco, CA Hybrid 7w ago $206,600–$229,000 [Mercor](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/mercor) ### [Software Engineer, Enterprise Applied AI](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/2e242f85fa04f99c) San Francisco, CA · New York, NY On-site 6mo ago $145,000–$285,000 - [Other jobs at NVIDIA (30)](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/nvidia) ## The job description from NVIDIA Join the NVIDIA's Solutions Engineering team that is reshaping the future of driving! Our goal is to build and deploy scalable solutions for autonomous vehicles and as a result, create safer and more efficient roads. Our team is hands-on, passionate about practical results, and values diversity. You will help craft the application software architecture by working closely with external partners developing on our platform and on collaborations across multiple teams within NVIDIA working on autonomous vehicles. You will also advance and refine the overall drivability of our solution, focusing on integration challenges and using your deep analytical skills to tease through the complexity of the system to find effective solutions. NVIDIA is widely considered to be one of the technology world’s most desirable employers, and is committed to fostering a diverse work environment and proud to be an equal opportunity employer. If you are passionate in bringing autonomous vehicles into the world and see the solution come together, we would like to hear from you! ### What you'll be doing - Shape the application architecture internally, with a focus on perception & sensor fusion, by collaborating closely with architecture and software development teams. - Integrate and adapt NVIDIA solutions in target vehicles, ensuring that both perception and sensor fusion are adapted and tuned to meet the desired driving performance and functionality. - Lead bring-up activities and provide technical support to resolve functional and perception & sensor fusion related issues. - Perform and leverage in-vehicle and simulation test drives for functional and performance analysis on the recorded data. - Work with our partners to efficiently integrate hardware and software components, understand the system architecture, profile performance, identify bottlenecks, and drive optimization - Collaborate with our global engineering teams in our US, APAC, and Europe locations to deploy solutions to our customers. ### What we need to see - 5+ years of work related experience in software development related to deep learning and/or autonomous driving technologies. - Experience developing and deploying deep learning-based perception solutions across diverse sensor modalities, including cameras, lidars, ultrasonics, and radar - Familiar with data flywheel for scaling deep learning-based perception solutions - Solid grasp on sensor processing pipelines and their lifecycle. - BS/MS in computer science, robotics, electrical engineering, or related technical field (or equivalent experience). - Excellent C/C++ development skills with good knowledge of Python. - Ability to adapt to fast paced development lifecycles and multi-functional organizations, new technologies and platforms. - Strong analytical skills, strive for innovative solutions, with outstanding attention to details. ### Ways to stand out from the crowd - Experience with automotive design processes and standards (e.g. ISO 26262 FuSa, ISO 21448 SOTIF, ASPICE), including in-vehicle testing, simulation and development guided by measurable outcomes. - Familiarity of NVIDIA DRIVE platform and NVIDIA GPU hardware and CUDA programming. - Software development experience on QNX or equivalent RTOS. - Contributions to or ownership of open-source project and mentorship experience. 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. You will also be eligible for equity and benefits. Applications for this job will be accepted at least until September 25, 2026. This posting is for an existing vacancy. NVIDIA uses AI tools in its recruiting processes. NVIDIA is committed to fostering an inclusive 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. [View posting at NVIDIA](https://nvidia.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/NVIDIAExternalCareerSite/job/US-CA-Santa-Clara/Senior-Applications-Software-Engineer--Perception-and-Sensor-Fusion_JR2026097) ## About NVIDIA Full-stack accelerated computing and AI infrastructure company building GPUs, CPUs, networking, systems, software and platforms for data centers, gaming, professional visualization, automotive and robotics. 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Email info@nextmove.md and we take it down. ## Conditions - **Location**: Santa Clara, CA Employer postings · [How we read postings](https://nextmove.md/fde/method)