Staff Software Engineer, Simulation
Company websitegm.com (General Motors, opens in new tab)
Base salary $189,300 to $290,700
Employer-published annual base salary, USD. Advertised base range in Sunnyvale, CA
You apply on the employer's own site. Six Figure Work does not handle applications.
- LocationSunnyvale, CA
- WorkplaceWorkplace not stated
- Status at last checkSource accepting applications when checked
- Last checked (56 min ago) · observed since
About this job
Job Description
Remote: This role is open to a fully remote position or hybrid with one of our offices if preferred.
Role Overview:
As a Staff Software Engineer on the Simulation Test Engineering team, you will architect, implement, and optimize large-scale simulation testing pipelines for AV behavior development and validation. You will drive the adoption and integration of AI-powered tools to automate test creation, analysis, and reporting, enabling rapid iteration and high-confidence validation of AV software. You will collaborate cross-functionally to deliver robust, user-facing test products built on industry-leading simulation frameworks. Your work will directly impact the quality, safety, and velocity of AV software development.
About the Team:
The Simulation Test Engineering group accelerates autonomous vehicle (AV) development, validation, and deployment by delivering scalable testing pipelines and products. Our mission is to provide precise, reliable, and automated simulation-based testing that enables data-driven decisions and ensures the safety and performance of AV software
.
Why Join Us?
Shape the future of AV simulation and testing by driving the adoption of AI and automation.
Work with cutting-edge technology and a collaborative, high-impact team.
Contribute to the safety, reliability, and scalability of next-generation autonomous vehicles.
What You’ll Do:
Lead the design and implementation of automated, scalable AV simulation testing pipelines and frameworks that deliver clear signals on behavior validation and operational readiness.
Build and maintain extensible shared libraries and automation for test creation, data collection/analysis, debugging, and performance monitoring.
Influence technical roadmaps and strategic priorities while partnering cross-functionally to integrate new simulation technologies aligned with AV goals.
Uphold high code quality and architecture standards through code reviews and technical leadership, including providing mentorship to other engineers on simulation testing and software best practices.
Leverage AI tools (e.g., code assistants, automated test generation, analytics) to boost productivity, code quality, and innovation in simulation testing.
What You Must Have:
BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience.
7+ years of experience developing scalable software solutions using Python in a production environment.
Proven experience in test framework development, large-scale simulation test creation and management, or metrics-driven test signal extraction.
Experience using or integrating AI-powered development tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Cursor, AMP) for code generation, test automation, or analytics.
Strong communication and collaboration skills.
Demonstrated ability to drive technical design and execution across multiple teams and organizations in a remote or distributed environment.
Bonus points:
Experience with simulation frameworks for AV or robotics.
Familiarity with SQL, time-series data analysis, performance monitoring tools and dashboarding systems (e.g., Looker, Streamlit).
Knowledge of ROS, data orchestration tools (Airflow, DBT), and visualization libraries.
Experience with computational geometry, machine learning, or advanced analytics.
Compensation:
- The expected base compensation for this role is: $189,300 - $290,700. Actual base compensation within the identified range will vary based on factors relevant to the position.
- You also need to include general information about potential commissions, if applicable.
- Bonus Potential: An incentive pay program offers payouts based on company performance, job level, and individual performance.
Benefits:
- Benefits: GM offers a variety of health and wellbeing benefit programs. Benefit options include medical, dental, vision, Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Accounts, retirement savings plan, sickness and accident benefits, life insurance, paid vacation & holidays, tuition assistance programs, employee assistance program, GM vehicle discounts and more.
Company Vehicle: Upon successful completion of a motor vehicle report review, you will be eligible to participate in a company vehicle evaluation program, through which you will be assigned a General Motors vehicle to drive and evaluate. Note: program participants are required to purchase/lease a qualifying GM vehicle every four years unless one of a limited number of exceptions applies.
#GM-AV-1




About GM
Our vision is a world with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion and we embrace the responsibility to lead the change that will make our world better, safer and more equitable for all.
Why Join Us
We believe we all must make a choice every day – individually and collectively – to drive meaningful change through our words, our deeds and our culture. Every day, we want every employee to feel they belong to one General Motors team.
Benefits Overview
From day one, we're looking out for your well-being–at work and at home–so you can focus on realizing your ambitions. Learn how GM supports a rewarding career that rewards you personally by visiting Total Rewards resources.
Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunities (U.S.)
General Motors is committed to being a workplace that is not only free of unlawful discrimination, but one that genuinely fosters inclusion and belonging. We strongly believe that providing an inclusive workplace creates an environment in which our employees can thrive and develop better products for our customers.
All employment decisions are made on a non-discriminatory basis without regard to sex, race, color, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, disability, pregnancy or maternity status, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran or protected veteran, or any other similarly protected status in accordance with federal, state and local laws.
We encourage interested candidates to review the key responsibilities and qualifications for each role and apply for any positions that match their skills and capabilities. Applicants in the recruitment process may be required, where applicable, to successfully complete a role-related assessment(s) and/or a pre-employment screening prior to beginning employment. To learn more, visit How we Hire.
Accommodations
General Motors offers opportunities to all job seekers including individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation to assist with your job search or application for employment, email us or call us at 1-800-865-7580. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.
Source: General Motors on Workday · View original posting (opens in new tab)
Pay in context
This role's base floor ($189,300) is above 60% of the 4,251 Software Engineering roles in California listed on this site; 8 others list the same floor. Their median floor is $176,500; the middle half runs from $149,725 to $204,000.
Only jobs on this site count, and each one publishes a base salary of $100,000 or more, so this compares six-figure jobs with each other, not with the whole market. Computed Nov 6, 2026.
This listingStaff Software Engineer, Simulation$189,300 to $290,700
Staff Software Engineer for NextGen In-Vehicle Infotainment Systems - DevOps$189,300 to $290,700
Staff Software Engineer, Validation Foundations and Acceleration$189,300 to $290,700
Staff Cloud and AI Solutions Architect$189,300 to $290,700
Systems Engineering Manager - Autonomy Behavior$189,300 to $290,000
Staff Software Engineer - Simulation Tooling$189,300 to $290,700
Staff / Principal Software Engineer, In-Vehicle AI Experiences$189,300 to $290,000
Chart as a table
| Role | Published base |
|---|---|
| Staff Software Engineer, Simulation (this listing) | $189,300 - $290,700 |
| Staff Software Engineer for NextGen In-Vehicle Infotainment Systems - DevOps | $189,300 - $290,700 |
| Staff Software Engineer, Validation Foundations and Acceleration | $189,300 - $290,700 |
| Staff Cloud and AI Solutions Architect | $189,300 - $290,700 |
| Systems Engineering Manager - Autonomy Behavior | $189,300 - $290,000 |
| Staff Software Engineer - Simulation Tooling | $189,300 - $290,700 |
| Staff / Principal Software Engineer, In-Vehicle AI Experiences | $189,300 - $290,000 |
Observed changes
- First observed on the employer's board
- Began meeting the published-salary criteria
- Observed since
- Employer-stated posting date
- 2026-08-03
Where this pay comes from
Location as the employer wrote it: Sunnyvale, California, United States of America
- The expected base compensation for this role is: $189,300 - $290,700. Actual base compensation within the identified range will
- Method
- Employer text, read with fixed rules and re-verified
- Checked
- Rule set
- us-base-v2
The pay passage appears in the employer's own job text. Fixed, deterministic rules located it, and the passage below was checked against the stored copy of the posting.
What we verified
- The pay figures come from the employer's own listing, quoted exactly above.
- The pay is an annual base salary in US dollars with a minimum of at least $100,000.
- The role was publicly listed on the employer's job board when last checked.
We do not verify what the employer will actually offer, whether the employer is still recruiting for the role, or anything beyond what the employer published. Full methodology.
