---
title: 'Embedded Software Engineer, Perception (All Levels) at Parallel Systems'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/embedded-software-engineer-perception-all-levels-parallel-systems-los-angeles-1a20ywysm60y'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-05'
---

# Embedded Software Engineer, Perception (All Levels) at Parallel Systems

- **Company:** Parallel Systems
- **Location:** Los Angeles, CA
- **Compensation:** $154k–$212k
- **Work type:** remote
- **Posted:** 2026-08-01
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-05
- **Apply:** https://boards.greenhouse.io/parallel/jobs/5201100007?gh_jid=5201100007

## Job description

Parallel Systems is pioneering autonomous battery-electric rail vehicles designed to transform freight transportation by shifting portions of the $900 billion U.S. trucking industry onto rail. Our innovative technology offers cleaner, safer, and more efficient logistics solutions. Join our dynamic team and help shape a smarter, greener future for global freight.

Embedded Software Engineer, Perception (All Levels)

Parallel Systems is seeking an experienced Firmware Engineer to build the low-level software that powers the perception sensing stack on our fully autonomous, battery-electric rail vehicles. In this role, you'll own the drivers, kernel components, and firmware that get high-throughput camera and lidar data off the sensor and into our perception pipeline reliably, in real time, and at scale. You'll work at the boundary of Linux, ARM, and NVIDIA compute platform, partnering closely with the embedded platform engineers who maintain our custom Linux platforms to bring up hardware, harden drivers, and squeeze every millisecond of latency out of our sensing pipeline. If you like living close to the kernel, the hardware, and the timing budget, we'd love to work with you.

We are open to candidates across a range of experience levels, excluding recent graduates.

## Responsibilities

- Develop and maintain drivers, kernel modules, and firmware for embedded Linux systems running on ARM and NVIDIA (Jetson/Tegra) compute platforms.
- Write low-level systems software in Rust and C/C++ for perception-critical components, from board bring-up through production hardening.
- Build, modify, and optimize drivers for high-throughput sensors such as camera, lidars, IMUs, including capture pipelines, buffer management, and data integrity under sustained load.
- Own the performance of sensing hardware and drive real-time optimizations — implementing timesync, reducing latency and jitter, eliminating dropped frames, and keeping multi-sensor pipelines deterministic under load.
- Test and validate low-level sensor configuration changes across firmware and sensor revisions to confirm correct behavior under different test conditions
- Profile and optimize GPU and kernel-level performance on NVIDIA platforms (CUDA, TensorRT, scheduling, memory/IO) to meet real-time constraints for perception workloads.

What Success Looks Like:

- After 30 Days: You've developed a working understanding of our embedded Linux stack, NVIDIA Tegra/Jetson build system, and sensor architecture. You've identified initial performance bottlenecks and created a development plan to address them.
- After 60 Days: You've landed driver or kernel-level improvements on at least one sensor pipeline, contributed hands-on to the Yocto/Tegra build alongside the embedded platform team, and built diagnostics for latency, dropped frames, and timing drift. You're actively contributing to the real-time system that handles sensor data ingestion and feeds ML model inference in production.
- After 90 Days: You own a driver or firmware subsystem end-to-end, with a measurable reduction in latency and jitter and improved timesync across the camera/lidar pipeline. You're contributing to the real-time perception pipeline, including the system handling sensor data and ML model inference, and to GPU/kernel optimization work with clear impact on overall perception throughput.

Basic Requirements:

- Bachelor's or higher degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline
- 4+ years of hands-on experience in embedded, firmware, or systems software engineering.
- Strong knowledge of Linux internals and driver development on ARM-based platforms.
- Proficiency in Rust and C++ for systems-level programming.
- Experience with NVIDIA embedded platforms (Jetson/Tegra)
- Experience developing or maintaining drivers for high-throughput sensors such as cameras and/or lidar, including data capture, buffering, and timestamp synchronization.
- Comfortable debugging across the hardware/software boundary (device tree, kernel logs, oscilloscope, logic analyzer).
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with experience working on interdisciplinary teams.

Preferred Qualifications:

- Experience with GPU and kernel-level optimization on NVIDIA platforms (CUDA, TensorRT).
- Experience with Yocto-based builds.
- Hands-on experience with V4L2, GStreamer, MIPI CSI-2 camera stacks.
- Experience in autonomous vehicles, robotics, or other safety-critical domains.
- Familiarity with ROS2, sensor fusion, or SLAM.
- Knowledge of and experience contributing to real-time perception streaming pipelines, including GStreamer-based media pipelines.

We are committed to providing fair and transparent compensation in accordance with applicable laws. Salary ranges are listed below and reflect the expected range for new hires in this role, based on factors such as skills, experience, qualifications, and location. Final compensation may vary and will be determined during the interview process. The target hiring range for this position is listed below.

Target Salary Range: $154,000—$212,000 USD

Parallel Systems is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any discriminatory factor protected by applicable federal, state or local laws. We work to build an inclusive environment in which all people can come to do their best work.

Parallel Systems is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, Parallel Systems will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact your recruiter.

## About Parallel Systems

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Parallel Systems develops autonomous, battery-electric rail vehicles to convert freight from truck to rail, enabling railroads to serve new markets with a cleaner, more flexible, and cost-effective alternative to short-haul trucking.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series B)
- **Headquarters**: Los Angeles, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2020
- **Founders**: Matt Soule (Founder and CEO)

## Core Business
- **Primary Industry**: Railroad Equipment Manufacturing, Autonomous Freight, Clean Logistics
- **Target Customers**: Railroads, freight operators, ports, distribution centers, and logistics companies (B2B, Enterprise)
- **Mission/Purpose**: To provide a safer, more efficient, and sustainable alternative to short-haul trucking by seamlessly integrating autonomous battery-electric rail vehicles with existing rail operations, decongesting highways, and reducing shipping costs and pollution.

## Products & Services
- **[Autonomous, Battery-Electric Rail System](https://moveparallel.com/product/)**: A fleet of self-propelled, autonomous rail vehicles designed to haul intermodal containers up to 500 miles on a single charge. Key features include:
  - **No couplers**: Vehicles self-sort and assemble into platoons, eliminating manual coupling and enabling instant rerouting.
  - **Platooning & Aerodynamics**: Patented technology yields unprecedented range and energy efficiency.
  - **Advanced Braking**: Self-contained, adaptive braking with automatic parking brakes for shorter stopping distances.
  - **Integrated Systems**: Software platform seamlessly integrates with existing railroad train control and business systems, providing real-time data via APIs.
- **Solutions for Rail**: New line hauls (city-to-city), port shuttles (reducing drayage), and direct-to-customer service (small-footprint terminals at warehouses).

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total Funding – **USD 91,349,995** ([LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/parallelsystems))
- **Funding History**:
  - Seed Round (June 2020): $3.8M – led by Congruent Ventures
  - Series A (Jan 2022): $49.5M – led by Anthos Capital
  - Series B (May 2025): $38.0M – led by Anthos Capital
- **Notable Investors**: Anthos Capital, Congruent Ventures
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Employee headcount grew **44.7% year-over-year** to 45 employees (as of mid-2025)
  - **First commercial pilot** launched in April 2025 after receiving Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) approval ([Pulse 2.0](https://www.linkedin.com/company/parallelsystems))
  - Currently in **second phase of testing on Genesee & Wyoming (G&W) in Georgia** ([Railway Age, July 2025](https://www.moveparallel.com/))
  - **14 active job postings** as of July 2025, with 75% year-over-year growth in listings

## Competitive Advantages
- **Autonomous, battery-electric technology** purpose-built for rail, offering a direct alternative to short-haul trucking (a massive market consuming 45 billion gallons of diesel annually).
- **No couplers** – enables instant, automated rerouting and packetized freight, greatly improving operational flexibility compared to traditional trains.
- **Long range (500 miles) on one hour of charge** via patented platooning aerodynamics.
- **Seamless integration** with existing railroad systems, reducing adoption barriers.
- **Small footprint** allows direct service to warehouse docks and small terminals, unlocking new low-density, short-haul lanes.

## Strategic Focus
- **Commercial deployment**: Moving from testing to revenue-generating pilot operations with partner railroads.
- **Scaling manufacturing and operations**: Growing the team (especially engineering and sales) to support commercial expansion.
- **Expanding market share**: Target shorter and lower density routes currently dominated by trucking, while also enabling port shuttles and direct-to-customer rail service.
- **Sustainability-driven growth**: Position rail as a lower-emission, cost-competitive alternative to reduce the 7% of U.S. emissions from trucking.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: "A team of curious, committed problem-solvers" with a focus on inclusion, ownership, and technical excellence ([Greenhouse careers page](https://boards.greenhouse.io/parallel)).
- **Impact**: Directly influence the future of freight by building autonomous, clean rail technology that can decongest highways and cut pollution.
- **Engineering Focus**: 45% of employees are in technical roles (robotics, autonomy, ML, mechatronics) – a strong engineering-led environment.
- **Location**: Based in Los Angeles, CA (Factory Place), with a small presence in India.
- **Growth Trajectory**: Rapidly scaling (44.7% headcount growth, new Series B funding, commercial pilot underway) offering significant career development opportunities.
- **Notable alumni destinations**: SpaceX, Tesla, Vast, Rivian, Anduril – reflects a high-caliber talent pool.

## Sources
1. [Parallel Systems Website](https://www.moveparallel.com)
2. [Parallel Systems Careers (Greenhouse)](https://boards.greenhouse.io/parallel)
3. [LinkedIn Company Page](https://www.linkedin.com/company/parallelsystems)
4. [Parallel Systems Product Page](https://moveparallel.com/product/)
5. [Pulse 2.0 on Series B](https://www.linkedin.com/company/parallelsystems)

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