---
title: 'Staff Software Engineer - Multimedia (Video Pipeline) at Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/staff-software-engineer-multimedia-video-pipeline-rivian-and-volkswagen-group-8095hpf88mae'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-18'
---

# Staff Software Engineer - Multimedia (Video Pipeline) at Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies

- **Company:** [Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies](https://feeny.ai/companies/rivian-and-volkswagen-group-technologies)
- **Location:** Palo Alto, CA
- **Compensation:** $186k–$256k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-10-13
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-18
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/rivianvw.tech/ccfef51a-2cbc-4ebf-a833-06081c488a80

## Job description

## About Us

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is a joint venture between two industry leaders with a clear vision for automotive’s next chapter. From operating systems to zonal controllers to cloud and connectivity solutions, we’re addressing the challenges of electric vehicles through technology that will set the standards for software-defined vehicles around the world.

The road to the future is uncharted. By combining our expertise across connectivity, AI, security and more, we’ll map a new way forward. Working together, we’ll create a future that’s more connected, more intelligent, more sustainable for everyone.

## Role Summary

We are seeking a highly skilled Staff Software Engineer to join our team, focusing exclusively on the architecture and advancement of our in-vehicle video pipeline. You will own the end-to-end path from camera sensors and ISP through capture, encoding, streaming, recording, and display, setting the technical direction for how video is acquired, processed, and delivered across the platform. The ideal candidate has deep expertise in C++ and a proven track record of designing and optimizing low-latency, high-throughput multimedia systems on embedded heterogeneous hardware. This role primarily focuses on embedded systems development for high-performance applications and carries technical leadership responsibility across multiple teams. This is a hybrid role based out of our Palo, Alto, CA office.

## Responsibilities

- Video Pipeline Architecture: Define and own the architecture of the camera-to-display video pipeline, including capture, ISP integration, color conversion, scaling, encoding/decoding, streaming, recording, and rendering, with minimal latency and high power efficiency.
- Codec & Streaming Development: Design, develop, implement and integrate hardware-accelerated video encode/decode (H.264/H.265/AV1) and streaming/recording features (RTSP, RTP, WebRTC, MP4/MKV containers), ensuring robustness and scalability.
- Performance Optimization: Analyze and optimize video pipelines for real-time performance and glass-to-glass latency across CPU, GPU, VPU/hardware codecs, ISP, and DSP, using zero-copy buffer sharing (DMA-BUF, GBM) and efficient memory management.
- Framework & Platform Integration: Build and maintain the multimedia stack on frameworks such as GStreamer, V4L2, libcamera, FFmpeg, and vendor SDKs, and integrate it with the OS, display server, and downstream consumers (CV/AI, HMI, telematics).
- Technical Leadership: Set standards, review designs and code, mentor engineers, and drive cross-team alignment on video interfaces, buffer formats, and quality/latency targets.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with product, hardware, camera/ISP, perception, and platform teams to bring new camera and video features into the final product.
- Quality & Diagnostics: Establish video quality metrics (PSNR/SSIM/VMAF), latency measurement, and telemetry/tracing to detect and resolve frame drops, tearing, A/V sync, and stability issues in production.
- Advanced Prototyping: Rapidly prototype and iterate on new pipeline designs and codec configurations to solve challenging latency, bandwidth, and image-quality problems.

## Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

- Programming Expertise: Expert proficiency in modern C++ (C++17 or later) on Linux/embedded systems; strong multithreading and real-time systems skills.
- Video Pipeline Proficiency: Extensive hands-on experience building production video pipelines, including camera capture (V4L2/libcamera), ISP tuning integration, hardware codecs (H.264/H.265/AV1), and streaming protocols (RTSP/RTP/WebRTC).
- Multimedia Frameworks: Deep experience with GStreamer (including custom plugin/element development) and/or FFmpeg, and with Linux graphics/memory primitives (DMA-BUF, DRM/KMS, Wayland, EGL).
- Hardware Optimization: Demonstrated experience implementing and optimizing media workloads on embedded heterogeneous hardware (CPU, GPU, VPU, ISP, DSP), including zero-copy data paths and power/thermal-aware design.
- Technical Leadership: Experience leading architecture for complex multimedia systems, mentoring engineers, and influencing roadmaps across teams.
- Foundational Knowledge: Strong understanding of algorithms, data structures, software architecture, and video fundamentals (color spaces, chroma subsampling, rate control, GOP structure, timestamps/synchronization).
- Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, with 10+ years of relevant experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

- Experience with automotive camera systems (GMSL/FPD-Link, surround view, digital mirrors, dashcam/sentry recording)
- Functional-safety or security requirements for video
- Computer vision/AI integration (OpenCV, on-device inference)
- Visual computing/parallel programming frameworks (OpenCL, OpenGL ES, Vulkan)

Total Rewards We build the exceptional — and we believe the people doing that work should be rewarded accordingly. In addition to a competitive base salary, full-time positions may be is eligible to participate in our annual company performance bonus program.

Payments are discretionary and not guaranteed; actual amounts depend on company results and the terms of the plan in effect, and require active employment at the time of payout. This role is also eligible for equity in the form of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), subject to board approval and the terms of our equity incentive plans, including applicable vesting requirements.

In addition to our compensation programs, we invest in our people with a comprehensive benefits package designed to support the health, wellbeing, and financial future for full-time employees — including health coverage, retirement savings, time off, and family planning programs. Offerings vary by country. [Learn more about our global benefit programs](https://rvtech.mybenefits.life/).

External candidates can apply for this role through the Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies careers site (https://rivianvw.tech/#careers). If you are a current employee, please apply through our [internal job board](https://app.ashbyhq.com/internal/job-board/b10a9912-eb45-4a84-9a34-84b2a459923a).

## Equal Opportunity

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information or characteristics, physical or mental disability, marital/domestic partner status, age, military/veteran status, medical condition, or any other characteristic protected by law. We are also committed to ensuring compliance with all applicable fair employment practice laws regarding citizenship and immigration status.

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is committed to ensuring that our hiring process is accessible for persons with disabilities. If you have a disability or limitation, such as those covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, that requires accommodations to assist you in the search and application process, please email us at candidateaccommodations@rivian.com.

Candidate Data Privacy Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies” may collect, use and disclose your personal information or personal data (within the meaning of the applicable data protection laws) when you apply for employment and/or participate in our recruitment processes (“Candidate Personal Data”). This data includes contact, demographic, communications, educational, professional, employment, social media/website, network/device, recruiting system usage/interaction, security and preference information. Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies may use your Candidate Personal Data for the purposes of (i) tracking interactions with our recruiting system; (ii) carrying out, analyzing and improving our application and recruitment process, including assessing you and your application and conducting employment, background and reference checks; (iii) establishing an employment relationship or entering into an employment contract with you; (iv) complying with our legal, regulatory and corporate governance obligations; (v) record keeping; (vi) ensuring network and information security and preventing fraud; and (vii) as otherwise required or permitted by applicable law.

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies may share your Candidate Personal Data with (i) internal personnel who have a need to know such information in order to perform their duties, including individuals on our People Team, Finance, Legal, and the team(s) with the position(s) for which you are applying; (ii) Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies affiliates; and (iii) Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies’ service providers, including providers of background checks, staffing services, and cloud services.

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies may transfer or store internationally your Candidate Personal Data, including to or in the United States, Canada, and the European Union and in the cloud, and this data may be subject to the laws and accessible to the courts, law enforcement and national security authorities of such jurisdictions.

If you provide a mobile telephone number as part of your application or during the recruitment process, Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies may use that number to contact you via SMS text message for recruitment-related purposes, including scheduling, logistics, and status updates. Message and data rates may apply. You may opt out of SMS communications at any time by replying STOP to any text message you receive from us. Consent to receive SMS messages is not a condition of applying for or being considered for employment. Please see our https://assets.ctfassets.net/2md5qhoeajym/53otRWdzXPzSdWPgiel5T/07c61b0eed2d91f2f403f788fd20d315/RVTech_Candidate_Data_Privacy_Notice_-_Nov_2024.pdf and https://assets.ctfassets.net/2md5qhoeajym/40xUZMehbGToclkLqWXW0E/eb5b553bd8af7c607066253fbb227bda/RVTech_Candidate_Data_Privacy_Notice_-_Nov_2024_Serbian.pdf for more information. -- Please note this job posting represents an open, active vacancy. Additionally, we are not currently accepting applications from third party application services.

## About Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies (RV Tech) is a joint venture developing next-generation electrical architectures and software-defined vehicle platforms for the Volkswagen Group and Rivian.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Joint Venture; 50/50 owned by Rivian and Volkswagen Group)
- **Headquarters**: Palo Alto, California, United States
- **Founded**: November 13, 2024
- **Founders**: Joint venture co-led by Wassym Bensaid (Rivian Chief Software Officer) and Carsten Helbing (Volkswagen Group Chief Technology Officer); established through a transaction agreement between Rivian and Volkswagen Group.

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Automotive technology, software development for software-defined vehicles (SDVs)
- **Target customers**: B2B – primarily the Volkswagen Group (brands including Volkswagen, Audi, Scout) and Rivian; potential licensing to other automakers
- **Mission or purpose statement**: To address the challenges of electric vehicles through technologies that set the standards for software-defined vehicles around the world, combining Rivian’s software and electrical hardware expertise with Volkswagen Group’s global scale and vehicle platform competencies.

## Products & Services
- **Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) Architecture**: A modular zonal electronic architecture featuring powerful central computers that control all vehicle functions, enabling over-the-air updates, advanced infotainment, and highly automated driving features. This platform is designed to scale across multiple vehicle segments and brands.
- **Zonal Controllers & Operating Systems**: Rivian’s proven zonal hardware design (reducing ECUs and wiring complexity) integrated with a unified software stack that supports continuous updates and cloud connectivity.
- **Cloud & Connectivity Solutions**: Cloud-based services for vehicle data, remote diagnostics, and lifecycle software updates.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (joint venture; total committed investment from Volkswagen Group up to $5.8 billion by 2027, including $1 billion initial convertible note, $1.3 billion equity at closing, and up to $3.5 billion milestone-based funding).
- **Key Metric**: Total committed investment: $5.8 billion; Employee count: ~1,500 (as of late 2025, with 108.4% YoY growth).
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN), Volkswagen Group (XETRA: VOW / VOW3). Co-owned equally by both parent companies.
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - Rapidly built an international development team of 1,500+ employees within one year.
  - Successfully integrated Rivian’s zonal hardware into a Volkswagen test vehicle in just 12 weeks.
  - Winter testing of reference vehicles for Volkswagen, Audi, and Scout brands scheduled for Q1 2026.
  - First production vehicles using RV Tech’s architecture expected in 2027 (Volkswagen ID.EVERY1) and 2028 (Audi).
  - Rivian’s R2, R3, and R3X will also leverage the joint venture’s technology.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Unique combination of expertise**: Rivian’s industry-leading software and electrical architecture married with Volkswagen Group’s massive manufacturing scale and global reach.
- **Speed of execution**: Demonstrated ability to produce a drivable demonstrator vehicle in 12 weeks.
- **Scalable platform**: The SDV architecture is designed to serve multiple brands, segments, and price points, potentially covering up to 30 million vehicles per year on Volkswagen’s future SSP platform.
- **Cost efficiency**: Shared development costs and reduced R&D expenditure for both parents, with a focus on lowering production costs for EVs.

## Strategic Focus
- **Current priorities**: Complete development and validation of the zonal SDV architecture through winter testing in early 2026; prepare for series production integration with Volkswagen Group brands (ID.EVERY1, Scout Traveler/Terra, Audi model) and Rivian’s R2 launch in 2026.
- **Direction for growth**: Expand the technology to additional automakers (several have expressed interest); deepen collaboration with Volkswagen Group brands on the SSP platform; scale the international team and open new development sites in Europe and North America.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture highlights**: Fast-paced, collaborative environment at the intersection of two automotive and technology giants. Emphasis on innovation at scale, diverse collaboration, and global impact. Co-led by top technical leaders from both parent companies.
- **Remote/hybrid/office policy**: Teams are based in Palo Alto (HQ), with additional sites in Irvine (CA), Berlin (Germany), and offices in Canada, Sweden, and Serbia. Hybrid work likely, but specific policy not publicly detailed.
- **Notable perks or engineering culture**: Opportunity to work on cutting-edge SDV technology that will power millions of future EVs. Engineers get to shape the architecture from the ground up, with access to Rivian’s proven software stack and Volkswagen’s industrial resources. High growth trajectory (team more than doubled in its first year). Active job postings (126 as of mid-2026) across software engineering, systems, and leadership roles.

## Sources
1. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivian_and_Volkswagen_Group_Technologies)
2. [Volkswagen Group Press Release – Launch](https://www.volkswagen-group.com/en/press-releases/faster-leaner-more-efficient-rivian-and-volkswagen-group-announce-the-launch-of-their-joint-venture-18828)
3. [Volkswagen Group Press Release – One Year Anniversary](https://www.volkswagen-group.com/en/press-releases/one-year-after-its-founding-joint-venture-between-volkswagen-group-and-rivian-shows-strong-progress-19980)
4. [LinkedIn Company Page](https://www.linkedin.com/company/rivian-and-vw-group-technologies)
5. [Company Website](https://rivianvw.tech/)

## Other roles at Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies

- [Sr. Component Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-component-engineer-rivian-and-volkswagen-group-technologies-palo-alto-46rb9v6deja5) — Palo Alto, CA
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- [Senior Talent Acquisition Partner](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-talent-acquisition-partner-rivian-and-volkswagen-group-technologies-zv22kd04z2be) — Belgrade, Serbia
- [Senior Software Engineer - Audio Infotainment Platform](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-audio-infotainment-platform-rivian-and-volkswagen-p874ne3pqdpe) — Belgrade, Serbia
- [Senior Software Engineer – Display/Touch Infotainment Platform](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-display-touch-infotainment-platform-rivian-and-mee5ezk0gwd0) — Belgrade, Serbia
- [Staff Embedded Software Engineer, Infotainment Connectivity](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-embedded-software-engineer-infotainment-connectivity-rivian-and-1s2ah07f7fjp) — Palo Alto, CA
- [Senior Staff Software Engineer, AI Platform](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-staff-software-engineer-ai-platform-rivian-and-volkswagen-group-rhx21hyk7a7f) — Palo Alto, CA
- [Systems Test and Integration Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/systems-test-and-integration-engineer-rivian-and-volkswagen-group-technologies-3v0x6cgat6my) — Irvine, CA
- [Hardware Thermal Simulation Engineering Intern at UIUC Research Park (January-August 2027)](https://feeny.ai/job/hardware-thermal-simulation-engineering-intern-at-uiuc-research-park-january-yy0m5ek3v39q) — Champaign, IL
- [Engineering Technician, Prototypes](https://feeny.ai/job/engineering-technician-prototypes-rivian-and-volkswagen-group-technologies-yvfsyjennycc) — Irvine, CA