Principal Software Engineer – Embedded Software Platform

General Motors

Principal engineer shaping General Motors’ embedded software platforms for software-defined vehicles. Setting enterprise architecture, modernization roadmaps, and technical standards across engineering organizations.

Posted 9/4/2026full-timeMarkham • 🇨🇦 CanadaLeadWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates expertise in defining multi-year technical direction and architecture for cross-domain engineering platforms, with a strong focus on embedded and real-time software systems. Proven ability to influence technical decisions and lead teams in delivering high-quality, safety-critical products while managing complex tradeoffs across organizations.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Multi-Year Technical DirectionEmbedded Software ArchitectureCI/CD Platform ArchitecturePython ProficiencyTechnical Influence

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Embedded SoftwareReal-Time Software ArchitectureProduction Engineering PlatformsSoftware Delivery SystemsTest AutomationInfrastructure as CodeKubernetesTerraformBazelAPIs

Soft Skills

Exceptional JudgmentComplex Tradeoff CommunicationLeadership Development

Tools & Technologies

LinuxGitCloud PlatformsArtifact ManagementGitHub Enterprise

Industry Keywords

Safety-Critical ProductsMission-Critical ProductsEnterprise SecurityComplianceQuality-Gating Policy

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

CloudCyber SecurityKubernetesLinuxPythonTerraform

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Set multi-year technical direction and target-state architecture for cross-domain engineering platform capabilities
Define strategy, investment priorities, sequencing, principles, standards, governance, reliability expectations, and decision frameworks
Resolve ambiguous architectural tradeoffs spanning organizations, product lines, suppliers, technology stacks, and delivery cadences
Improve engineering effectiveness and product outcomes through platforms, automation, reusable patterns, data, and operating models
Influence senior and executive leaders through recommendations grounded in technical judgment, risk, cost, quality, and business impact
Lead through principal and staff engineers, develop technical leaders, and strengthen communities of practice
Remain technically credible and selectively hands-on in high-value or high-risk problems
Define future-state architecture and multi-year roadmaps for the assigned domain and adjacent interfaces
Lead resolution of cross-domain technical risks involving architecture, quality, security, reliability, cost, scalability, and delivery continuity
Advise leadership on investments, program risk, platform health, and enterprise tradeoffs
Convene architecture reviews and technical communities across engineering, validation, cloud, cybersecurity, quality, program management, and suppliers
Sponsor platform capabilities, automation, data models, and self-service experiences
Define success measures and use evidence to prioritize improvements and verify impact
Represent GM’s technical direction with internal and external partners while maintaining high standards for safety, quality, security, and customer impact

Requirements

What you’ll need

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, software engineering, systems engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience
Typically, 15 or more years of experience developing, integrating, deploying, or validating software systems, including substantial experience leading architecture across organizations
Deep understanding of embedded and real-time software architecture
Record of delivering high-quality safety-critical or mission-critical products
Demonstrated enterprise or multi-organization technical influence without direct authority
Exceptional judgment in ambiguous, high-consequence technical decisions
Ability to communicate complex tradeoffs to technical and executive audiences
Strong experience with production engineering platforms, software delivery systems, or engineering productivity capabilities
Proficiency in Python and at least one additional language used in software or engineering-tooling environments
Significant depth in at least one of the four specialization areas and breadth to connect it to the others
Experience designing or governing systems involving embedded software, Linux, Git, CI/CD, cloud platforms, infrastructure as code, test automation, artifact management, data, APIs, or platform reliability
For Virtualization and CI infrastructure: significant CI/CD platform architecture experience; deep Kubernetes cluster operations, Terraform or comparable IaC module design, and production cloud architecture experience; enterprise security, compliance, progressive delivery, artifact flow, and observability standards; adoption of common virtual development platforms
For CI and Quality: enterprise CI/CD architecture, quality-gating policy, and release-readiness frameworks for embedded or vehicle software; understanding of MCU and SoC build systems, embedded Linux, AUTOSAR, Yocto, containers, cross-compilation, or vehicle deployment workflows; GitHub Enterprise or comparable platform governance; artifact promotion, virtual and hardware validation, and secure delivery controls
For Test-system modernization: architecture and modernization strategy for large-scale embedded test systems; variation management, configuration comparison, change-impact analysis, and risk-based regression; test-result data models, APIs, analytics, diagnostics, and integrations; enterprise test standards
For Build-system modernization: enterprise embedded build-system architecture and developer-productivity strategy; large-scale migration from Make or shell orchestration to Bazel or comparable platforms; reusable rules, macros, toolchains, platforms, repository standards, artifact provenance, and reproducible builds; adoption and outcome measurement
GM does not provide immigration-related sponsorship; candidates must not require GM immigration sponsorship now or in the future

Benefits

Comp & perks

Paid time off including vacation days, holidays, and supplemental benefits for pregnancy, parental and adoption leave
Healthcare, dental, and vision benefits
Life insurance plans for you and your family
Company and matching contributions to a Defined Contribution Pension plan
GM Vehicle Purchase Plan for you and your family