Application / System Software Engineer, Automotive SoC

Job Title

Application / System Software Engineer, Automotive SoC

Role Summary

Develop core middleware and driver software that maximizes performance of hardware accelerators (NPU/GPU) on R-Car automotive SoCs. The role focuses on execution control, scheduling, performance optimization and close collaboration with customers and internal teams to deliver production-quality solutions.

This position follows a hybrid work model (two remote days per week; in-office days Tue–Thu in Kodaira) and involves customer-facing technical demonstrations and proposals.

Experience Level

Mid-level — expects 5+ years of professional software development experience.

Responsibilities

Key responsibilities include development, validation, and customer engagement related to SoC software.

• Design and implement core execution-control and scheduling software for accelerators on R-Car SoC (NPU/GPU/DSP).
• Optimize software for performance and resource usage across multicore and heterogeneous hardware.
• Create demos and technical proposals for customers; present and explain solutions to technical stakeholders.
• Investigate market and technology trends and propose new solutions or features.
• Collaborate with domestic and international customers and internal teams for integration, verification, and delivery.
• Perform software verification, validation, and system-level debugging.

Requirements

Must-have technical experience (degree information is listed separately under Education Requirements).

• Practical experience in at least one of the following: embedded SoC image-processing pipeline design/implementation (using DSP/NPU/GPU), module-to-system software design and validation, or multicore/multiprocess development.
• Knowledge and hands-on experience with IPC and memory resource management including SMMU / IOMMU.
• Experience developing software on one or more of these OSes/environments: Linux (KMS/DRM/Wayland/V4L2/libcamera/GStreamer), Android (SurfaceFlinger/Window Manager/CODEC), QNX, or FreeRTOS.
• Nice-to-have:
• Knowledge of FFI for embedded systems, camera interfaces (MIPI-CSI2, SerDes), or display pipelines.
• Audio/video codec implementation experience (AAC, H.264, H.265, AV1).
• Familiarity with SYCL, ROS2, OpenVX, OpenCV, or graphics/compute APIs such as OpenGL ES, OpenCL, Vulkan, CUDA.
• Experience using C++14/17 and awareness of automotive processes (ISO26262, Automotive SPICE) and Agile/Scrum.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Engineering, Electronic/Electrical Engineering or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.

About the Company

Company: Renesas

Headquarters: Hitachinaka, Japan

Renesas is a global leader in embedded semiconductor solutions, providing high-quality products across automotive, industrial, infrastructure, and IoT sectors. With over 22,000 employees in more than 30 countries, the company focuses on scalable solutions that enhance user experience and drive innovation while committed to sustainability and energy efficiency.