NPU Accelerator SW Engineer

Job Title

NPU Accelerator SW Engineer

Role Summary

Embedded software engineer responsible for enabling and integrating NPU accelerator support on automotive-grade MCUs and MPUs. Work within the eIQ AI Runtime team alongside hardware, AI/ML and systems engineers to deliver reliable, real-time AI inference capabilities for automotive products.

This is a full-time, permanent position based in Bucharest. The role may include security-related tasks and work that falls within security certification scope.

Experience Level

Entry-level / Early Career — typically 2–3 years of relevant embedded software experience.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities include developing, integrating, validating, and tuning low-level software to support NPU accelerators within automotive stacks.

• Develop and integrate low-level software to enable NPU accelerators on automotive MCUs/MPUs.
• Integrate NPU functionality into BSPs and layered automotive software stacks, ensuring real-time and safety requirements are met.
• Support AI/ML workloads in baremetal/RTOS (e.g., AUTOSAR) and/or embedded Linux (Yocto, Buildroot) environments.
• Collaborate with hardware, AI/ML, and systems teams to define and optimize accelerator usage.
• Perform debugging, validation, and performance tuning on target automotive hardware.
• Ensure compliance with automotive safety standards and coding guidelines.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience; plus items are listed separately.

• 2–3 years of embedded software development experience using Embedded C/C++.
• Proficiency in baremetal/RTOS and/or embedded Linux (Yocto, Buildroot).
• Experience integrating software into large, layered software stacks.
• Strong understanding of hardware–software interfaces, memory-mapped I/O, and DMA.

Nice-to-have (preferred) skills:

• Experience integrating NPU or other AI accelerators in embedded systems.
• Experience with embedded AI/ML inference frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow Lite, ONNX Runtime).
• Knowledge of functional safety (ISO 26262), ASPICE, and MISRA compliance.
• Exposure to ADAS, sensor fusion, or audio algorithms within AI/ML stacks.
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, Git, and agile development practices.
• Experience with DSP/HiFi5/accelerator firmware or driver development, performance optimization, and multicore programming.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field.

About the Company

Company: NXP Semiconductors

Headquarters: Nijmegen, Netherlands

NXP Semiconductors N.V. is a global semiconductor company that provides High Performance Mixed Signal and Standard Product solutions. With over 45,000 employees and operations in more than 35 countries, NXP is a leader in secure connectivity solutions for embedded applications, catering to automotive, industrial IoT, mobile, and communication infrastructure markets. The company is committed to innovation and sustainability, advancing a smarter, safer, and more sustainable world through technology.