Staff Simulation Software Engineer

Staff Simulation Software Engineer

NIO is a pioneer and a leading company in the premium smart electric vehicle market. Founded in November 2014, NIO's mission is to shape a joyful lifestyle. NIO aims to build a community starting with smart electric vehicles to share joy and grow together with users.

NIO designs, develops, jointly manufactures and sells premium smart electric vehicles, driving innovations in next-generation technologies in autonomous driving, digital technologies, electric powertrains and batteries. NIO differentiates itself through its continuous technological breakthroughs and innovations, such as its industry-leading battery swapping technologies, Battery as a Service, or BaaS, as well as its proprietary autonomous driving technologies and Autonomous Driving as a Service, or ADaaS.

NIO's product portfolio consists of the ES8, a six-seater smart electric flagship SUV, the ES7 (or the EL7), a mid-large five-seater smart electric SUV, the ES6, a five-seater all-round smart electric SUV, the EC7, a five-seater smart electric flagship coupe SUV, the EC6, a five-seater smart electric coupe SUV, the ET7, a smart electric flagship sedan, and the ET5, a mid-size smart electric sedan.

We are building the next-generation ECU simulation platform that powers software-defined vehicle development across multiple vehicle programs. Using state-of-the-art CPU, GPU, and NPU simulation / emulation / virtualization technologies, our team enables hyper-realistic, high-throughput, and scalable simulation environments that dramatically accelerate vehicle software validation, integration, and deployment. As a Staff Simulation Software Engineer, you will design and deliver the foundational low-level software that makes this possible — working at the intersection of hypervisor technology, hardware architecture, and automotive real-time systems.

This is a high-visibility, high-impact role with direct influence on vehicle programs that will shape the future of mobility.

• Own the end-to-end design and delivery of low-level emulation and virtualization software for high-performance, high-throughput ECU simulation across multiple cross-platform vehicle initiatives, ensuring industry-leading reliability, scalability, and efficiency.
• Architect and optimize CPU, GPU, NPU simulation / emulation / virtualization technologies continuously pushing the boundaries of functionality, performance, efficiency, and reliability.
• Deliver production-grade simulation components that precisely meet product definitions, customer specifications, and vehicle platform requirements, maintaining full traceability to requirements.
• Design and implement high-performance Linux guest drivers and libraries for CPU, GPU, NPU, and peripheral components, enabling seamless virtualized hardware access in a virtualized environment.
• Partner closely with application and system development, validation, and integration teams to translate real-world automotive constraints into robust, high-quality simulation solutions that accelerate vehicle product SW development, validation, and integration.
• Drive high-quality, on-time delivery of software deliverables across multiple vehicle programs while championing best practices in testing strategies, traceability, and continuous improvement.

• 7+ years of hands-on experience building complex, high-performance software systems (embedded systems, virtualization, or large-scale simulation preferred).
• 3+ years of deep expertise in QEMU or similar simulation / emulation / virtualization software development on Linux (KVM experience highly valued).
• Strong architectural background in CPU, GPU, and NPU architectures, modern SoC designs, software stacks, and virtualization technologies (including virtualization extensions and performance optimization techniques).
• Solid mastery of Linux kernel internals, embedded / real-time operating systems (real-time OS), and low-level driver development.
• Proven experience with ARM platform bring-up and bare-metal / low-level software development.
• BS / MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver high-quality, production-grade code on aggressive timelines, with excellent technical documentation and communication skills.
• Organized mindset and a passion for delivering high-quality software in a collaborative environment.

• Deep expertise in QEMU or simulator architecture and development (contributor or maintainer experience is a strong plus).
• Hands-on experience with Linux hypervisors and virtualized driver stacks in environments such as QEMU, KVM, VMware, Virtual Box, or Xen.
• Familiarity with Linux hypervisor, middleware, and application frameworks.
• Experience in automotive platforms (AUTOSAR, functional safety ISO 26262, or vehicle virtualization frameworks) is a significant advantage.
• Exposure to cloud computing, databases, and logging techniques for large-scale…