Staff Software Engineer, Emerging Markets

About ALSO.

We’re ALSO, an electric mobility company originally conceived as a part of Rivian. We’re a passionate team of builders, dreamers, doers and innovators, focused on creating entirely new (not to mention, innovative and delightful) vertically integrated, small EVs designed to meet the global mobility challenges of today and tomorrow. Our mission is to inspire everyone to ride ALSO—replacing many local car, truck and SUV miles with ones on vehicles that are more affordable, more enjoyable and 10-50x more efficient.

ALSO is looking for a Staff Software Engineer, Emerging Markets - a hands-on Software Engineering Leader to own the end-to-end software architecture and development across the vehicle and connected ecosystem.

You will remain deeply involved in software architecture, firmware design, system integration, and technical decision-making, while also coordinating development across a small internal team and several specialist external partners.

The ideal candidate combines strong embedded systems expertise with the ability to drive complex multi-team software delivery, and is comfortable leveraging AI-assisted engineering tools to accelerate development and validation.

What you will do:

1. Software Program Coordination

Coordinate delivery of the software platform across internal teams and external development partners.

Responsibilities include:

• Managing the software development roadmap

• Aligning software milestones with vehicle development programs

• Coordinating firmware, cloud, and application development

• Managing technical dependencies between teams

• Supporting system integration and release planning

This aspect of the role ensures that multiple software workstreams converge into a production-ready system.

2. Software Architecture and Technical Ownership

Own and define the overall software architecture for the platform, spanning vehicle firmware, connectivity, and cloud integration.

Responsibilities include:

• Defining the end-to-end software architecture

• Designing key elements of the vehicle firmware stack

• Establishing software interfaces between vehicle systems, cloud services, and applications

• Reviewing and contributing to embedded and systems-level code

• Leading architectural decisions for scalability, reliability, and security

• Guiding development of critical firmware components

You will remain hands-on with technical design and system integration, particularly for the vehicle control and connectivity layers.

3. Vehicle Embedded Systems Development

Lead development of the vehicle embedded software stack, including:

• Vehicle Control Module (VCM) firmware

• Battery Management System (BMS) firmware

• Power management and energy optimisation

• Diagnostics and telemetry systems

• Sensor and actuator integration

• Vehicle networking (e.g. CAN)

Work closely with hardware engineers to ensure tight hardware–software co-design.

4. Connected Vehicle and IoT Platform

Define and implement the vehicle connectivity architecture, including:

• Secure vehicle-to-cloud communication

• Telemetry and diagnostics pipelines

• Remote vehicle monitoring and control

• Fleet and asset management integration

• Over-the-air software updates

• Charging ecosystem integration

• Ensure the connected platform is secure, scalable, and reliable.

5. Software Engineering Leadership

Establish engineering standards across the platform including:

• Coding standards and best practices

• Development workflows

• Continuous integration and testing pipelines

• Simulation and validation environments

• Software quality and release processes

Provide hands-on technical leadership and mentorship to engineers and partners.

6. External Partner and Supplier Integration

Work closely with external engineering partners responsible for parts of the software stack.

Responsibilities include:

• Defining technical interfaces and integration requirements

• Reviewing partner architecture and code deliverables

• Ensuring adherence to engineering standards and security practices

• Integrating externally developed modules into the platform

• Supporting joint debugging and system integration

7. AI-Augmented Engineering

Drive adoption of AI-assisted software development tools across the engineering ecosystem.

Use cases include:

• AI-assisted code generation

• Automated test creation

• Static analysis and validation

• Simulation-driven verification

• AI-assisted debugging and optimisation

The objective is to maximize engineering productivity while maintaining high-quality production software.

Key Deliverables of the role:

• Production-ready vehicle firmware and control systems

• Integrated BMS and power management software

• Secure connected vehicle architecture

• Reliable OTA update capability

• Integrated vehicle + cloud ecosystem

• Robust software development and validation pipeline

What experience & qualifications you need to bring:

• Degree qualified with 5+ years in embedded software, vehicle systems, robotics, or connected devices

• Strong experience with embedded firmware development

• Experience designing complex hardware-integrated software systems

• Experience leading multi-disciplinary engineering programs

• Strong experience with:

  • Embedded C/C++

  • Real-time embedded systems / RTOS

  • CAN or vehicle network architectures

  • Firmware–hardware integration

  • Cloud-connected device platforms (AWS / Azure / GCP)

  • System integration and debugging

  • Electric vehicle platforms

  • Battery Management Systems

  • IoT connectivity platforms

  • OTA update systems

  • Cybersecurity for connected devices

  • Mobile or user-facing applications

• Leadership Qualities

  • Be deeply technical and comfortable contributing to architecture and code

  • Balance hands-on engineering with delivery leadership

  • Thrive in startup-scale engineering environments

  • Build strong relationships with external engineering partners

  • Drive rapid but disciplined product development

Benefits

• Competitive perks and benefits for every global role

Why ALSO.

We’re passionate about helping the world find a better way to get there—wherever it is you’re headed.

We’re located in the heart of Silicon Valley and have brought together a world-class team from some of the biggest brands in the technology, automotive, cycling, outdoor recreation and retail spaces. 

Together we’re working hands-on to imagine, design and build an entirely new solution to a global set of transportation challenges.