General Motors

Staff Software Engineer

General Motors$207K — $500K+*
Manufacturing & Automotive
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field
  • 8+ years of professional software engineering experience
  • Substantial experience delivering production systems
  • In-depth experience with distributed applications and microservices
  • Proficient in Python and FastAPI, React, and TypeScript
  • Familiar with databases including PostgreSQL and event-driven technologies
  • Experienced in cloud and container technologies like Azure and Kubernetes

Responsibilities

  • Lead architecture and delivery of scalable software for manufacturing teams
  • Translate business needs into clear technical requirements
  • Design, build, test, and operate production-grade services
  • Develop event-driven workflows for operational data
  • Establish reliable integrations with manufacturing and enterprise systems
  • Improve platform reliability through observability and performance engineering
  • Guide evolution of shared platform capabilities for multiple products

Benefits

  • Hybrid work environment with a flexible schedule
  • Opportunity for technical leadership and mentorship
  • Substantial influence on architectural decisions and practices
  • Exposure to advanced technologies including AI and machine learning
  • Collaborative cross-functional work culture
Full Job Description
Job Description

The Role

We are looking for a Staff Software Engineer who can take technical ownership of substantial areas of a complex, production-critical platform. This is a challenging role with a high degree of autonomy. You will be expected to onboard quickly and understand software development across the full lifecycle, from requirements and design through testing, deployment, observability, and continuous improvement. At this level, you will also facilitate collaboration across teams, align technical dependencies and delivery plans, and help teams make and execute sound decisions. The role calls for strong technical judgment, disciplined execution, and the ability to create alignment and make progress through ambiguity. You will have a meaningful opportunity to shape technical direction and the engineering practices used to evolve the platform.

You will work across a sophisticated, highly integrated platform spanning Python and FastAPI backend services, React and TypeScript frontend applications, adjacent Java and Spring Boot services, event-driven components, cloud infrastructure, data stores, security controls, and manufacturing-system integrations. The platform is delivered through highly automated CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions, Azure, and GitOps tooling. You will also contribute to computer-vision and edge-to-cloud solutions such as in-plant monitoring systems, where reliable software connects cameras, plant infrastructure, machine-learning capabilities, operational services, and user-facing workflows.

This role combines strategic architecture with hands-on implementation. You will help establish engineering direction, mentor other engineers, partner with manufacturing and product leaders, and deliver scalable solutions that operate reliably in real-world plant environments. The role also values practical machine-learning expertise, including the ability to fine-tune models and productionize them for reliable inference in operational environments. The scope provides substantial opportunity for broader architectural ownership, increasing influence across teams, and shaping how the platform evolves.

What You'll Do
  • Lead the architecture and delivery of scalable software capabilities used by manufacturing teams across multiple plants.
  • Translate business and operational needs into clear technical requirements, service boundaries, interface contracts, and delivery plans.
  • Design, build, test, and operate production-grade services across Python and FastAPI, React and TypeScript, adjacent Java and Spring Boot, and modern cloud technologies.
  • Develop event-driven workflows that ingest, normalize, persist, and distribute operational data and alerts.
  • Establish reliable integrations with manufacturing, workforce, equipment, analytics, and enterprise systems through well-defined APIs and messaging patterns.
  • Design data models and platform solutions using databases-including relational, graph-based, and other fit-for-purpose technologies-alongside caching, object storage, and metrics platforms.
  • Build secure software with strong authentication, authorization, plant-level access controls, secrets management, and defense-in-depth practices.
  • Improve platform reliability through observability, health monitoring, performance engineering, automated testing, incident learning, and operational readiness.
  • Lead engineering practices for highly automated continuous integration and delivery, infrastructure automation, containerized deployments, and environment promotion through GitHub, Azure, and GitOps tooling.
  • Guide the evolution of shared platform capabilities so that multiple manufacturing products can reuse common services, user experiences, and operational patterns.
  • Contribute to in-plant monitoring and related computer-vision solutions by helping connect plant-edge applications, cameras, machine-learning inference, cloud services, alerts, and operator workflows.
  • Apply artificial intelligence thoughtfully to software engineering and manufacturing operations, including sophisticated AI-assisted development, intelligent automation, and agentic capabilities that can operate across governed tools and services.
  • Contribute to machine-learning workflows by fine-tuning models, productionizing them for reliable inference, and helping establish dependable evaluation, deployment, monitoring, and lifecycle practices.
  • Evaluate emerging technologies and turn promising ideas into secure, maintainable prototypes and production solutions.
  • Make sound architectural tradeoffs among delivery speed, maintainability, performance, security, cost, and operational complexity while facilitating alignment across teams.
  • Provide technical leadership across teams by communicating decisions clearly, aligning stakeholders, promoting common engineering practices, and mentoring engineers.
  • Participate in technical planning, design reviews, code reviews, troubleshooting, and other related duties as assigned.


Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications)
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related field.
  • 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, including substantial experience delivering production systems.
  • In-depth experience designing and developing distributed applications, microservices, APIs, and event-driven systems.
  • Strong professional experience with Python and modern backend frameworks such as FastAPI.
  • Strong professional experience with React, TypeScript, and modern frontend application development.
  • Familiarity with Java and Spring Boot services in distributed enterprise platforms.
  • Experience designing data models and working with databases, including relational, graph-based, and other fit-for-purpose technologies such as PostgreSQL.
  • Experience with modern cloud and container technologies such as Azure, Docker, and Kubernetes (K8s), along with infrastructure automation and comparable DevOps practices.
  • Experience building secure applications with identity, authentication, authorization, role-based access, secrets, and secure service-to-service communication.
  • Experience with automated testing, continuous integration and delivery pipelines, GitHub Actions or comparable technologies, source control, and production release practices.
  • Experience with observability, including structured logging, metrics, tracing, health checks, alerting, and operational dashboards.
  • Experience designing and supporting integrations with enterprise or industrial systems using APIs, messaging, or event-streaming technologies.
  • Ability to analyze complex systems, balance competing requirements, and make decisions that support long-term platform health.
  • Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to software engineers, product leaders, manufacturing partners, and other stakeholders.
  • Willingness to travel periodically to support collaboration, plant deployments, production readiness, or other business needs.
  • Ability to work effectively in a highly collaborative, cross-functional environment.

What Can Give You a Competitive Advantage (Preferred Qualifications)
  • Experience leading architecture and technical strategy for a platform used across multiple products, sites, or business units.
  • Experience delivering software for manufacturing, industrial automation, automotive, robotics, computer vision, or other operational environments.
  • Experience with plant-edge computing, industrial cameras, device health, telemetry, or edge-to-cloud architectures.
  • Experience integrating systems with different ownership models, data contracts, release cycles, and availability requirements.
  • Experience with Azure services such as Event Hubs, managed databases, object storage, Key Vault, managed identity, or equivalent cloud services.
  • Experience with Redis or comparable caching and real-time communication technologies.
  • Experience with infrastructure as code, Helm, GitOps, Argo CD, or comparable deployment automation.
  • Experience applying AI-assisted software engineering across design, implementation, testing, debugging, documentation, and continuous improvement, including familiarity with large-language-model-enabled development tools, retrieval-augmented generation, intelligent automation, agentic systems, or governed AI integrations.
  • Experience fine-tuning machine-learning models and productionizing them for reliable inference, including model evaluation, deployment, monitoring, and lifecycle management.
  • Familiarity with machine-learning or computer-vision systems and the software interfaces required to operate them reliably, without requiring deep specialization in model development.
  • Experience evolving shared frontend and backend capabilities across multiple teams.
  • Experience with data federation, graph-based models, domain ownership, or event-driven data synchronization.
  • Demonstrated ability to develop, inspire, and motivate engineers through technical leadership and mentorship while fostering collaboration across organizational and functional boundaries.
  • Ability to provide strategic perspective while remaining willing to work hands-on when needed, take intelligent risks, and champion change with sound judgment.
  • Evidence of integrity, accountability, initiative, and ownership from concept through production operation.
  • Strong problem-solving, written communication, verbal communication, and stakeholder-management skills.
  • Curiosity and a commitment to continuous learning in software engineering, cloud platforms, manufacturing technology, and artificial intelligence.


The compensation information is a good faith estimate only. It is based on what a successful applicant in the California Bay Area which includes the following counties: Marin, Contra Costa, San Francisco, Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz might be paid in accordance with the California law.

The compensation may not be representative for positions located outside of the California Bay Area.

The annual salary range for this role is $207,000 - $662,400. The actual base salary a successful candidate will be offered within this range will vary based on factors relevant to the position.

Bonus Potential: An incentive pay program offers payouts based on company performance, job level, and individual performance.

GM does not provide immigration-related sponsorship for this role. Do not apply for this role if you will need GM immigration sponsorship now or in the future. This includes direct company sponsorship, entry of GM as the immigration employer of record on a government form, and any work authorization requiring a written submission or other immigration support from the company (e.g., H1-B, OPT, STEM OPT, CPT, TN, J-1, etc).This role is categorized as hybrid. This means the selected candidate is expected to report to a specific location at least 3 times a week {or other frequency dictated by their manager}.The selected candidate will be required to travel

About General Motors

General Motors Company engages in the manufacture and sale of cars and trucks in the United States, China, Brazil, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Italy. It offers sedans, crossovers, sport utility vehicles, pick-up trucks, coupes, sports/convertibles and hybrid vehicles, hatchbacks/wagons, and vans, as well as mini cars in India. The company also provides parts and accessories, such as iPod and MP3 compatibility, mobility accessories, performance parts, AC parts and services, and merchandise. In addition, it offers vehicle safety, security, and information services. The company provides used vehicles. It offers its products through dealers and distributors. General Motors Company was formerly known as NGMCO, Inc. and changed its name to General Motors Company in July 2009. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is based in Detroit, Michigan. It operates manufacturing facilities in India, the United States, and Canada. General Motors Company operates as a subsidiary of the United States Department of The Treasury. General Motors led global vehicle sales for 77 consecutive years from 1931 through 2007, longer than any other automaker, and is currently among the world's largest automakers by vehicle unit sales. General Motors acts in most countries outside the USA via wholly-owned subsidiaries but operates in China through 10 joint ventures. GM's OnStar subsidiary provides vehicle safety, security, and information services. In 2009, General Motors shed several brands, closing Saturn, Pontiac, and Hummer, and emerged from a government-backed Chapter 11 reorganization. In 2010, GM made an initial public offering IPOs to date and returned to profitability later that year.

General Motors Careers

Join the dynamic team at General Motors, a global leader in automotive innovation and technology. At General Motors, we offer unparalleled job opportunities that propel your career forward while contributing to a legacy of engineering excellence.

Work You’ll Do

Embark on a career with General Motors to drive the future of mobility. Our team is dedicated to redefining the automotive landscape through innovation and leadership in electric vehicles and sustainable solutions. By joining us, you will be part of a culture that values diversity, teamwork, and continuous professional growth.

Transform Your Career

General Motors is not just a company; it's a community where you can grow your skills alongside the best in the industry. Our leadership is committed to providing every employee—from interns to senior professionals—with opportunities for career advancement, leadership development, and diversity training.

Innovate and Lead

At General Motors, innovation is at the core of everything we do. From research and development to manufacturing, our teams work collaboratively to lead the industry with cutting-edge technologies and sustainable practices. We encourage our employees to think big and push the boundaries of what’s possible.

Join Our Global Team

As part of our global workforce, you will collaborate with talented individuals who are passionate about shaping the future of transportation. General Motors offers a variety of career paths in engineering, design, IT, marketing, and more. With over 155,000 employees worldwide, our network provides expansive opportunities for networking and professional development.

Internship Programs and Employment Benefits

Start your career journey with a General Motors internship, where you can apply your academic knowledge to real-world projects. Our internships provide a robust foundation in the automotive industry, with mentorship from experienced leaders. Full-time employees enjoy a wealth of benefits, including comprehensive health care, retirement plans, and performance bonuses, ensuring that your hard work is rewarded.

Explore Job Opportunities

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a recent graduate, General Motors offers positions that leverage your unique skills. Our hiring process is designed to identify and nurture talent, focusing on aligning your capabilities with the right opportunities for growth within the company.

Stay Connected

Join Our Team Search open positions that match your skills and interests. At General Motors, we look for innovative, driven, and solution-oriented team players. Explore the possibilities that await you in a career at General Motors.

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Customize your subscription to receive job alerts, latest news, and insider tips tailored to your preferences. Discover the exciting and rewarding career opportunities available at General Motors. Embark on a journey of growth, innovation, and leadership at General Motors. Shape your future in an environment that fosters diversity, learning, and the pursuit of excellence. Join us and redefine the roads of tomorrow.
Learn more about General Motors
Size
157,000 employees
Market Cap
$46.9 billion
Industry
Net Income
$6.4 billion
Founded
1908
5 Year Trend
-3.2%
Revenue
$122.4 billion
NASDAQ

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