Senior Sensor Rendering Software Engineer

About Applied Intuition

Applied Intuition is the vehicle intelligence company that accelerates the global adoption of safe, AI-driven machines. Founded in 2017 and now valued at $15 billion following its recent Series F funding round, Applied Intuition delivers the Vehicle OS, Self-Driving System, and toolchain to help customers build intelligent vehicles and shorten time to market. 18 of the top 20 global automakers and major programs across the Department of Defense trust Applied Intuition's solutions to deliver vehicle intelligence. Applied Intuition services the automotive, defense, trucking, construction, mining, and agriculture industries and is headquartered in Mountain View, CA, with offices in Washington, D.C., San Diego, CA, Ft. Walton Beach, FL, Ann Arbor, MI, London, Stuttgart, Munich, Stockholm, Bangalore, Seoul, and Tokyo. Learn more at applied.co.

We are an in-office company, and our expectation is that employees primarily work from their Applied Intuition office 5 days a week. However, we also recognize the importance of flexibility and trust our employees to manage their schedules responsibly. This may include occasional remote work, starting the day with morning meetings from home before heading to the office, or leaving earlier when needed to accommodate family commitments.

About the role

We are seeking a senior-level engineer with strong foundations in modern real-time rendering systems, neural graphics (e.g., 3D Gaussian-based representations), and high-performance multi-threaded C++/CUDA pipelines. This role sits at the intersection of classical graphics engines and neural rendering systems, with a focus on scaling performance across CPU and GPU for large, real-time simulation workloads. At Applied Intuition, engineers are expected to take ownership of technically complex systems, make architecture-level decisions, work closely with internal and external users, and help evolve both the product and the engineering culture.

At Applied Intuition, you will:

• Own end-to-end efforts to improve runtime performance and scalability of the rendering and neural simulation stack across multiple products and sensor modalities

• Design and optimize multi-threaded C++ systems for scene management, scheduling, streaming, and CPU-side orchestration

• Develop and optimize GPU pipelines using CUDA and shaders, including data layout, memory movement, synchronization, and kernel performance

• Contribute to the development and maintenance of both physically-based rendering (PBR) and neural rendering / neural reconstruction engines (e.g., 3D Gaussian-based representations)

• Build internal tooling and automated benchmarking and profiling infrastructure, including CI-based performance regression tracking

• Collaborate with rendering, simulation, and content teams to ensure correctness, performance, and scalability across real-time workloads

• Maintain and evolve critical engine infrastructure to stay current with state-of-the-art graphics and neural rendering techniques

We're looking for someone who has:

• 4+ years of industry experience in graphics, simulation, or performance-critical systems

• Strong experience optimizing multi-threaded C++ applications, including task systems, synchronization, memory ownership, and cache behavior

• Hands-on experience with GPU programming, including CUDA and/or shader development, and an understanding of CPU–GPU coordination

• Solid understanding of modern rendering pipelines, including geometry processing, materials, shaders, and GPU memory management

• Experience working inside large engine codebases (e.g., Unreal Engine or similar real-time engines)

• Fluency in C++ and Python, with working knowledge of shader languages (HLSL/GLSL or similar)
Strong intuition for performance debugging, profiling, and system-level optimization across CPU and GPU

Nice to have:

• Experience with neural rendering or neural reconstruction techniques, such as 3D Gaussian splatting, NeRF-style representations, or hybrid neural-graphics pipelines

• Familiarity with CUDA-accelerated rendering or simulation workloads

• Experience designing or optimizing real-time ray tracing systems

• Familiarity with autonomy-related sensors (cameras, LiDAR, radar, ultrasonic) and their simulation or rendering requirements

Compensation at Applied Intuition for eligible roles includes base salary, equity, and benefits. Base salary is a single component of the total compensation package, which may also include equity in the form of options and/or restricted stock units, comprehensive health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance coverage, 401k retirement benefits with employer match, learning and wellness stipends, and paid time off. Note that benefits are subject to change and may vary based on jurisdiction of employment.

Applied Intuition pay ranges reflect the minimum and maximum intended target base salary for new hire salaries for the position. The actual base salary offered to a successful candidate will additionally be influenced by a variety of factors including experience, credentials & certifications, educational attainment, skill level requirements, interview performance, and the level and scope of the position.

Please reference the job posting’s subtitle for where this position will be located. For pay transparency purposes, the base salary range for this full-time position in the location listed is: $150,000 - $250,000 USD annually.

Don’t meet every single requirement? If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Applied Intuition is an equal opportunity employer and federal contractor or subcontractor. Consequently, the parties agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-1.4(a), 41 CFR 60-300.5(a) and 41 CFR 60-741.5(a) and that these laws are incorporated herein by reference. These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities, and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin. These regulations require that covered prime contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status or disability. The parties also agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of Executive Order 13496 (29 CFR Part 471, Appendix A to Subpart A), relating to the notice of employee rights under federal labor laws.