Staff Software Engineer - Vehicle & Hardware Security

ATOMS Careers page•San Francisco, CA

2d•$224,000 - $284,000•Onsite

About The Position

Pronto AI is hiring a Staff Software Engineer focused on Vehicle & Hardware Security to own security for the systems that enable its autonomous vehicles to operate safely. The role covers in-vehicle networks and ECU firmware, secure boot, and over-the-air updates. It serves as a senior security partner to vehicle engineering teams and helps set technical direction and operating practices for the broader security team. The engineer will threat model automotive networks, design and review ECU security controls, secure the OTA update pipeline, and work with hardware and manufacturing teams to address supply-chain risks. The role represents Security in vehicle architecture and engineering design reviews and owns incident-response strategies for compromised or potentially compromised vehicles. As the team grows, the position will contribute technical direction, hiring, mentorship, and quarterly planning. The role is based in the San Francisco office and is onsite five days per week. The base salary range is $224,000–$284,000 per year; actual compensation may vary based on experience, skills, and qualifications. Equity awards may also be available.

Requirements

7+ years of experience in security engineering, including at least 3 years working in automotive, embedded systems, or industrial IoT security.
Hands-on experience with automotive communication protocols, including CAN/CAN-FD and UDS.
Experience with automotive security testing tools such as SocketCAN, CANoe, Kayak, or equivalent tooling.
Production experience securing OTA firmware or software update systems.
Experience with secure boot, code signing, firmware integrity, and rollback protection.
Working knowledge of ISO/SAE 21434 and how automotive cybersecurity requirements integrate into the software and hardware development lifecycle.
Experience leading technical projects, teams, or security programs and influencing senior engineering stakeholders.
Strong communication skills and the ability to clearly communicate security risks, tradeoffs, and technical direction.

Nice To Haves

Experience securing Level 4 autonomous vehicle systems.
Familiarity with UNECE WP.29, R155, and R156 cybersecurity and software-update requirements.
Red-team, penetration-testing, or offensive-security experience focused on vehicles, embedded systems, or hardware.
Experience with hardware security, component integrity, or automotive supply-chain security.
Prior people-management experience or experience leading a dedicated security engineering team.

Responsibilities

Threat model and secure automotive Ethernet, CAN, and CAN-FD networks against message injection, spoofing, replay, and other attacks.
Design and review ECU security controls, including secure boot, firmware code signing, and anti-rollback protections across vehicle compute systems.
Secure the OTA update pipeline, including update signing, staged and canary rollouts, rollback protection, and tamper detection.
Partner with hardware and manufacturing teams to identify and mitigate supply-chain risks, including counterfeit or tampered vehicle components.
Represent Security in vehicle architecture and engineering design reviews, identifying security requirements early in development.
Own incident-response strategies for compromised or potentially compromised vehicles, including safe remote isolation and quarantine procedures.
Provide technical leadership across the security organization, helping establish priorities, engineering standards, and team operating practices.
As the team grows, help lead the broader security team through technical direction, hiring, mentorship, and quarterly planning.