Wireless Software Engineer, WiFi

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies•Palo Alto, CA

About The Position

Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies is a joint venture between two industry leaders with a clear vision for automotive’s next chapter. From operating systems to zonal controllers to cloud and connectivity solutions, we’re addressing the challenges of electric vehicles through technology that will set the standards for software-defined vehicles around the world. The road to the future is uncharted. By combining our expertise across connectivity, AI, security and more, we’ll map a new way forward. Working together, we’ll create a future that’s more connected, more intelligent, more sustainable for everyone. Role Summary Wireless phone projection is one of the most visible connectivity features in the vehicle, and it lives or dies on the Wi-Fi and networking layers underneath it. Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto place demanding requirements on the vehicle: SoftAP hosting and session setup, strict connection timing and retry behavior defined by the CarPlay and Android Auto specifications, country code transitions across the wide range of global regulatory domains our vehicles ship in, and correct IPv6, routing, and firewall behavior, all in an RF-constrained automotive environment where antennas are shared between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Most of this work sits above the vendor driver and firmware. You'll drive the Wi-Fi subsystem through the Android Wi-Fi framework, with targeted vendor-level integration where Android's abstractions don't suffice, and you'll own the connection-management and network-management behavior that projection depends on. When issues surface at the driver or firmware level, you'll isolate them, analyze the evidence, and work them to resolution with our silicon and module vendors. You'll be a technical authority the rest of the org leans on for Wi-Fi, working closely with platform, integration, infotainment, and certification teams.

Requirements

6+ years of embedded software experience with substantial depth in Wi-Fi. You've taken Wi-Fi features from bringup to production and know what it takes to get from "it connects" to "it ships."
Strong experience with the Android Wi-Fi stack (Wi-Fi framework/APIs, wpa_supplicant, hostapd, and the vendor HAL boundary), or deep embedded Linux Wi-Fi experience with the ability to come up to speed on Android quickly.
Strong C/C++ skills, with working comfort in Java/Kotlin at the Android framework layer.
Solid Linux networking fundamentals: IPv6, routing, iptables/netfilter, DHCP/DNS.
Solid 802.11 protocol knowledge (n/ac/ax), including AP and station operation and WPA2/WPA3.
Proven wireless debugging skills: OTA sniffer captures, framework and driver logs, and a methodical, evidence-driven approach to isolating problems across the stack, including issues that ultimately land in vendor driver or firmware code.
Experience collaborating with Wi-Fi silicon or module vendors on issue resolution and feature enablement.
Clear written communication and the ability to lead technical work across teams.

Nice To Haves

Direct experience with wireless Apple CarPlay and/or wireless Android Auto (or similar Wi-Fi-based projection/streaming systems).
Experience with Qualcomm Wi-Fi solutions.
Wi-Fi Alliance certification experience (test plans, authorized test labs, pre-certification).
Bluetooth/Wi-Fi coexistence and shared-antenna tuning experience.
Automotive or other regulated embedded domains (homologation, regional regulatory, partner certification).
Test automation for wireless systems (RVR rigs, attenuators, channel emulation).

Responsibilities

Bring up and enable Wi-Fi on our next-generation platform through the Android Wi-Fi stack (framework APIs, supplicant/hostapd configuration, HAL/vendor integration where needed), and validate behavior on bench and vehicle.
Own the connection-management logic behind wireless projection: SoftAP hosting for wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, and the connection setup, retry, and timeout behavior required to meet Apple and Google specifications.
Own the network-management layer for the Wi-Fi subsystem: IPv6 configuration, routing, and iptables/firewall rules, plus country code transitions and correct behavior across the many regulatory domains our vehicles support worldwide.
Design for the platform's RF realities: channel selection and DFS, multiple concurrent APs, and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth antenna sharing and coexistence.
Isolate and drive driver- and firmware-level issues with our Wi-Fi silicon and module vendors: reproduce, capture and analyze logs and OTA traces, interpret vendor findings, and validate fixes.
Lead our Wi-Fi Alliance certification readiness: pre-test the stack, coordinate with authorized test labs, and drive fixes for what certification shakes out.
Support Apple CarPlay and Android Auto certification efforts as the wireless subject-matter expert.
Build out validation and automation: projection session scenarios, throughput/RVR, reboot and OTA cycling, extending our nightly test coverage.
Write clear design docs and reviews, mentor engineers on the team, and raise the org's overall Wi-Fi expertise.