Nio Is Looking For A 'Visionary' Leader To Drive Its Software Architecture Development In California

China's Nio Inc NIO is scouting for a chief operating software architect in San Jose, California ahead of its U.S. foray that will see it take on global EV leader Tesla Inc TSLA on its home turf. 

What Happened: Shanghai-based Nio’s recent job posting on its website reveals it is looking to hire an “expert technologist and visionary thought leader” to drive the “design and development” of the EV maker’s next-generation vehicle software architecture.

The chief software architect will be the “mastermind driving Nio’s software platform strategy” and lead and scale-up a global team of talented software architects, the EV maker said.

Nio has advertised and filled multiple positions since the beginning of the year. The chief OS architect position, however, had only been added earlier this month.

Nio did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment.

See Also: Nio Says No EV Price Hikes For Now — What Makes It Different From Tesla, Xpeng And BYD?

Why It Matters: Nio has reportedly leased more than 200,000 square feet of space in north San Jose that will likely serve as its headquarters and innovation center.

The EV maker had last year said it would step up efforts in 2022 to enter more global markets following its debut in Norway. 

Nio had in December at its annual day announced plans to enter Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden in 2022, and reach 25 countries by 2025. The company stopped short of confirming an expansion into the U.S. market at the event.

Earlier this year, Nio chose Nvidia Corp NVDA over Intel Corp’s INTC Israeli-base self-driving tech subsidiary Mobileye for its NT 2.0 platform.

Price Action: Nio stock closed 10.8% higher at $20.8 a share on Friday.

Photo courtesy: Nio Inc